Client Services Agreement

RSL Queensland and Mates4Mates

This Client Services Agreement is an agreement between you (“you”, “your”) and Returned & Services League of Australia (Queensland Branch) ABN 79 902 601 713 (“RSL Queensland”) and Mates4Mates Ltd ACN 54 160 646 999 (“Mates4Mates”) (collectively “us”, “we”, “our”)

1. Who We Are and Our Role

RSL Queensland and Mates4Mates are not-for-profit organisations whose charitable objects are focused on several activities including assisting veterans and their families.
You have approached us to request that we provide you with assistance, which may take any number of forms. Any assistance provided to you is referred to in this document as ‘Services’.
The Services that we provide to you will be the Service or Services you request from time to time.
We will provide you with the Services on the terms set out in this document and any terms, conditions and rules specific to each individual Service. We will advise you of any terms, conditions and/or rules specific to an individual Service and will also obtain your consent prior to providing the particular Service to you.
The terms, conditions and/or rules specific to an individual Service may be accepted by you engaging or continuing to engage in that individual Service. You have a right to withdraw from the Services at any time.
If services are provided to you by an organisation other than Mates4Mates or RSL Queensland (”External Organisation”), then:
1. access to, or use of, those external services (including eligibility criteria) are governed by that External Organisation and the terms and conditions of this Agreement do not apply to services provided by that External Organisation;
2. Mates4Mates accepts no responsibility for expenses arising out of, or connected to, the services being delivered by the External Organisation or for the experience or services you receive from the External Organisation.
We reserve the right to update the terms of this Client Services Agreement from time to time. You will be notified of these changes when they occur. You will be asked to accept the updated terms before next engaging with us following the update. The updated terms can be accepted by you in the same way that the terms of this Client Services Agreement are able to be accepted by you.

2. Your Obligations

You may request that we provide you with Services from time to time. If we agree to provide a Service or Services to you, this agreement will apply when we provide those Services.
You must at all times behave in a manner consistent with the Code of Conduct applicable in the location where the Services are delivered and/or RSL Queensland’s Code of Conduct (available here https://rslqld.org/about-us/services-agreement/code-of-conduct), if applicable.
You understand and agree that
1. we may have independent eligibility requirements to access a Service or components of a Service and that applying to access the Service does not guarantee that you meet eligibility criteria; and
2. we are under no obligation to provide you with any particular Service and may, in its absolute discretion, decide whether or not to provide you with any or all Services.
We accept no responsibility for medical or other professional expenses arising out of, or connected to, the Services being delivered to you. For example, if the Services relate to a matter before the Department of Veterans Affairs (“DVA”) and additional medical evidence is required for your matter, you will be required to pay for the medical report yourself (however you should note that you may be able to claim reimbursement from DVA).
You declare that any information submitted during the intake and/or application process is true and complete in all respects. If we reasonably determine that any of the information that you have provided is false or misleading, we may immediately cease providing any Services to you and terminate this Agreement.

3. Scope of Services (What We Do)

If you request that we provide Services, the full scope of what we will do for you when delivering the Services will be given to you before we provide you with that Service.
If the Services involve medical/health services, we will discuss the proposed Services with you and obtain your consent prior to delivering these Services. You understand that you have a right to withdraw from these Services at any time. However, if you continue to engage with us in the provision of these Services, you will be deemed to have provided consent to the provision of the Services.
In providing the Services to you, we will endeavour to provide the Services in a proficient and timely manner.

4. Limits to Scope of Services (What We Don’t Do)

We will not, and cannot, provide any of the following to you:
1. a guarantee or promise that the Services, your matter or any claim or appeal will be successful or that you will successfully obtain all or any of the outcomes that you are seeking;
2. a guarantee or promise that any service you have accessed through an external organisation will be successful or that you will successfully obtain all or any of the outcomes you are seeking;
3. any advice outside of the specific Service being provided;
4. any legal advice; or
5. any other service outside of the scope of Services provided to you.
We have no obligation to provide to you any particular Services, or any Services at all, if we consider that either party may have a conflict of interest, or we do not consider you are eligible for the Services, or for any other reason.

5. Costs and charges

We do not charge a fee to provide the Services to you. However, you acknowledge that there may be instances where you may be required to incur expenses which relate to the delivery of the Services (such as those set out in clause 2(d) of this agreement).

6. Conflicts of interest

You will declare any conflict of interest prior to using any Services or immediately to us if a conflict arises whilst accessing or using any Services.

7. Termination of this Agreement

You may terminate this agreement and/or cease using any or all of our Services at any time and for any reason by giving us written notice.
We may terminate this agreement and/or cease providing you with any or all Services immediately by giving you written notice for just cause or if you:
1. instruct us to act unlawfully or unethically; or
2. fail to co-operate fully in the conduct of the Services; or
3. indicate that you have lost confidence in us; or
4. lose legal capacity to instruct us; or
5. do not cooperate in accordance with the Code of Conduct; or
6. are informed by us that we have a conflict of interest and can no longer act on your behalf.
We may also terminate this agreement and/or cease providing you with any or all Services for any reason by giving you at least 14 days written notice.
On termination of this agreement for any reason, we will cease to provide any further assistance or Services to you and will not be liable to provide any further assistance or Services to you.

8. Your Documents

On completion of each Service that we provide to you, or following termination of this agreement or cessation of that Service, we will retain your documents for a minimum of 7 years. Your agreement to these terms constitutes your authority for us to destroy the file after those 7 years.
Where permitted by law, we may elect to hold some or all of your documents solely in electronic form. Where your documents are held by us in electronic form, and you request copies of your documents, only electronic copies of them will be provided to you. Those copies will be provided in a reasonable electronic format, usually the same format in which we hold them.
You agree that we may also retain copies of your documents, for our own regulatory or insurance purposes.

9. Liability of RSL Queensland and Mates4Mates

Except for any legal or regulatory requirements that cannot be excluded or limited, you agree that the following limitations on our liability will apply:
1. Our liability for any loss, damage, liability, costs or expenses (Loss) or any claim, demand, action, proceedings or judgment made or threatened (Claim) in connection with our provision of any Services to you is limited as follows:
  1. we will not be liable to you for any Loss or Claim you suffer or incur for any reason as a result of us providing the Services to you;
  2. we will have no liability to any person other than you in relation to our provision of the Services;
  3. liability for any Claim or Loss is recoverable only from us and not from any of our members, employees, officers, representatives or agents;
  4. our liability is limited to such proportion of the Loss or Claim as is just and equitable having regard to the extent of your own responsibility for the Loss or Claim and that of any other person (regardless of any inability to enforce a claim against such other person);
  5. we, and our officers, employees, contractors and agents will not be liable in any circumstances for any indirect, special, incidental, punitive or consequential damages or loss (including loss of opportunity, loss of anticipated savings or the like) whether based in contract, tort (including negligence), or product liability;
  6. we will in no circumstances be liable for any action, omission or services provided by an External Organisation.
2. To the fullest extent permitted by law, our maximum liability to you under this agreement will not exceed the amount of the reasonable cost of providing the Services to you again.

10. Complaints

If you are unhappy with the way we have provided any Services, or would like to provide any feedback please contact RSL Queensland feedback@rslqld.org or Mates4Mates feedback@mates4mates.org.

11. General

Applicable Law
The law of Queensland applies to this agreement and you irrevocably submit to the non-exclusive jurisdiction of the courts of Queensland and any courts that have jurisdiction to hear appeal from those courts.
Electronic Communication
You agree that we may provide information and documentation to you by electronic means (for example, by email). You acknowledge that electronic communication may not always be secure and can in some instances be intercepted, altered, contain viruses or other defects or not be received correctly. We will not be liable for any interference, delay, delivery failure or other damage caused by an email or electronic transmission except to the extent caused by our negligence or wilful default.
Offer and Acceptance of Client Services Agreement
1. This document is an offer to you to enter into an agreement that will apply whenever we provide you with any Services.
2. This offer may be accepted by you by:
  1. clicking the ‘I accept’ button (if you are accepting this agreement online) when asked if you agree through the General Intake & Assessment; or
  2. signing a physical version of this agreement;
  3. giving us written instructions after receiving this document; or
  4. contacting us, either verbally or in writing, advising of your acceptance.
Acknowledgement and Agreement By accepting this offer in one of the ways set out paragraph (c)(ii) above, you accept the terms of this agreement. If you accept the terms of this agreement, you will have entered into an agreement with us that can be legally enforced by both parties in the same way as any other contract.
If you are uncertain about any part of this agreement, we invite you to obtain your own advice regarding the agreement, or you are also welcome to discuss your query with us to seek clarification.