This website is established and maintained by The Royal Children's Hospital (ABN 35 655 720 546) (RCH). These Terms of Use set out the terms and conditions of a contract between you and RCH governing your access to, and use of, the Site (defined below). By visiting, registering for, or using, this Site, you agree to be bound by and abide by these Terms of Use (as amended from time to time).
These Terms of Use, include, and are supplemented by, other terms and conditions contained within the Site that are more specific to the use of a particular part of this Site. In the case of any inconsistency the terms and conditions specific to a part of the Site prevail.
RCH reserves the right from time to time to change these Terms of Use without prior notice or your consent. You are responsible for informing yourself of any changes to these Terms of Use and any notices posted on the Site and should read them carefully before you use the Site.
Table of contents will be automatically generated here...
1. Use of THE SITE
- You must:
- comply with these Terms of Use at all times while using the Site;
- not use, or knowingly permit another person to use, the Site if you (or they) are not eligible to do so;
- where applicable:
- ensure that your contact and other details submitted to RCH or stored on the Site are current and accurate; and
- monitor any electronic system or address designated by you for the purpose of receiving communications (RCH will not be liable for any delay or failure by you to do so);
- ensure that all information you submit to RCH, upload to the Site or provide to another user of the Site, is true and correct and does not infringe the rights (including intellectual property rights) of any other person (each time you submit or provide information to RCH or another user of the Site (You represent and warrant to the recipient of that information that you have complied with this clause and are not infringing the rights (including intellectual property rights) of any other person));
- not use the Site for any unlawful purpose;
- not introduce and Harmful Code into the Site or use it in a manner that could damage, disable or impair RCH's services or system;
- not use any robot, scraper or other means to access the Site for any purpose;
- comply with any of RCH's policies or procedures regarding use of the Site as notified to you from time to time by RCH;
- maintain and safeguard the privacy and security of all personal or confidential information that you obtain access to in relation to the Site;
- not access information or perform services relating to any other person (unless expressly permitted by RCH or by that other person to do so); or
- not send or post any unsolicited messages or any offensive, inflammatory, defamatory, threatening, abusive, hateful, racist, obscene, fraudulent, deceptive or otherwise unlawful information.
- not record a telehealth video consultation without the written consent of everyone involved in the consultation.
- You are responsible for, and bear all the costs of, installing and maintaining your own systems and equipment necessary to access and use the Site.
- You are liable for and must compensate RCH, and its Related Parties on demand for all losses, costs, expenses (including legal costs on a full indemnity basis), claim or damage suffered or incurred (or agrees to pay by way of settlement or compromise) in connection with or arising out of:
- a breach of these Terms of Use (including a representation or warranty);
- fraudulent or dishonest conduct of you or any person you have permitted to use this Site on your behalf;
- a failure to obtain, maintain, and comply with required consents and applicable laws;
- personal injury, death or loss of or damage to real or tangible personal property;
- claims, actions or proceedings by a third party and any investigations by a government body; and
- failure to comply with any obligations of confidence or privacy under these Terms of Use, arising out of any of your acts or omissions or any of your related parties whether accidental or not.
- You agree to report any misuse of this Site that you become aware of to the RCH
2. Social Media
Parts of this Site have social media functionality. In addition the RCH has a number of social media accounts including Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and LinkedIn accounts. Any social media site that is provided by a third party (for example Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, LinkedIn, blogs and forums) is subject to the relevant 3rd party provider's terms and conditions (even if you access that site via any link from this Site).
The RCH encourages you to participate in any social media. If you do participate in any social media, you do so under these terms. Without limiting any other provision in these terms you must:
- act responsibly and be respectful of other users;
- not submit any content
- advertising or endorsing any products or services of any other organisation;
- that personally identifies any other person without their express consent; and
- that the RCH considers inappropriate.
RCH may remove any content submitted by you which the RCH (in its absolute discretion) considers in breach of these terms. While RCH will monitor the content submitted on any of its social media sites, it may not monitor all content at all times. Accordingly, you should notify RCH of any inappropriate content and you should ignore any content that may be offensive to you until it is removed by the RCH.
You acknowledge that RCH owns any content submitted by you in accordance with clause 6.1(b).
Without limiting any other provision in these terms, RCH disclaims all liability, is not responsible for, and does not endorse any content submitted by any user on a social media site (even if the RCH does not remove that content). In addition any content submitted by the RCH or any of its personnel is subject to any disclaimers in these terms (including under clause 9) and is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment provided by an appropriately qualified health care professional.
3. Electronic communications
RCH may send you electronic communications which relate to your use of the Site or other information that may be of interest to you as a visitor of the Site, including health-related information and information relating to RCH's other products and services. As a condition of your registration for use of this Site, you consent to receive commercial electronic messages from RCH using your email address or the messaging system within the Site. You may withdraw your consent at any time, but this may disable your access to any secure areas of the Site. Please call RCH if you wish to disable (or re-enable) your access to any part of the Site.
Despite your consent to electronic communications, RCH reserves the right to communicate with you, or require you to communicate with RCH, in person, by post or fax in order for RCH to meet its legal obligations, or where RCH considers electronic communication to be impracticable, inadequate or inappropriate.
4. Security
4.1 Security of this Site generally
While RCH uses its best endeavours to implement security controls and prevent unauthorised access to, or use of, the Site, you acknowledge that the internet is an insecure public network where there is a risk that your use of, and interactions with, this Site may be viewed, intercepted or modified by third parties and that this Site and any information on this Site may contain Harmful Code.
To the extent permitted by law, RCH does not guarantee that there will not be, or accept any liability for, any Harmful Code on the Site or a breach of security by a third party or any interference with or damage to your computer system, software or data occurring in connection with or relating to this Site.
RCH may use cookies in relation to accessing and using this Site.
4.2 Basic online security – your obligations
While you are ultimately responsible for your own online security, RCH recommends that you:
- ensure that you are using the most recent version of your operating system and software (including web browser) with the latest patches and updates applied;
- when using secure areas of the Site, check that you are using a secure site by making sure the site address starts with "https" and looking for the padlock icon in the lower right of your browser window;
- ensure that you have anti-virus software installed and working on your computer, that its definitions are up to date and that it is configured to scan and inbound and outbound emails and files;
- ensure your browser is configured to minimise the likelihood of your computer or privacy being affected by Harmful Code;
- if you are using a public or shared computer, ensure that you log out properly and close the browser window when you have finished;
- be suspicious of strange emails, attachments or hyperlinks; and
- if you suspect your computer has been affected by Harmful Code you should contact your IT service provider or anti-virus vendor.
5. Intellectual property
5.1 Ownership of data and other Intellectual Property
- The Site and any content made available on it (including without limitation the software on which it is based, any documentation regarding its use, text, graphics, video, audio, information, data and the design and layout of the Site) are owned by RCH or its third party licensors, and are protected by Australian and international copyright and other intellectual property laws.
- You acknowledge and agree that the RCH owns all other data and information uploaded onto, or created by or using, the Site. Without limiting clause 5.1 (a), RCH retains all rights in relation to any online documents and forms completed and other information submitted by you and you assign any rights you may have in those materials to RCH. You agree that RCH can use and adapt any ideas, concepts, techniques, words or images contained in any of those materials for any purpose and without restriction or compensation.
5.2 Intellectual Property Licences
- RCH grants you a revocable licence to download, copy and print the content on the Site for your personal use. To the extent permitted by law, you must not:
- otherwise download, modify, copy, reproduce, republish, store, frame, upload, post, transmit, sell, lease, rent, sub-licence or disclose or distribute any part of this Site (or any content on it) in any way, except as otherwise expressly stated on the Site or with RCH's prior written consent;
- tamper with any copyright notice, or tamper with or commercially use any trade mark, logo or names (including business names and domain names) appearing on the Site or in materials accessed via the Site (You must include RCH's copyright notice in any copies of the information obtained from the Site); or
- re-engineer, create derive works from, reverse engineer, disassemble, or decompile any part of the Site,
and to the extent any right for you to do so is preserved by law, then only in strict accordance with the provisions or terms under that law.
- RCH reserves the right to access, maintain, delete or destroy all communications or information uploaded or stored within the Site at any time.
5.3 Use of the RCH trademark and related IP
You agree not to use the name, trade name, service marks, trademarks, trade dress or logo of RCH (or its related parties, suppliers or licensors) (Branding) in publicity releases, advertising, promotional materials, direct mail, seminars, on your web site, or in other communications without the express prior written consent of RCH. All uses of Branding will inure to the benefit of the owner of such logos, trademarks, trade names and/or other branding devices.
5.4 Linking to this site
RCH encourages links to the Site. If you do create or maintain a link to the Site you agree to these Terms of Use and you:
- are encouraged to link to
www.rch.org.au (and not other parts of this site) as pages and content may be updated or moved and regularly checking any links to ensure they are accurate;
- may only link to, and not replicate, content or pages on the Site;
- must link to
www.rch.org.au rather than listing RCH's telephone or fax numbers or office details;
- must ensure that any links are presented in a way that fairly represents RCH and the Site;
- you may not use RCH's logo or trade marks and must not give the impression that you or your site is endorsed or sponsored by RCH; and
- comply with the intellectual property conditions set out in clause 5 of these Terms of Use (including not framing, reformatting or altering any files or information without RCH's consent).
RCH may in its absolute discretion require you to remove, and not create any further, links to the Site or any content that is in breach of these Terms of Use.
6. Confidentiality
- You agree:
- to maintain any information that is confidential or proprietary in nature or is designated as such (including without limitation the software, source code, technology, tools, processes, functional specifications and technical materials on which the Site is based) which you access via the Site in strict confidence at all times; and
- not to disclose, use, transmit, inform or make available to any person any of that information except as necessary to perform your obligations or exercise your rights under these Terms of Use.
- Clause 7(a) does not apply to any confidential information which you can demonstrate:
- is or becomes known to the public through no breach of these Terms of Use;
- was previously known by you, or subsequently provided to you, without any obligation to hold it in confidence;
- is independently developed by you without the use of confidential information; or
- is approved for release by written authorization of RCH, but only to the extent of such authorization.
7. Privacy
The RCH will treat any personal information provided by you or collected in relation to in accordance with its privacy policy.
8. Disclaimers and exclusion of liability
8.1 Disclaimer
- The Site (including material on the Site) is made available to you on an "as is" and "as available" basis and at your own risk. To the maximum extent permitted by law, RCH makes no representation, provides no express warranty or guarantee, and excludes all liability and any implied warranties (whether implied by statute or otherwise) in connection with:
- the provision and availability of the Site by RCH or your use of the Site or any other linked website;
- the functionality, features and performance of the Site (RCH may withdraw, suspend or discontinue any functionality or feature at any time);
- legality or suitability of the Site or any services provided through it;
- title and non-infringement of third party rights;
- the security of Site, the Site or any linked site, or the safety of any file or software associated with them (such as safety from any virus or defects including those which could damage or interfere with your data, hardware or software);
- merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose and non-infringement of the Site;
- the Site being provided error-free or without interruption (including without limitation the availability of internet connections or other telecommunications systems); or
- the accessibility, accuracy, quality, currency or reliability of Site or any inked site, or of any RCH or third party materials, information, products or services promoted or accessed via Site, the Site or any linked site.
- Despite any provision in these Terms of Use to the contrary, RCH shall not be liable for any consequential, special, incidental, indirect or punitive losses, costs, expenses or damages, whether in contract, tort or otherwise (including negligence) arising out of or in connection with the Site or RCH performance or non-performance of its obligations under these Terms of Use, even if RCH has been advised of the possibility of that damage.
- To the extent permitted by law, in the event of any problem with the Site, any goods or services provided in connection with the Site or any dealings between you and RCH or any other user of the Site, you agree that:
- your sole remedy is to cease using the Site or any information, materials, goods or services provided to, or accessed by, you in connection with the Site;
- you release RCH and hold RCH harmless from any and all claims, demands, and damages of every kind and nature (including, without limitation, actual, special, incidental and consequential), known and unknown, suspected and unsuspected, disclosed and undisclosed, arising out of or in any way connected with your use of the Site; and
- you waive the provisions of any law limiting or prohibiting a limitation and release as set out in this clause.
- If, despite these Terms of Use, a court determines that RCH is responsible for loss or damage arising from your access to or use of this Site, to the extent permitted by law, RCH's liability is limited in any event to resupplying the relevant part of the Site or the reasonable cost of having it resupplied, and RCH reserves its options at law as to how it may discharge RCH's obligations in relation to liability that cannot be lawfully excluded under these terms.
8.2 Reference material
The materials on this Site have been provided for general information only. While RCH has used reasonable endeavours to ensure the quality of the information:
- it is provided "as is" and RCH does not warrant that it is accurate, complete, reliable, current, of a particular quality or suitable for your particular circumstances;
- it is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment provided by an appropriately qualified health care professional (you always consult a medical professional and obtain appropriate medical advice including interpretation of these materials);
- some of the information has been provided or made available by third parties (or derived from that information) and does not necessarily reflect any policies, procedures, standard or guidelines of RCH, any other users of this Site or any Government or association;
- you use it at your own risk, should not act (or fail to act) on the basis of the materials on this Site and you are solely responsible for all acts or omissions carried out in connection with, or in reliance on, the materials;
- to the extent permitted by law RCH accepts no responsibility and disclaims all liability in relation to use of those materials.
While RCH may do so, RCH has no obligation to review the information on the Site to ensure it is current nor, to correct any error, omission or inaccuracy on the Site.
8.3 Links to 3rd party sites
This Site contains links to other 3rd party services and sites which are not under the control of RCH. Those links are only provided for your convenience and:
- RCH does not warrant:
- the accuracy of any hypertext links provided on the Site or the suitability, accuracy completeness, currency, merchantability, fitness for purpose or any other aspect of any content located at those links;
- that the linked site does not infringe the intellectual property or other rights of any person;
- the physical location at which that site is hosted (or the location of any person accessing or controlling that site);
- the confidentiality and privacy practices of that site; and
- the security and safety of that site or any file on it (including the existence of Harmful Code);
- unless specifically stated otherwise, do not constitute any association of RCH with, or any endorsement or approval by RCH of, those other websites, their content, or the people who run or contribute to them; and
- any omission of links to any site or organisation does not constitute any non-endorsement or disproval of those sites or organisations.
Your use of the links, and use or reliance on the content on any linked site, is at your own risk and to the extent permitted by law, RCH disclaims any liability in relation to those links or sites. RCH recommends you take care when accessing and using third party sites and that you read the terms and conditions and privacy policy of any third party site as they may be different to RCH's terms and policies.
8.4 Changes to this Site
RCH may, in its absolute discretion, make changes to any part of this Site or any content on it (subject to express right set out in these terms) without your consent or providing notice to you.
8.5 Medicare, Private Health Insurance and other benefits
RCH makes no representations or warranties regarding any benefits, compensation or reimbursements which you may be entitled to in relation to utilisation of this Site and any goods or services provided in connection with, or referred to in, this Site (including without limitation any private health insurance or Medicare benefits you may be entitled to). You should seek independent advice regarding any benefits or entitlements you may be entitled to from a qualified third party or directly from the provider of those benefits or entitlements.
8.6 RCH's related parties, personnel, suppliers and contractors
Each disclaimer is given on behalf of, and each indemnity, waiver, exclusion or limitation of liability is held for the benefit of, the RCH, RCH's licensors and contractors (and each of their officers, employees, agents and contractors).
9. General
- In these terms of use, unless specified otherwise:
- Harmful Code means any computer code or routine that is harmful, destructive, disabling or which assists in or enables theft, alteration, denial of service, unauthorised disclosure or destruction or corruption of data, including viruses, worms, spyware, adware, keyloggers, trojans and any new types of programmed threats that may be classified, but excluding passwords, software keys and like features that are security features or intended elements of software used to prevent unauthorised access and use; and
- Site means the website at
www.rch.org.au and any related sites owned or maintained by, or on behalf of, the RCH. Each reference to Site includes a reference to all information and content on these sites.
- These terms and conditions are governed by the laws in force in the State of Victoria, Australia. By visiting and using the Site you unconditionally submit to the jurisdiction of the courts of that State and all courts with jurisdiction to hear appeals from those courts.
- RCH may seek urgent injunctive relief in order to protect the confidentiality of its information or prevent the misuse of its Intellectual Property.
- The failure or delay of RCH to exercise any right or remedy under these Terms of Use will not operate as further waiver of such right or remedy in the future or any other right or remedy. No waiver of any default, condition or breach of these Terms of Use shall be deemed to imply or constitute a waiver of any other default, condition or breach of these Terms of Use, whether of a similar nature or otherwise.
- If any one or more of the provisions of these Terms of Use are invalid or otherwise unenforceable, to the extent possible the provision should be read down to reflect the intent of the parties and the enforceability of remaining provisions shall be unimpaired.
- RCH shall not be liable for any non-performance in connection with the Site or under these Terms of Use if it is prevented from performing that obligation by a circumstance beyond its reasonable control.
- You may not assign any of your rights or obligations without the prior written consent of the RCH.
- All rights and obligations under:
- any provision regarding privacy, confidentiality, intellectual property, waivers, indemnities, representations and warranties (including without limitation clauses 7, 8, 9 and 10;
- accrued rights or obligations existing at the time of termination or expiry; and
- any indemnities and any representations and warranties, survive termination or expiry. Any other provisions necessary or desirable to give effect to those rights and obligations survive expiry or termination of these Terms of use.
- These Terms of Use (including any supplementary terms within the Site) set out the entire agreement between the parties and supersedes all previous and contemporaneous agreements, understandings and arrangements with respect to their subject matter.
10. Questions
If you have any questions about this Site, please visit RCH, or call to speak with a RCH representative.