Terms & conditions

Terms of Use

This Website is established and maintained by The Royal Women’s Hospital (ABN 62787822077) (the Women’s). These Terms of Use set out the terms and conditions of a contract between you and the Women’s governing your access to, and use of, the Website (defined below).  By using this Website, 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 Website that are more specific to the use of a particular part of this Website.  In the case of any inconsistency the terms and conditions specific to a part of the Website prevail.

The Women’s 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 Website and should read them carefully before you use the Website.

1.    Use of the Website

2.    Electronic Communications

3.    Intellectual Property

4.    Privacy

5.    Disclaimers and exclusion of liability

6.    Social Media

7.    Security

8.    General

9.    Questions

 

1.   Use of the Website

When you use this Website, you must:

  • comply with these Terms of Use at all times while using the Website;
  • where applicable:
    • ensure that your contact and other details submitted to the Women’s or stored on the Website are current and accurate; and
    • monitor any electronic system or address designated by you for the purpose of receiving communications (the Women’s will not be liable for any delay or failure by you to do so);
  • ensure that all information you submit to the Women’s, upload to the Website or provide to another user of the Website, 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 the Women’s or another user of the Website (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 Website for any unlawful purpose;
  • not introduce any Harmful Code into the Website or use it in a manner that could damage, disable or impair the Women’s services or system;
  • not use any robot, scraper or other means to access the Website for any purpose;
  • comply with any of the Women’s policies or procedures regarding use of the Website as notified to you from time to time by the Women’s;
  • maintain and safeguard the privacy and security of all personal or confidential information that you obtain access to in relation to the Website;
  • not access information or perform services relating to any other person (unless expressly permitted by the Women’s 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 or inappropriate information or material.

You are responsible for, and bear all the costs of, installing and maintaining your own systems and equipment necessary to access and use the Website.

You are liable for and must indemnify the Women’s, and its Related Parties against 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 Website 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 Website that you become aware of to the Women’s.

2.   Electronic Communications

The Women’s may send you electronic communications which relate to your use of the Website or other information that may be of interest to you as a visitor of the Website, including health-related information and information relating to the Women’s other products and services.  As a condition of your registration for electronic communications from the Women’s, you consent to receive commercial electronic messages from the Women’s using your email address. You may withdraw your consent at any time.

Despite your consent to electronic communications, the Women’s reserves the right to communicate with you, or require you to communicate with the Women’s, in person, by post or fax in order for the Women’s to meet its legal obligations, or where the Women’s considers electronic communication to be impracticable, inadequate or inappropriate.

3.   Intellectual Property

3.1.  Ownership of Data and Other Intellectual Property

3.1.1. Clinical Guidelines

The Clinical Guidelines available on this Website contain a variety of copyright material. Some of this is the intellectual property of individuals (as named); some is owned by The Royal Women’s Hospital itself; some material is owned by others (clearly indicated) and other material is in the public domain.

Except for materials which are unambiguously and unarguably in the public domain, only material owned by The Royal Women’s Hospital and so indicated, may be copied, provided that textual and graphical content is not altered and that the source is acknowledged. The Royal Women’s Hospital reserves the right to revoke that permission at any time. Permission is not given for any commercial use or sale of this material.

No other material anywhere on this Website may be copied (except as legally allowed for under the Copyright Act 1968) or further disseminated without the express and written permission of the legal holder of that copyright.

3.1.2. General content

The Website 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 Website) are owned by the Women’s or its third party licensors, and are protected by Australian and international copyright and other intellectual property laws.

You acknowledge and agree that the Women’s owns all other data and information uploaded onto, or created by or using, the Website.  Without limiting this clause, the Women’s 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 the Women’s. You agree that the Women’s 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.

3.2.  Intellectual Property Licences

The Women’s grants you a revocable licence to download, copy and print the content on the Website 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 Website (or any content on it) in any way, except as otherwise expressly stated on the Website or with the Women’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 Website or in materials accessed via the Website (You must include the Women’s copyright notice in any copies of the information obtained from the Website); or
  • re-engineer, create derived works from, reverse engineer, disassemble, or decompile any part of the Website,

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.

The Women’s reserves the right to access, maintain, delete or destroy all communications or information uploaded or stored within the Website at any time.

3.3.  Use of The Women’s trademarks and related IP

You agree not to use the Women’s Branding (name, trade name, service marks, trademarks, trade dress or logo of the Women’s (or its related parties, suppliers or licensors)) in publicity releases, advertising, promotional materials, direct mail, seminars, on your Website, or in other communications without the express prior written consent of the Women’s.  All uses of Branding will inure to the benefit of the owner of such logos, trademarks, trade names and/or other branding devices.

3.4.  Linking to this Website

The Women’s encourages links to the Website.  If you do create or maintain a link to the Website you agree to these Terms of Use and you:

  • are encouraged to link to www.thewomens.org.au (and not other parts of this Website) 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 Website;
  • must link to www.thewomens.org.au rather than listing the Women’s telephone or fax numbers or office details;
  • must ensure that any links are presented in a way that fairly represents the Women’s and the Website;
  • you may not use the Women’s logo or trade marks and must not give the impression that you or your Website is endorsed or sponsored by the Women’s; and
  • comply with the intellectual property conditions set out in these Terms of Use (including not framing, reformatting or altering any files or information without the Women’s consent).

The Women’s may in its absolute discretion require you to remove, and not create any further, links to the Website or any content that is in breach of these Terms of Use.

4.   Privacy

The Women’s will treat any personal information provided by you or collected in relation to in accordance with its privacy policy and all relevant laws.

5.   Disclaimers and exclusion of liability

5.1.  Disclaimer

The Website (including material on the Website) 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, the Women’s 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 Website by the Women’s or your use of the Website or any other linked Website;
  • the functionality, features and performance of the Website (the Women’s may withdraw, suspend or discontinue any functionality or feature at any time);
  • legality or suitability of the Website or any services provided through it;
  • title and non-infringement of third party rights;
  • the security of Website, the Website or any linked Website, 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 Website;
  • the Website 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 Website or any inked Website, or of any the Women’s or third party materials, information, products or services promoted or accessed via Website, the Website or any linked Website.

Despite any provision in these Terms of Use to the contrary, the Women’s 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 Website or the Women’s performance or non-performance of its obligations under these Terms of Use, even if the Women’s has been advised of the possibility of that damage.

To the extent permitted by law, in the event of any problem with the Website, any goods or services provided in connection with the Website or any dealings between you and the Women’s or any other user of the Website, you agree that:

  • your sole remedy is to cease using the Website or any information, materials, goods or services provided to, or accessed by, you in connection with the Website;
  • you release the Women’s and hold the Women’s 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 Website; 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 the Women’s is responsible for loss or damage arising from your access to or use of this Website, to the extent permitted by law, the Women’s liability is limited in any event to resupplying the relevant part of the Website or the reasonable cost of having it resupplied, and the Women’s reserves its options at law as to how it may discharge the Women’s obligations in relation to liability that cannot be lawfully excluded under these terms.

5.2.  Clinical information disclaimer

The clinical information and Clinical Guidelines available on this Website are intended to provide guidance to health care professionals, based on a thorough evaluation of research evidence, on the practical assessment and management of specific clinical issues or situations. The Guidelines allow some flexibility on the part of the health care professional based on the needs of the specific patient for whom they are caring.

Whilst appreciable care has been taken in the preparation of Clinical Guidelines, the Women's provides these as a service only and does not warrant the accuracy of these Guidelines. Any representation implied or expressed concerning the efficacy, appropriateness or suitability of any treatment or product is expressly negated.

In view of the possibility of human error and / or advances in medical knowledge, the Women's cannot and does not warrant that the information contained in the Guidelines is in every respect accurate or complete. Accordingly, the Women's will not be held responsible or liable for any errors or omissions that may be found in any of the information on this Website.

You are encouraged to consult other sources in order to confirm the information contained in any of the Guidelines and, in the event that medical treatment is required, to take professional, expert advice from a legally qualified and appropriately experienced medical practitioner.

For practitioners outside the Women’s this material is made available in good faith as a resource for use by health professionals to draw on in developing their own protocols, guided by published medical evidence. In doing so, practitioners should themselves be familiar with the literature and make their own interpretations of it.

NOTE: Care should be taken when printing any Clinical Guideline from this Website. Updates to these guidelines will take place as necessary. It is therefore advised that regular visits to this Website will be needed to access the most current version of these guidelines.

5.3.  Consumer health information disclaimer

The consumer health information materials on this Website have been provided for general information only.  While the Women’s has used reasonable endeavours to ensure the quality of the information:

  • it is provided "as is" and the Women’s 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 the Women’s, any other users of this Website 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 Website 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 the Women’s accepts no responsibility and disclaims all liability in relation to use of those materials

While the Women’s may do so, the Women’s has no obligation to review the information on the Website to ensure it is current or to correct any error, omission or inaccuracy on the Website.

The Women’s does not accept any liability to any person for the information or advice (or use of such information or advice) which is provided on the Website or incorporated into it by reference. The Women’s provide this information on the understanding that all persons accessing it take responsibility for assessing its relevance and accuracy. Women are encouraged to discuss their health needs with a health practitioner. If you have concerns about your health, you should seek advice from your health care provider or if you require urgent care you should go to the nearest Emergency Department.

5.4.  Links to 3rd party sites

Materials contained on this Website (Website Materials) may contain links to material on other Websites (Linked Materials). The links provided to other Websites are done for convenience purposes only and the Women's does not purport to sponsor, approve or endorse any of the Linked Materials.

It is the responsibility of the user to make their own decision regarding the quality, accuracy, currency, reliability and suitability of the Linked Materials for their purposes. The Women's is not liable to you or any other person for any loss or damage (however caused, including by negligence) arising from or in connection with the use of this Website and/or use of the Website Materials or Linked Materials.

If you place any reliance upon the Website Materials or Linked Materials, then you do so at your own risk.

The Royal Women's Hospital does not represent or warrant that the Website Materials or Linked Materials are free of computer viruses or other defects. The Women's recommends that virus checks should be done on any downloaded Website Materials or Linked Materials. To the extent permitted by applicable laws, all warranties, representations and implied terms are excluded.

5.5.  Changes to this Website

The Women’s may, in its absolute discretion, make changes to any part of this Website or any content on it (subject to express right set out in these terms) without your consent or providing notice to you.

5.6.  Private Health Insurance and Medicare

The Women’s makes no representations or warranties regarding any benefits, compensation or reimbursements which you may be entitled to in relation to utilisation of this Website and any goods or services provided in connection with, or referred to in, this Website (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.

5.7.  The Women’s related parties

Each disclaimer is given on behalf of, and each indemnity, waiver, exclusion or limitation of liability is held for the benefit of, the Women’s, the Women’s licensors and contractors (and each of their officers, employees, agents and contractors).

6.   Social Media

Parts of this Website have social media functionality.  In addition the Women’s has a number of social media channels including Facebook, Twitter and YouTube.  These social media channels are provided by third parties and are subject to the relevant 3rd party provider's terms and conditions (even if you access that channel via any link from this Website).

The Women’s encourages you to participate in 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 Women’s considers inappropriate.

The Women’s may remove any content submitted by you which the Women’s consider (in its absolute discretion) in breach of these terms.  While the Women’s will monitor the content submitted on any of its social media channels, it may not monitor all content at all times.  Accordingly, you should notify the Women’s of any inappropriate content and you should ignore any content that may be offensive to you until it is removed by the Women’s.

You acknowledge that the Women’s owns any content submitted by you in accordance with this clause.

Without limiting any other provision in these terms, the Women’s disclaims all liability, is not responsible for, and does not endorse any content submitted by any user on a social media channel (even if the Women’s does not remove that content).  In addition any content submitted by the Women’s or any of its personnel is subject to any disclaimers in these terms and is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment provided by an appropriately qualified health care professional.

7.   Security

7.1.  Security of this Website generally

While the Women’s uses its best endeavours to implement security controls and prevent unauthorised access to, or use of, the Website, you acknowledge that the internet is an insecure public network where there is a risk that your use of, and interactions with, this Website may be viewed, intercepted or modified by third parties and that this Website and any information on this Website may contain Harmful Code.

To the extent permitted by law, the Women’s does not guarantee that there will not be, or accept any liability for, any Harmful Code on the Website 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 Website.

The Women’s may use cookies in relation to accessing and using this Website.

7.2.  Basic online security – your obligations

While you are ultimately responsible for your own online security, the Women’s 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;
  • 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;
  • 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.

7.3.  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 Website is based) which you access via the Website 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.

This clause 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 the Women’s, but only to the extent of such authorization.

8.   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
  • Website means the Website at www.thewomens.org.au and any related sites owned or maintained by, or on behalf of, the Women’s.  Each reference to Website includes a reference to all information and content on these sites.

These Terms of Use are governed by the laws in force in the State of Victoria, Australia.  By visiting and using the Website you unconditionally submit to the jurisdiction of the courts of that State and all courts with jurisdiction to hear appeals from those courts.

The Women’s 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 the Women’s 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.

The Women’s shall not be liable for any non-performance in connection with the Website 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 Women’s.

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 Website) set out the entire agreement between the parties and supersedes all previous and contemporaneous agreements, understandings and arrangements with respect to their subject matter.

9.   Questions

If you have any questions about this Website, please contact the Women’s.

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