Website Terms of Use

General

This website is operated by VFS Services Australia Pty Ltd ABN 72 125 531 437 ("VFS") under the domain name www.vfs-in-au.net ("Website").

These terms of use (as varied by VFS from time to time) ("Terms") govern your use of the Website. By accessing, browsing and/or using the Website, you will be deemed to have read, understood and agreed to these Terms. If you do not wish to be bound by these Terms, you must immediately discontinue accessing, browsing or using the Website and not access, browse of use the Website again in the future.

Do not use the Website if you cannot enter, or are barred from entering, into legally binding contracts, or you are under the age of 18, or you are temporarily or indefinitely suspended or prohibited from accessing or using the Website or any websites linked to the Website.

Access

You agree and understand that VFS may prevent or restrict your access to the Website for any technical, security or other reason at VFS' sole and absolute discretion

Variation of these Terms

VFS may vary these Terms at any time. In the event that VFS varies these Terms, VFS will provide notice by publishing the varied Terms on the Website. You accept that by doing that, VFS will have provided you with sufficient notice of the variation to the Terms.

Intellectual Property Rights

The material, products, technology and processes contained on the Website are protected by copyright and other intellectual property rights owned by VFS and third parties and you acknowledge that the Website, technology used in connection with the Website, VFS's services, all software, material, products, information, communications, text, graphics, links, electronic art, animations, audio, video, photo and other data available within the Website ("Website Content") are provided by VFS or third party providers and are the copyrighted works of VFS and/or such third party owners.

Under the Copyright Act 1968 (Cth) (as amended), you are limited as to the amount of the Website Content that you may download, print, copy, cut and paste from the Website or otherwise make copies of. It is your responsibility to ensure that you do not infringe any applicable law.

You may not store any significant portion of any Website Content of VFS's services in any form. Also, you may not copy, reproduce, publish, distribute, modify, create derivative works of, rent, lease, sell, transfer, display, transmit, compile, collect in a database or in any other manner commercially exploit any part of the Content or VFS's services in whole or in part unless expressly authorized by VFS or the relevant third party owner.

You acknowledge that VFS and/or third party providers remain the owners of the Website Content and that you have no intellectual property rights in the Website Content.

The trade marks (whether registered or unregistered) and logos on the Website ("trade marks") are owned by VFS or third parties. You are strictly prohibited from using, displaying, coping, modifying, transmitting, storing, publishing or distributing any of the trade marks, or providing links to any of the trade marks, without express permission from VFS or the relevant third party in relation to their trade marks.

The products, technology and processes contained in the Website may be the subject of other intellectual property rights owned by VFS or third parties. No licence is granted in respect of those intellectual property rights other than as set out in these Terms. Your use of the Website must not in any way infringe the intellectual property rights of any person.

Information on the Website Does Not Represent Professional Advice

All material and information provided on the Website is provided as general information only. It is not intended as professional advice and must not be relied upon as such. Prior to entering into a transaction or taking any particular course of action in connection with the Website, you should make your own inquiries and seek independent advice tailored to your specific circumstances and objectives.

External Websites

The Website may contain links or pointers to, or frame, websites of third parties ("external websites"). VFS is not required to maintain or update links or pointers to any external websites.

Unless expressly stated to the contrary on the Website, any link or pointer to, or framing of, an external website is not to be construed as an endorsement, sponsorship, approval, recommendation or preference by VFS of the owners or operators of the external website, or of any information, products or services referred to on the external website or any practices associated with those external websites.

You agree that access to any external website is entirely at your own risk and that VFS will not be responsible or liable, directly or indirectly, for any damage or loss caused or alleged to be caused by or in connection with, use or reliance on any goods or services available on or through any external website.

Accuracy and Usefulness of Information on the Website

All material and information on the Website is provided in good faith and is believed to be accurate and current as at the date of publication. However, VFS provides no warranty or guarantee that any material or information on the Website or external websites will be accurate or complete.

VFS will not be liable for any losses or damages whatsoever whether in an action in contract, negligence or other tort, arising out of or in connection with access to the Website or the material and information contained on the Website. All warranties of any kind are excluded to the maximum extent permitted by law.

VFS makes no guarantee as to the usefulness of the material and information on the Website, nor of any of the products or services promoted on the Website or via linked websites.

Prohibitions against unlawful use

You warrant that you will not do any of the following things in connection with you accessing, browsing or using the Website:

• post any content or items in an inappropriate category or area on the Website
  
• post any material on the Website for any purpose other than the normal purpose for which the Website is intended
  
• violate any laws, third party rights, or policies of VFS
  
• hide or spoof your IP address
  
• intentionally bounce your communications through any intermediate computers
  
• alter any logs upon gaining access to the Website
  
• interfere with the technological operations of the Website
  
• manipulate or attempt to manipulate any content or material on the Website
  
• post any false, inaccurate, misleading, defamatory, or libelous content on the Website
  
• use any robot, spider, search engine, scraper or other means (whether manual, automated, mechanical, electrical or otherwise either existing or that may be invented or discovered in the future) to access the Website or to do any of the acts described in the bullet points above, for any purpose other than the normal purpose for which the Website is intended

You further warrant that you will use the Website for personal or non-commercial purposes only.

Privacy

By accessing, browsing and using this Website, you agree to the VFS Privacy Statement


Disclaimer of Warranty and Limitation of Liability

While VFS makes and strives to provide secure and continuous connectivity and internet access, VFS, the Embassy/Consulate and/or its clients shall not be responsible or liable to you for any direct or indirect loss or consequential damage, including among other things, any loss of dates obtained, time, data or information furnished or entered on the website or the application forms which may, among other things, have occurred as a result of any events or acts leading to interruptions in internet connectivity, transmission of signals, server breakdown, systems crashing, hacking, servicing and any other events or acts.

You will not hold VFS responsible for other users' actions or inactions, including acts or things as a result of which there may be loss of connectivity, loss of dates and/or loss of data furnished.

Further, while secure and continuous access to the website is sought to be provided, VFS does not guarantee continuous or secure access to its website and operation of the Website, as the same may be interfered by numerous factors outside the control of VFS . Accordingly, to the extent legally permitted, VFS excludes all implied warranties, terms and conditions. VFS is not liable for any loss of money, time, goodwill, or reputation, or any special, indirect, or consequential loss or damages arising out of your use of its website.

To the extent permissible by law, VFS expressly disclaims all conditions and warranties, express or implied, in respect of the service. Where the law precludes such exclusion and implies certain conditions and warranties into this agreement, the liability of VFS for breach of such condition or warranty shall be limited, at the option of VFS, to any one or more of the following:

• the re-supply of the relevant goods or services; or
• the cost of the re-supply of the relevant goods or services; or
• any amount paid by you to VFS in respect of the relevant goods or services.

Nothing done in pursuance of this Part whether constituted by a refund of fees or a payment of money or otherwise shall constitute an admission of liability by VFS or any of its associate entities or related parties

You agree that in no circumstances will VFS be liable for any indirect, incidental, special and/or consequential losses or damages of whatever nature arising out of your use of the website or of any of the VFS content (including, but not limited to, losses or damages arising out of, or attributable to, an act or omission by VFS).

Indemnity

You agree to indemnify and hold VFS, its officers, directors, agents, related entities, subsidiaries, joint venture partners, employees, contractors and sub-contractors and harmless from any claim or demand, including reasonable attorneys fees, made by any third party due to or arising out of the breach of these terms, or violation by you of any law of any country or of the rights of a third party.

No Guarantees as to the Service

The Website contains downloadable materials and links to external websites.

VFS is not responsible for, and has no control over, the content of downloadable materials or external sites.

You understand that VFS cannot and does not guarantee, warrant or represent that files or software of any kind, or from any source, available for downloading through the Website, will be free of infection or viruses, worms, Trojan horses or other code or defects that manifest contaminating or destructive properties.

Prices and Payments

Unless states to the contrary, all fees, charges or other amounts quoted on the Website are quoted in Australian Dollars ("AUD") and are inclusive of any applicable goods and services tax ("GST").

All payments to be made to VFS must be in AUD and must be inclusive of any applicable GST. A payment to be made to VFS must always be made in accordance with VFS' payment terms that apply to that payment.

Payments that are received in a currency other than AUD will not be accepted.

All fees, charges or other amounts quoted on the Website are subject to change without notice. You should confirm the fee, charge or other amount for a product or service before placing an order for it.

Notices

Except as explicitly stated otherwise, any notices must be given by registered ordinary post (or if posted to or from a place outside Australia, by registered Airmail) to VFS at: VFS Services Australia Pty Ltd., Level 1, 64 Clarence Street, Sydney -2000(in case of VFS) and (in your case) to the email address and/or address provided to VFS during the online registration process. Notice is deemed given 24 hours after an email is sent. VFS may issue legal notice by email or to the address provided during the online registration process.

Security

When using the World Wide Web, the Internet or third party networks or facilities, you are using networks, facilities and services that are beyond the control of VFS. You assume all risk and liability of your use of the World Wide Web, the Internet or any such third party networks, including any access to the Website via such media.

Severability

If any part of these Terms is held invalid, illegal or unenforceable, that part shall be severed and the remainder will continue to be valid and enforceable.

Waiver

The failure, delay, relaxation or indulgence on the part of VFS in exercising any power, right or remedy conferred upon VFS by these terms shall not operate as a waiver of that power, right or remedy, nor shall the exercise or any single or partial exercise of any power, right or remedy preclude any other or further exercise of such power, right or remedy or the exercise of any other power, right or remedy in these terms.

Any waiver of a breach of these terms be in writing signed by VFS granting the waiver and shall be effective only to the extent specifically set out in that waiver.

Governing Law and Submission to Jurisdiction

The use of the Website and these terms of use are governed by, construed and enforced in accordance with the laws in force from time to time in the state of Victoria, Australia and you irrevocably submit to the exclusive jurisdiction of the courts of the State of Victoria, Australia and their respective courts of appeal ("Courts of Victoria"). You waive any right which you may have had to object to an action being brought in the Courts of Victoria including, but not limited to claiming that the action has been brought in an inconvenient forum or that the Courts of Victoria do not have jurisdiction.

Reservation of Rights

Any rights not expressly granted to you herein are reserved by VFS.

Interpretation

In these terms, unless the context otherwise requires:

• words denoting the singular include the plural and vice versa;
  
• words denoting a natural person include a company, corporation, corporate body, government agency or authority or crown instrumentality and vice versa;
  
• headings are for convenience only and shall not affect the interpretation of these terms;
  
• a reference to a party to this Agreement includes its successors and permitted assigns.
  
• Any term in these terms of use is not to be construed against VFS because it prepared that term.