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Terms and conditions

1. Parties to agreement

These terms and conditions (Terms) govern your use of the Rental Bonds Portal.

2. Definitions

Unless the context otherwise requires:

“Account” means an account, whether held by an Agency, Lessor or Tenant, containing details of the Agency’s, Lessor’s or Tenant’s properties, in respect of which Residential Tenancy Agreements are in place, and accessed through the Rental Bonds Portal.

“Act” means the Residential Tenancies Act 1997 (ACT).

“ACT Digital Authentication Service” means the ACT Digital Account provided by the Chief Minister, Treasury and Economic Development Directorate for the ACT Government through www.myaccount.act.gov.au.

"ACT Revenue Office" means the business unit known as the “ACT Revenue Office” within the Chief Minister, Treasury and Economic Development Directorate, an administrative unit of the Australian Capital Territory, the body politic established by section 7 of the Australian Capital Territory (Self-Government) Act 1988 (C'th).

“Agency Administrator” means a person registered to use the Rental Bonds Portal and nominated by an Agency to maintain and manage the Agency’s Account on the Rental Bonds Portal.

“Agency” means a company licensed as a registered real estate agent under the Agents Act 2003 and registered with an Account.

"Database" means the database held by the ACT Revenue Office in relation to rental bonds to which you have access pursuant to these Terms.

“Lessor” means the person granting a right of occupation under a residential tenancy agreement who is registered to use the Rental Bonds Portal in relation to any residential tenancy agreements to which it is a party.

"Person" means an individual or a corporation.

“Property Manager” means a person acting as a managing agent, office administrator or finance officer authorised by an Agency Administrator of an Agency to access and use the Agency’s Account.

“Rental Bond” means a bond lodged in accordance with or for the purpose of the Act.

“Rental Bonds Portal” means the ACT Rental Bonds Portal, and includes all programs and services provided to allow you to access information held in the Database and transact in relation to Rental Bonds for the purposes of the Act.

“Residential Tenancy Agreement” means a residential tenancy agreement under the Act.

“Tenant” means a person that has a right of occupation under a Residential Tenancy Agreement.

"we" or "us" means the ACT Revenue Office.

"You" means any person registered to use the Rental Bonds Portal, including an Agency, Agency Administrator, Property Manager, Lessor or Tenant; and “your” has a corresponding meaning.

3. Access to Rental Bonds Portal

In consideration for your acceptance of these Terms the ACT Revenue Office will provide you with access to the Rental Bonds Portal in accordance with these Terms.

If you are an Agency:

  • you may appoint one or more Agency Administrators;

If you are a Lessor:

  • you must register to use the Rental Bonds Portal yourself,

or if the Lessor is a company:

  • you must register as an individual Account holder on behalf of the company; and
  • you warrant that you are authorised by the company to bind it, the Lessor, to these Terms, and take any action on behalf of the Lessor required by these Terms;

If you are a Tenant:

  • You must register to use the Rental Bonds Portal yourself, using the ACT Digital Authentication Service; and
  • ensure you have read and understood the Rental Bonds Portal Privacy Notice, and are aware of where to locate the ACT Revenue Office Privacy Policy.

4. Agency Administrator

An Agency Administrator must be, and warrants that they are:

  • the Agency; or
  • otherwise authorised by the Agency to bind the Agency to these Terms, and take any action on behalf of the Agency required by these Terms.

5. Agency obligations

You must:

  • limit access to the Rental Bonds Portal to Agency Administrators and Property Managers within your Agency;
  • ensure every person to whom you provide access to the Rental Bonds Portal complies with these Terms, and has read and understood the Rental Bonds Portal Privacy Notice and ACT Revenues Privacy Policy; and
  • provide tenants with a copy of the Rental Bonds Portal Privacy Notice or advise them where to locate it and the ACT Revenue Office’s Privacy Policy when you are lodging their bond.

6. Agency, Agency Administrator, Property Manager, Lessor and Tenant Obligations

You must:

  • only use the Rental Bonds Portal for its intended purposes; and
  • enter information and transactions into the Rental Bonds Portal that are true and correct; and
  • conduct transactions and use the Rental Bonds Portal in accordance with the Act and with all other laws.
  • use the Rental Bonds Portal in accordance with any requirements or instructions contained within the Rental Bonds Portal.
  • only access the Rental Bonds Portal using your own username and password, and not disclose (or allow to become disclosed) your password to any other person.

The Agency Administrator is bound by these Terms to the same extent and in the same manner as an Agency, Lessor or Tenant.

7. Administration of Accounts

The holder of an Account (whether an Agency, Lessor or Tenant) or, in the case of an Agency, the Agency Administrator, must manage the Account details and transactions on the Rental Bonds Portal and must ensure currency of their online profile, including:

  • contact details;
  • banking details (including tenants’ details for the purpose of issuing refunds);
  • delivery instructions for receipts and notices; and
  • management of access and accounts for the Agency’s property managers.

8. Security

You must:

  • report any suspicious or unauthorised use of an account or the Rental Bonds Portal to us immediately after becoming aware of it;
  • limit the access of information on the Rental Bonds Portal for the purposes of administering the lodgement and refund of Rental Bonds online;
  • maintain the confidentiality of information and transactions contained in the Rental Bonds Portal at all times and in accordance with applicable requirements of the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth); and
  • maintain the confidentiality of your username and password.

9. Variation

We may change or discontinue any feature on or accessible through the Rental Bonds Portal at any time, including your ability to conduct any transactions, site content, hours of availability, equipment required for access and these Terms. Any changes will be set out on the ACT Revenue Website.

10. Interruption to service

You acknowledge that we do not guarantee that your access to the Rental Bonds Portal will be uninterrupted. We will use our reasonable endeavours to provide reasonable access.

There may be unplanned interruptions to access to the Rental Bonds Portal, or unplanned limitations to the various functionality of the Rental Bonds Portal. Where such interruptions occur, we will endeavour to reinstate access at the earliest opportunity.

We may schedule maintenance periods, where access to the Rental Bonds Portal will be interrupted, in order to allow upgrades or maintenance to the Rental Bonds Portal, its data, or associated websites. We will endeavour to provide notification of scheduled outages on the ACT Revenue Office website and the Rental Bonds Portal.

11. Risk and Liability

You acknowledge that you use the Rental Bonds Portal solely at your own risk.

We will not be liable to you or third parties for any loss, damage or injury (including any damage to your records or data) arising from your use or attempted use of the Rental Bonds Portal or resulting from any interruptions to your access to the Rental Bonds Portal, except to the extent, if any, which we are not able to lawfully exclude such liability.

12. Access outside Australia

We do not represent that material or services on the ACT Revenue website, or access to the Rental Bonds Portal, is appropriate or available for use in countries outside Australia. If you choose to access this Rental Bonds Portal or the ACT Revenue Office website from outside Australia, you are responsible for compliance with foreign and local laws.

13. Termination or suspension of access to the Rental Bonds Portal

We may terminate or suspend an Agency Administrator’s, Agency’s, Lessor’s, Property Manager’s or Tenant’s access to the Rental Bonds Portal at any time and for any reason, including where we consider that an Agency Administrator, Agency, Lessor, Property Manager or Tenant has used the Rental Bonds Portal in a way that is not authorised under these Terms.

If we terminate or suspend any account we will provide you with notice of any termination or suspension as soon as possible after the termination or suspension. If your account has been suspended or terminated, and you are required by the Act to undertake an action which would usually be accessed through the Rental Bonds Portal, you must contact us within 1 business day on (02) 6207 0028 or alternatively email rb@act.gov.au, and we will provide instructions in relation to alternative arrangements.

14. Intellectual property and copyright

The Australian Capital Territory owns copyright of material contained on the ACT Revenue Website, or accessed through the Rental Bonds Portal. You acknowledge that you do not acquire any rights to the intellectual property contained in the information, including in the Database, provided to you through the Rental Bonds Portal.

You may download, display, print and copy, any material accessed through the Rental Bonds Portal, in unaltered form only, for the purpose of administering bonds or for non-commercial use by you.

Except as permitted above, or by the Copyright Act 1968 (Cth) you must not copy, adapt, publish, distribute or commercialise any material accessed through the Rental Bonds Portal without our permission.

15. Use or disclosure of information

The Rental Bonds Portal is made available only for the purpose of administering bonds. You must not use any data, including personal information, accessed through the Rental Bonds Portal or facilitate direct online access to any third party for any other purpose.

16. Use of electronic communications

The Electronics Transactions Act 2001 (ETA) applies to Act provisions that require information to be given in writing or that require a person’s signature. The Rental Bonds Portal enables such information to be communicated electronically. Where the Act requires information to be given in writing, this can be given electronically where that option is available under the Rental Bonds Portal: ETA s8. Where the Act requires a signature, that requirement can be met electronically where available using the Rental Bonds Portal: ETA s9. Such information will be accepted electronically where it is provided in accordance with the requirements in relation to the Rental Bonds Portal and the ETA.

Giving false or misleading information, whether through electronic communications or otherwise, is still an offence under the Criminal Code.

17. Governing law

These Terms are governed by and will be interpreted in accordance with the laws of the Australian Capital Territory, Australia.

18. Entire agreement

These Terms constitutes the whole agreement between you and us, and supersedes all prior representations, agreements, statements and understandings, whether verbal or in writing.

19. Waiver

None of these Terms will be taken to be waived except by written notice.