Terms & Conditions

Melbourne West IT Solutions – Terms of Service

Effective Date: 15 November 2024 Last Updated: 18 Jan 2026

These Terms of Service (“Terms”) govern all services provided by Melbourne West IT Solutions (“MWITS”, “we”, “us”, “our”) to the Client (“you”, “your”). By engaging our services, you agree to these Terms.

These Terms apply to all service categories, including:

  • Break/Fix IT Support

  • Remote Support

  • On‑Site Support

  • Managed Services

  • Cybersecurity Services

  • Domain Name Services

  • Website Hosting

  • Email Hosting

  • Emergency Services

  • Project Work

  • Consulting

  • Hardware/Software Procurement

 

1. Definitions

1.1 Services – All IT support, repairs, cybersecurity, networking, hosting, domain, consulting, and related services provided by MWITS. 1.2 Client – The individual or entity engaging MWITS. 1.3 Agreement – Formed when a service is booked, confirmed, or delivered. 1.4 Business Hours – Monday–Friday, 8:00 AM to 8:00 PM (excluding public holidays). 1.5 Emergency Services – Any service requested outside Business Hours. 1.6 Managed Services – Ongoing IT support delivered under a subscription or retainer agreement. 1.7 Third‑Party Providers – Vendors, registrars, hosting providers, software vendors, cloud platforms, and infrastructure providers outside MWITS’ control. 1.8 Zone 1 – Areas within 20 km of Melton. 1.9 Zone 2 – Western suburbs beyond Zone 1.

 

2. Acceptance of Terms

2.1 By requesting services, accepting a quotation, approving a proposal, paying an invoice, submitting an order, or continuing to use services provided by MWITS, the Client agrees to be bound by these Terms. 2.2 If the Client engages MWITS on behalf of a business, organisation, or third party, the Client warrants that they are authorised to do so.

 

3. Scope of Services

3.1 These Terms apply to all on‑site, remote, managed, hosting, domain, and cybersecurity services. 3.2 Services are delivered during Business Hours unless otherwise agreed. 3.3 MWITS may refuse service if the environment is unsafe, inaccessible, or non‑compliant. 3.4 Services are limited to the issues described at booking unless otherwise approved.

 

4. Service Availability

4.1 MWITS strives to provide prompt service but may reschedule due to emergencies, illness, or technician availability. 4.2 Clients will be notified as early as possible. 4.3 Rescheduling by MWITS does not entitle the Client to a refund.

 

5. Travel Zones & Fees

5.1 On‑site services are available across Melbourne’s western suburbs. 5.2 Travel fees apply beyond Zone 2 and will be disclosed prior to booking. 5.3 MWITS may decline service requests for excessively distant locations.

 

6. Pricing & Billing

6.1 Standard Rates:

  • Remote & On‑Site Support: $120/hour

  • Emergency Services: +50% surcharge

  • Minimum On‑Site Charge: 1 hour

  • Minimum Remote Charge: 1 hour

6.2 After the first hour, billing is in 30‑minute increments. 6.3 Payments are due immediately upon service completion unless otherwise agreed. 6.4 Invoices not paid within 7 days may result in suspension of services. 6.5 Repeat late payments may require prepayment for future services.

6.6 Chargebacks 

Unauthorised or fraudulent chargebacks may be treated as a breach of these Terms. MWITS may recover reasonable costs associated with investigating or disputing such chargebacks.

 

7. Service Suspension 

7.1 MWITS may suspend, restrict, or terminate services where:

  • invoices remain overdue;

  • security risks exist;

  • abuse, harassment, or unacceptable conduct occurs;

  • legal or regulatory compliance requires suspension;

  • service continuation creates operational, cybersecurity, or infrastructure risk.

7.2 Suspension does not waive the Client’s obligation to pay outstanding or ongoing charges. 7.3 Services may be reinstated once the cause of suspension is resolved to MWITS’ satisfaction.

 

8. No Fix, No Fee Guarantee

8.1 Applies only when MWITS cannot resolve the issue or provide a viable alternative. 8.2 Does not apply when:

  • Issues are caused by manufacturer limitations or proprietary restrictions

  • The Client provides incorrect or incomplete information

  • The Client declines recommended repairs, upgrades, or replacements

  • Issues are intermittent, malware‑related, or caused by third‑party outages

  • Unsupported or end‑of‑life hardware is involved

8.3 Diagnostic fees may still apply unless explicitly waived.

 

9. Follow‑Up Assurance

9.1 One (1) free follow‑up visit is provided if the same issue persists. 9.2 Conditions:

  • Request must be made within 7 days

  • Device/system must remain unaltered

  • Applies only to the original issue

 

10. Cancellations & No‑Shows

10.1 Cancellations must be made at least 24 hours prior. 10.2 Late cancellations: $20 fee 10.3 No‑shows: $20 fee 10.4 Repeated cancellations may require prepayment.

 

11. Client Responsibilities

The Client agrees to:

  • Provide accurate information

  • Ensure safe access to equipment

  • Maintain valid software licences

  • Back up all data prior to service

  • Provide required passwords, credentials, and access

  • Maintain a safe working environment

MWITS is not liable for delays caused by missing information or unsafe conditions.

 

12. Data Responsibility & Liability

12.1 The Client is solely responsible for data backups unless a managed backup service is purchased. 12.2 MWITS takes reasonable precautions but is not liable for data loss unless caused by gross negligence. 12.3 No guarantee is made for data recovery success.

 

13. Service Limitations

13.1 Services apply only to issues described at booking. 13.2 New issues discovered during service may incur additional charges. 13.3 MWITS is not responsible for:

  • Third‑party outages

  • ISP issues

  • Cloud provider downtime

  • Software bugs

  • Unsupported or end‑of‑life hardware

  • Manufacturer restrictions

 

14. Client Decisions 

14.1 All recommendations, advice, or guidance provided by MWITS are advisory only. 14.2 Final decisions regarding implementation, configuration, upgrades, replacements, or security controls remain solely the Client’s responsibility. 14.3 To the extent permitted by law, MWITS is not responsible for outcomes arising from Client decisions, delayed approvals, refusal of recommendations, or implementation choices.

 

15. Warranty

15.1 Hardware carries manufacturer warranty only. 15.2 MWITS provides a 14‑day warranty on repair labour for the original issue only. 15.3 Warranty is void if:

  • The device is altered

  • New software/hardware is installed

  • External factors (power surges, malware, etc.) cause new issues

 

16. Right to Refuse Service

MWITS may refuse or terminate service if:

  • The environment is unsafe

  • The Client is abusive or non‑compliant

  • Illegal, fraudulent, or malicious activity is suspected

 

17. Collection Fees

17.1 If any invoice remains unpaid after the due date, MWITS reserves the right to forward the outstanding amount to a debt collection agency or legal representative for recovery without further notice.

17.2 The Client is fully responsible for all costs associated with debt recovery, including but not limited to:

  • collection agency fees;

  • legal fees;

  • administrative fees;

  • court filing fees;

  • enforcement costs;

  • interest charges;

  • any additional reasonable expenses incurred by MWITS in recovering the debt.

17.3 Interest may accrue on overdue amounts at a rate of 5% per week (or the maximum permitted by law) until the balance is paid in full.

17.4 Referral of an overdue account to collections does not waive MWITS’ right to suspend, restrict, or terminate services under these Terms

 

18. Non‑Solicitation

Clients may not solicit or hire MWITS staff or contractors for 12 months after service completion.

 

19. Feedback & Complaints

19.1 Clients are encouraged to raise any concerns, issues, or complaints directly with MWITS to allow a reasonable opportunity for resolution before escalating externally. 19.2 MWITS will address concerns promptly and professionally.

 

20. Intellectual Property

Scripts, tools, and custom software created by MWITS remain MWITS’ property unless transferred in writing.

 

21. Ownership of Goods 

21.1 All hardware, equipment, licences, subscriptions, and materials supplied by MWITS remain the property of MWITS until paid for in full. 21.2 MWITS may suspend, restrict, reclaim, transfer, or terminate access to unpaid services, licences, subscriptions, or equipment where permitted by law.

 

22. Equipment Left On‑Site

MWITS equipment remains our property and must be returned upon request. Fees may apply for non‑return.

 

23. Privacy

MWITS complies with the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth) and our Privacy Policy.

 

24. Governing Law

These Terms are governed by the laws of Victoria, Australia.

 

25. Force Majeure

MWITS is not liable for delays caused by events outside our control.

 

26. Updates to Terms

Continued use of services constitutes acceptance of updated Terms.

 

27. Managed Services

27.1 Inclusions

Depending on the plan purchased, Managed Services may include:

  • Remote support

  • Monitoring and alerting

  • Patch management

  • Basic cybersecurity tools (e.g., antivirus, email filtering, MFA enforcement)

  • Scheduled maintenance

  • User onboarding/offboarding

  • Basic reporting

  • Vendor liaison (reasonable efforts only)

27.2 Exclusions

Unless explicitly included in writing, Managed Services do not include:

  • After‑hours support

  • On‑site visits

  • Hardware replacement

  • Third‑party licensing costs

  • Cloud outages or vendor failures

  • Major projects or migrations

  • Data recovery

  • Custom development

  • Cyber incident response

  • Backup storage unless purchased

27.3 SLA Response Targets (Best Effort)

  • Critical: 2–4 hours

  • High: Same business day

  • Medium: 1–2 business days

  • Low: 3–5 business days

27.4 Billing

Retainer services are billed in advance. Unused hours do not roll over unless stated. Termination requires 30 days’ written notice.

 

28. Cybersecurity Services

28.1 Cybersecurity reduces risk but cannot eliminate it. 28.2 MWITS is not liable for breaches caused by:

  • Pre‑existing vulnerabilities

  • Zero‑day exploits

  • Weak passwords

  • Client negligence

  • Third‑party failures

28.3 Client must maintain:

  • Strong passwords

  • Updated systems

  • Antivirus

  • MFA where applicable

 

29. Business Continuity

29.1 The Client remains solely responsible for:

  • business continuity planning;

  • disaster recovery planning;

  • cyber insurance;

  • testing and validating recovery procedures.

29.2 Recommendations or guidance from MWITS do not transfer operational responsibility for business continuity or disaster recovery.

 

30. Domain Name Services

(All clauses preserved and professionally rewritten.)

30.1 MWITS may provide domain registration, renewal, transfer, DNS management, and related services through third‑party registrars. 30.2 Client is responsible for accurate registrant information, ABN/ACN eligibility, and timely renewal payments. 30.3 Eligibility checks may occur at any time; MWITS does not control outcomes. 30.4 MWITS is not liable for domain suspension due to invalid eligibility. 30.5 Transfers may involve delays, downtime, or propagation issues. 30.6 DNS changes may take up to 48 hours or longer. 30.7 MWITS is not liable for domain loss, failed renewals, SEO loss, or revenue loss. 30.8 Domains rely on third‑party systems; MWITS is not liable for outages. 30.9 MWITS may suspend domains for unpaid invoices, fraud, or abuse. 30.10 Transfers away may require full payment and verification.

 

31. Website Hosting Services

31.1 Hosting includes shared hosting, WordPress hosting, VPS hosting, cloud hosting, DNS, SSL, backups, migrations, and related support. 31.2 MWITS uses commercially reasonable efforts to maintain availability but does not guarantee uninterrupted uptime, speed, compatibility, or performance. 31.3 Hosting relies on third‑party datacentres and providers; MWITS is not liable for outages. 31.4 Client must maintain secure passwords, updates, licences, and independent backups unless purchased. 31.5 Fair use applies; excessive usage may result in restrictions. 31.6 MWITS does not guarantee immunity from cyberattacks. 31.7 Backups are not guaranteed unless explicitly included. 31.8 Migration is best‑effort and may involve downtime. 31.9 MWITS may suspend hosting for unpaid invoices, malware, abuse, or illegal content. 31.10 Hosting renews automatically unless cancelled. Renewal periods and billing cycles are defined on quotations or invoices. 31.11 30 days’ written notice is required for cancellation. 31.12 Hosting remains billable during the notice period. 31.13 Early termination within the first 3 months may incur a $99 fee.

31.14 Data Deletion (Updated)

Following cancellation, suspension, or termination, MWITS may permanently remove service data after any applicable retention period.

31.15 Hosting cancellation does not transfer domain ownership. 31.16 MWITS is not liable for downtime, data loss, cyberattacks, SEO loss, or business interruption.

 

32. Email Hosting Services

32.1 Includes mailbox hosting, Microsoft 365 management, spam filtering, DNS configuration, backups, and migrations. 32.2 Client must not use email services for spam, phishing, fraud, malware, or illegal activity. 32.3 MWITS is not liable for email loss, DNS failures, third‑party outages, or migration issues.

 

33. Consumer Guarantees 

33.1 Nothing in these Terms excludes, restricts, or modifies any rights, guarantees, or remedies available under the Australian Consumer Law (ACL). 33.2 Where MWITS is permitted to limit remedies under the ACL, MWITS does so as permitted by law.

 

34. Limitation of Liability 

34.1 To the maximum extent permitted by law, the total aggregate liability of MWITS for all claims arising out of or in connection with the Services is limited to the lesser of: (a) the total fees paid by the Client in the preceding twelve (12) months; or (b) $10,000 AUD.

34.2 This limitation applies regardless of the nature of the loss or damage.

34.3 MWITS is not liable for:

  • Data loss

  • Downtime

  • Lost profits

  • Business interruption

  • Cyberattacks

  • Third‑party outages

  • Domain loss

  • Hosting failures

  • SEO ranking loss

  • Loss of goodwill

  • Indirect or consequential loss

 

35. Dispute Resolution 

35.1 Clients should notify MWITS of any concerns or disputes as soon as reasonably practicable and ideally within thirty (30) days of becoming aware of the issue. 35.2 MWITS will respond within 5 business days. 35.3 Mediation must be attempted before legal action.

 

36. Termination

36.1 Either party may terminate before service commencement. 36.2 If terminated after commencement, all work completed is billable and non‑refundable. 36.3 MWITS may terminate services for non‑payment, abuse, or breach of these Terms.

 

37. Entire Agreement

These Terms constitute the entire agreement between MWITS and the Client.