Terms & Conditions

The Childminding Co. – Family’s Agreement

1. Definitions

a. Agency means The Childminding Co Pty Ltd.

b. Agency’s Function means to connect Childminders and Families to enable a Childminder to provide services to a Family.

c. Booking Fee means the fee payable by the Family to the Agency, as dictated by the Agency and published in its Booking System.

d. Booking System means any system, whether electronic or otherwise, operated by the Agency to perform the Agency’s Function.

e. Childminder means a person to who the Agency introduces to a Family as part of the Agency’s Function.

f. Family means a person or persons who engage the Agency to match them with a person to potentially provide the Services to that person or persons.

g. Restraint Period means the period of time in which this Agreement is on foot, and for a further period of 12 months commencing at the end of this Agreement.

h. Services means the specific services required by the Family at the time a booking is made via the Agency, however these services will be in the nature of babysitting and nannying.

i. Services Fee means the fees payable by the Family to the Childminder for the provision of the Services, as dictated by the Agency and published in its Booking System.

2. Background

a. The Agency provides the Agency’s Function through the following system:

i. A potential Family contacts the Agency with a request to engage a Childminder to perform the Services for one or more dates and times.
ii. The Agency will forward that request for a booking to one or more Childminders, at its sole discretion, for their consideration.
iii. Upon receipt of a response from one or more Childminders advising that they would accept the booking, the Agency will provide the Family’s details to the Childminder, to allow the Childminder to contact the Family.
iv. Once the Family has confirmed that they are engaging a particular Childminder to perform the Services, then the booking is considered to be finalised and binding upon both the Family and the Childminder.

3. Application

a. This Contract applies to the discrete booking made by the Family via the Agency’s Booking System. It is intended to cover each and every use of the Booking System by the Family. Subsequently, these conditions may change, without notice to the Family, between each use of the Booking System.

4. The Agency’s Function

a. The Agency discloses to the Family, and the Family acknowledges and accepts that as part of the Agency’s Function:

i. Each Childminder provides the Services as an independent contractor – they are not an employee nor contractor of the Agency.
ii. The provision of the Services by the Childminder to a Family is at the risk of the Childminder, and not the Agency.
iii. The Agency does not make any particular endorsement of any Childminder – it simply connects potential Families and Childminders.

b. Further, the Agency does not offer any warranty to the Family about the provision of the Services by the Childminder, particularly but not limited:

i. the level of skills and/or expertise that the Childminder has to perform the Services;
ii. the Childminder’s ability or willingness to provide the Services in a proper and professional manner; and/or
iii. whether the Childminder will provide the Services in accordance with any relevant legislation and guidelines.

c. Whilst the Agency may make enquiries of the Childminder from time to time, as may be held out on the Agency’s promotional material, the Agency cannot warrant that this information is true and up-to-date at the time that the booking is made and/or the time that the Services are rendered.

d. In accepting the provision of the Services by the Childminder, the Family acknowledges and agrees that they have satisfied themselves, by way of their own enquiries, of the matters raised in clause 4.b and 4.c herein.

e. The Agency does not any guarantee or warranty to the Family that:

i. A Childminder will be matched with the Family for the provision of the Services.
ii. If a Childminder is matched with the Family but is unable to provide the Services, that an alternative Childminder can be sourced by the Agency.
iii. A Childminder who previously provided Services to the Family will be able to do so again on the next occasion that the Services are requested.

5. Pre-Requisites for the provision of the Services

a. The Family warrants to both the Agency and to the Childminder that:

- i. The premises on which the Services are to be provided are free from any material defect or hazard that could cause injury to either the child or children being cared for or the Childminder;
- ii. The Family will advise the Childminder prior to the provision of the Service as to any particular needs for any of the children who are being cared for; and
- iii. They will, prior to the provision of the Services by the Childminder, disclose to the Childminder any and all matters which may reasonably impact on the Childminder’s ability to reliably and safely provide the Services.

6. The Agency’s Policies and Procedures

a. The Agency may, from time to time, introduce or amend policies and procedures relating to the provision of the Services by the Childminder. Whilst those policies and procedures do not form part of this Agreement, the Family agrees to be bound to same.

7. Booking Fee

a. At the time that the Family confirms a booking through the Agency’s Booking System, the Agency will charge a Booking Fee to the Family. The Family will pay the Booking Fee directly to the Agency.

b. The Booking Fee must be paid by a Family at each time for each individual booking made via the Booking System. For the avoidance of any confusion, each discrete provision of the Services by the Childminder will incur a Booking Fee e.g. to provide the Services on two separate evenings would require two separate Booking Fees to be paid.

c. The Booking Fee, once paid, is non-refundable.

8. Services Fee

a. Payment of the Services Fee is to be made by the Family to the Childminder either prior to, at the commencement, or at the end of the provision of the Services, at the discretion of the Childminder.

b. The Agency has no role to play in the event that there is a dispute as to payment of the Services Fee by the Family to the Childminder – it is a matter solely between the Family and the Childminder.

c. The Family acknowledges and agrees that the Services Fee is set at the sole discretion of the Agency and may be varied from time to time.

d. In the event that the booking is cancelled within 24 hours of the provision of the Services, the Family will be charged a Cancellation Fee of 10% of the Services Fee, unless in extenuating circumstances.

9. Insurance

a. As a further consequence of clause 4.a, the Family:

i. acknowledges that the Agency may, but are not obligated or required to provide public liability insurance for the provision of the Services;
ii. agrees that, in proceeding with the engagement of the Childminder, has sighted the Childminder’s public liability insurance, and has accepted same as being sufficient.

10. Liability

a. The Family again acknowledges that the Childminder is engaged by them for the provision of the Services as an Independent Contractor, and that the Childminder is not an employee nor contractor of the Agency.

b. The Family acknowledge that if an employment relationship is construed to have arisen, whether by court of law or otherwise, then the matter of employment rights and obligations is solely between the Family and the Childminder.

c. The Agency is in no way liable to the Family in the event that the Family suffers any loss or damage as a consequence or in any way related to either or both:

i. the provision of the Booking System by the Agency;
ii. the booking of the Childminder via the Booking System; and/or
iii. the provision of the Services (or lack thereof) by the Childminder.

11. Indemnity

a. The Family indemnifies the Agency against all expenses, losses, damages and costs (on a solicitor and client basis, and whether incurred by or awarded against the Agency) that the Agency may sustain or incur as a result, whether direct or indirect, as a consequence of:

i. Any breach of this Contract by the Family;
ii. Any false or misleading representation made or given by the Family;
iii. Any act or omission in the provision of the Services by the Childminder; and
iv. Arising generally in respect of either this Contract or the act or omission of the Childminder.

b. The indemnity given in this clause 10 is a continuing indemnity and survives the termination or end of this Contract.

12. Restraints

a. The Family agrees that during the Restraint Period they will neither approach a current or former Childminder, nor accept the approach of a current or former Childminder, for the provision of Services.

13. Confidentiality

a. All information provided by either party to this Agreement to the other, or any information provided by a Family to the Childminder during the provision of the Services, will be treated as strictly confidential. It must not be disclosed to any other party, unless required by law or regulation, for the direct benefit of that party’s advisors, or with the prior written consent of the other party.

14. Agreement

a. The terms of this Contract:

i. Constitute the entire agreement between the parties;
ii. Supersedes all prior understandings or agreements between the parties; and
iii. May only be amended if specifically agreed so in writing by both parties.

b. If any part of this Agreement is held to be invalid or enforceable, then this Agreement is to be read down to the extent of that invalid or unenforceable clause or clauses, and the remaining provisions of this Agreement will in no way be effected.

15. Governing Law

a. This contract is governed by the laws of Queensland. The parties irrevocably submit to the jurisdiction of the courts of Queensland.