User Terms & Conditions

User Terms & Conditions

Welcome!

OpenAgent Pty Ltd ACN 161 595 679 (OpenAgent, our, us, we) is passionate about making buying and selling easier for Australians. In doing so, we want to provide you with services that help you to understand what's involved, and allow you to streamline that process.

These terms will tell you what you need to know about us and our terms of use. It’s important that you understand these terms before engaging further with us. If you have questions, please let us know at support@openagent.com.au

1. Application of these terms

These terms and conditions (Terms) apply to this website and any other websites, including any microsites and mobile websites, as well as any mobile applications (collectively referred to as the “Website” in these terms of use) operated by or on behalf of us. Further, you agree to CoreLogic’s End User Terms and Conditions reproduced at http://www.corelogic.com.au/endusertermsconditions (End User Terms).

By using, visiting, accessing or otherwise registering on our Website or engaging with our services, you confirm that you accept these terms of use (Terms) and that you agree to comply with them. If you do not agree to these Terms, you must not use, visit, access or register on our Website.

Certain areas of this Website are also subject to additional terms of use. Where you access, or use those other areas, you agree to be bound by the additional terms of use applicable (Other Terms). If there is any inconsistency between these Terms and Other Terms, the provisions of these Terms will prevail to the extent permitted by law.

If you a real estate agent, you accept that you are also bound by separate terms and conditions which apply alongside these Terms.

Changes to these Terms.

We may revise these Terms from time to time by updating our Website. If you don’t agree with any amended terms, you must stop using our Website and our services.

You should review these Terms periodically so that you are updated on any changes. Any variation or change will be effective immediately. In the event that we determine that our revisions of these Terms will have a material and detrimental impact on your rights and obligations, changes will be notified to you by a posting on the Website, via e-mail or any other means.

If you continue to use any of our services or the Website, you will be deemed to have accepted the updated Terms. The Terms below are the current terms of use and replace any other form previously published on the Website.

2. Registration

You must register your details with OpenAgent in order to make use of our services. Registration is free.

By registering you accept that:

  • you must provide us with accurate and complete information including your contact details and all property details; 
  • you have read and accepted our privacy policy;
  • you can cncel you registration with us at any time by notifying us via email at cancellations@openagent.com.au.
  • you have been provided to a link to these Terms prior to submitting your registration, and as a result, your decision to register is one of fully informed consent.

We reserve the right to verify all potential registrations in order to maintain quality of our services and may contact you by telephone or email to verify that your registration information is accurate and correct before engaging with you.

By providing a contact number, you are expressly authorising and consenting to receiving calls and electronic messaging from OpenAgent, including direct contact on a Sunday.

At the beginning of each phone call to you, we will notify you that the phone call will be recorded. Subject to any notification from you to us that the phone call should not be recorded, you agree to the recording of inbound and outbound phone calls with us for the stated purposes.

We may terminate your registration and access to our services at any time, for any reason and without notice including but not limited to the following reasons:

  • we believe your conduct adversely impacts on our name or reputation.
  • we are underage or otherwise do not have the full legal capacity to use the Website or to enter into any arrangement or transaction.
  • if you are in breach of any law or regulation or we conclude that your conduct violates our rights and/or the rights of another party.
  • actual or suspected engagement in any of the Prohibited Activities (see Clause 8 below).

3. Our Services and Role

We help make buying and selling easier for Australians. To do this, we primarily provide vendor research services to Aussies who in good faith, plan to sell or rent-out a residential real estate property. These services enable you to search for and select real estate agents who, in our opinion, meet the requisite skills, knowledge and ability to facilitate the sale or rental of real estate property.

When you register your details on our Website, we will conduct research on the real estate agents in your area based on the details you have provided. We will also provide an introduction to various real estate agents. The provision of any information is governed by our privacy policy. Our real estate recommendations are based on our opinion only and, accordingly, we have no responsibility, liability nor obligation in respect of your selection of a real estate agent in respect of the rental or sale of your property.

OpenAgent will receive a fee from the real estate agent that you selected upon the sale or rental of property. Please note that only the real estate agent is required to pay a professional services fee. You are not liable for payment of the professional services fee. This means our vendor research service is free of charge for consumers.

Here are some important matters about our services for you to understand and are  a condition of use:

  • Some agents may not be considered in the results due to commercial arrangements, area or availability. Commercial arrangements we have may impact your search results. If you would like further information about this, please let us know.
  • We make no warranty or representation, express or implied, as to the fitness for purpose or suitability of the real estate agent for your needs. The information we provide is merely a reference tool to empower you to make your own decisions. 
  • We operate as an independent third-party facilitator in respect of any transaction and communication between users of the Website and its related services.  We are in no way party to and will not be liable for or have any relationship with enforcing any agreement made between users of our services or any real estate agent or credit providers appointed or contracted with. 
  • Users and real estate agents engaging with our services undertake full responsibility for the decision to engage with one another.    
    We are not responsible for, and have no liability with respect to, any User Content uploaded, posted, transmitted or otherwise made available on the Website by any person other than us.

Property Reports and OpenEstimates

As part of our mission to make buying and selling easier, we may provide you with property reports and the results of OpenEstimates. This information will be sent to the registered details on our website.

  • While we hope you find this information useful, there are important call-outs that you need to understand and for part of your acceptance of these Terms:
  • While you may request a suburb report or price estimate via our Website, you understand and accept that this information is of a general, unverified and historical nature only. It does not constitute professional advice to be relied upon by you, or any other person, including financial or tax advice without limitation.  
  • Property reports and OpenEstimates information are provided to you is on an “as is” and “as available” basis and on the condition that you undertake all responsibility for assessing and considering the accuracy of that content. You accept sole risk and responsibility for all decisions you make in connection with, or reliance on property reports and OpenEstimates.
  • The OpenEstimate result is a computer generated analytic and is influenced by the information you choose to provide (Estimate).  For certainty, in using OpenEstimates, you represent to us that you understand the Estimate suggested may vary substantially from any property price actually realised.
    • The Estimate may vary substantially from any property price actually realised by a professional real estate agent or valuer of real estate property, and as such, the Estimate must not be construed as or relied upon as a professional appraisal or valuation. 
    • Depending on the unverified information entered, an estimate is generated by using a mathematical model that relies on limited available data. Such data may not be current, accurate or complete, and does not factor in the physical features and condition of the subject property, any market conditions (local or otherwise) or your personal circumstances.  These factors may affect the market value of the subject property. 
  • You should consult a professional valuer or real estate agent to receive advice on the value of a real estate property. 

To the extent permitted by law, OpenAgent expressly excludes any liability for any loss or damage howsoever arising suffered in connection with your use of or reliance on the Estimate. We make no warranty or representation that the Estimate or any service provided by us in connection with the Estimate will produce results that are accurate, reliable, complete, sufficient, up to date, or fit for the purpose you intend to use it for.  

Analysed Market Assessments

From time to time, we may provide you with an opportunity to receive an Analysed Market Assessment (Assessment).  The Assessment is provided to you by a third party. In order for you to receive an Assessment, you must first complete the Residential Instruction Form provided to you.

Importantly, your Assessment does not constitute professional advice, including financial, tax or legal advice. It is not a valuation and is not a recommendation with respect to the investment or non-investment in, or the sale or purchase of, property or for any other strategy or decision.

The property will not be inspected. The Assessment is produced by an independent contractor who will not make the usual range of enquiries that a valuer is customarily required to make by valuation standards. You accept the inherent risk of diminished accuracy arising therefrom.

If you request to receive an Assessment, you understand and agree:

  • to only use the Assessment prepared solely for you (and any other person expressly requested by and agreed by us in writing) for the purpose specified on the Residential Instruction Form. You must not use an Assessment for any other purpose without our prior written consent.
  • to seek our prior written consent before disclosing the Assessment to a third party.
  • the Assessment is not suitable nor to be relied upon for high percentage lending or mortgage insurance purposes.
  • the Assessment does not constitute a valuation in the same meaning as a valuation conducted in accordance with the General Concepts, Principles and Standards as detailed and defined by the Australian Property Institute (which is based on a physical inspection of the property). 
  • markets and the value of an asset may change significantly and unexpectedly over a relatively short period (including as a result of general market movements, factors specific to the particular property, fluctuations in economic conditions, or other contingencies and uncertainties).

Photography and 3D Scans

In limited circumstances, we may agree with you to provide photography services and 3D scans of your property for the purpose of marketing the property for sale and letting. This will usually form part of an Assessment. In order for us to provide you with this service, you must provide us with your express consent, including consent to allow us to   publish any photographs taken or visual recordings (including 3D or 360-degree image scans) made of the inside of the subject residential premises for the Assessment in which personal possessions.

Any photographs taken or visual recordings (including 3D or 360-degree image scans) are subject to the terms set out under Intellectual Property (see Clause 4 below). For certainty, OpenAgent retains all of ownership rights in photographs taken or visual recordings by us or our duly authorised contractor. You must seek our prior written consent before using the photographs or visual recordings in connection with any other third party service provider.

Credit Services

OpenAgent Pty Ltd is an authorised corporate credit representative (no.  515709) of Doorsteps Solutions Pty Ltd ACN 654 334 246, Australian Credit Licence 537369 (Doorsteps Solutions).  A copy of OpenAgent's credit guide is available via https://www.openagent.com.au/credit-guide

OpenAgent is part of the OpenAgent Group, which includes OA Real Estate Pty Ltd our wholly owned subsidiary. The information sharing practices between the OpenAgent Group are covered off in our privacy policy.

From time to time, you may provide us with express consent to refer you to Doorsteps Finance, Doorsteps Solutions or a third party credit service provider. We will not charge you a fee for the referral, and will disclose any commissions or other benefits received by us in relation to the referral. You will also receive a reasonable estimate of the amount of commission payable to us in the credit proposal provided to you by the relevant credit service provider.

We also happen to have certain OpenAgent employees who are authorised under Doorsteps Solutions Pty Ltd ACN 654 334 246  Australian Credit Licence 537369. These authorised representatives may provide you with credit assistance from time to time, including specifying a particular credit product or making suggestions. If an OpenAgent employee is not authorised as a credit representative, they will only be able to provide you with a referral to speak to an authorised representative and will not specify any particular product or make a suggestion.

For example, credit representatives may perform referral, distribution type activities. Examples include referrals to Doorsteps Solutions Pty Ltd ACN 654 334 246 the holder of Australian Credit Licence No. 537369 or referrals to ListSure Retail Finance Pty Ltd ACN 655 912 977, the holder of Australian Credit Licence No. 536827 (ListSure).  You will receive information on the referral and distribution relationship at the time of referral as well as through disclosure documentation provided by us, Doorsteps Solutions and/or ListSure.

The information provided on our Website is for general education purposes only and is not intended to constitute specialist or personal advice. This Website has been prepared without taking into account your objectives, financial situation or needs. Because of this, you should consider the appropriateness of the advice to your own situation and needs before taking any action. It should not be relied upon for the purposes of entering into any legal or financial commitments. As always, before you make any credit or financial decision, you should seek independent professional advice from a suitably qualified adviser.

Congratulations on getting this far! There’s more to come, but if you have any questions on these Terms, please don’t hesitate to contact us at support@openagent.com.au or give us a call on 13 24 34.  Otherwise, please  continue reading the Terms below. We encourage having a cup of coffee to help you through.

The Boring Bits

4. Intellectual Property

All intellectual property rights in any material or content contained in or accessible via this Website or our services is either owned by us has been licensed for use to us.

You are permitted to fair use of the trademarks on this Website but you must not use them:

  • as part of your own marks;
  • in a manner which is likely to cause confusion or damage to our reputation; or
  • to identify or imply endorsement or otherwise of products or services to which they do not relate and have not expressly consented to. 
     

No intellectual property rights belonging to OpenAgent or our licensors in and relating to this Website (including any content or material displayed on this Website) may be used, copied, published or distributed by you without our prior written consent. We maintain the right to request the removal of our logo from any third party website at our discretion.

If we provide social media features such as the ability to share content, you may take such actions as are enabled by such features.

In no circumstances are you allowed to delete or alter any copyright, trade mark or other proprietary rights notices from copies of materials from this Website.

This clause will also apply to any user generated content submitted on the Website. You are solely responsible for securing and backing up your content. Any user views or commentary expressed on our Website do not represent our views or values, and are considered non-confidential and non-proprietary. All contributions must comply with the content standards set out below to remain on the Website.

We have the right to disclose your identity to any third party who is claiming that any content posted or uploaded by you to our Website constitutes a violation of their intellectual property rights, or of their right to privacy.  We also have the right to remove any posting you make on our Website if, in our opinion, your post does not comply with our content standards.

5. Our Content Standards

Our content standards apply to any and all content and materials provided on or made available through the Website and our social media pages or profiles. In providing user content specifically, you agree to abide with the following standards:

  • Content must not contain any material which is defamatory, obscene, abhorrent, indecent, abusive, offensive, harassing, violent, hateful, inflammatory or otherwise objectionable.
  • Content must not contain or promote sexual or pornographic material, violence, or discrimination based on race, sex, religion, nationality, disability, sexual orientation or age.
  • Content must not infringe any patent, trade mark, trade secret, copyright or other intellectual property or other rights of any other person.
  • Content must not violate the legal rights (including the rights of publicity and privacy) of others or contain any material that could give rise to any civil or criminal liability under applicable laws or regulations or that otherwise may be in conflict with these terms and our privacy policy.
  • Content must not be or likely to mislead and deceive any person.
  • Content must not promote any illegal activity, or advocate, promote or assist any unlawful act. Content must also not cause annoyance, inconvenience or needless anxiety or be likely to upset, embarrass, alarm or annoy any other person.
  • Users of the Website must not impersonate any person, or misrepresent identity or affiliation with any person or organisation, including with us.
  • User generated content must not give the impression that it emanates from or is endorsed by us or any other person or entity, if this is not the case.

You warrant that any such contribution made by you complies with these standards, and you will be liable to us and indemnify us for any breach of that warranty. This means you will be responsible for any loss or damage we suffer as a result of your breach of the content standards. We may report any breach of your warranty to the relevant law enforcement authorities and we will co-operate with those authorities by disclosing your identity to them. In the event of such a breach, your right to use our Website will also cease immediately.

6. Liability

This Website, content and services are supplied to you on a strictly “as is” basis and we make no warranties, express or implied, regarding their satisfactory quality, fitness for a particular purpose, reliability, timeliness, accuracy, completeness, security or that they are free from error.

While we endeavour to ensure that the information displayed on this Website is accurate, your use, visits, access (etc.) and engagement with our services, including any action or decisions made by you, on the basis of information you obtain from this Website is carried out entirely at your own risk. We accept no liability for any losses that you may suffer as a result. This includes exclusion of liability for any direct, indirect, special, incidental, consequential or punitive damages, including but not limited to, personal injury, pain and suffering, emotional distress, loss of revenue, loss of profits, loss of business or anticipated savings, loss of use, loss of goodwill, loss of data, and whether caused by tort (including negligence), breach of contract or otherwise.

You agree to defend, indemnify and hold us, our affiliates, licensors and service providers, and each of their respective officers, directors, employees, contractors, agents, licensors, suppliers, successors and assigns, harmless from and against any claims, liabilities, damages, judgments, awards, losses, costs, expenses or fees (including reasonable attorneys’ fees) arising out of or relating to your violation of these terms or your use of the Website, including, but not limited to your registration, your use of any information obtained from the Website and any use of the Website’s content, services and products other than as expressly authorised in these terms.

Where our liability cannot be excluded under applicable law, we limit our liability to the fullest extent permitted by the Australian Consumer Law. Our liability in respect of any such right is limited to the lesser of:

  • the supply of the services again; or
  • the payment of the cost of having them supplied again.

If you have rights in relation to any information used by you as a consequence of your use of the Website and its related services that cannot lawfully be excluded, to the extent permitted by law, our liability in respect of any such right is limited to the lesser of:

  • the price paid by you for that information; or
  • AUD$100.00.

We do not guarantee that our Website will be secure or free from bugs or viruses or any other type of malicious code or software. You are responsible for configuring your technology to access our Website. You should use your own antivirus software.

7. Our Privacy Policy

In conducting our business, we (and our associated or related entities like Doorsteps Finance and Doorsteps Solutions) may collect, disclose or use your personal information. Our privacy policy provides further information as to how we may use and disclose your personal information. By using the Website and our services, you consent to the collection, use and disclosure of your personal information in accordance with our privacy policy, as amended from time to time.

We make our money from real estate agents and credit providers. To do so,  we often need to access information (including documents) they have in its possession for the purpose of verifying details of a transaction or service performed by us. For example, if we refer you to a real estate agent, we have the right to receive a copy of the listing agreement or sales contracts for the purposes of verifying and calculating the fees payable by that real estate agent to us. This access may include us having access to your personal or confidential information.

By accepting these Terms, you consent to the relevant real estate agent or credit provider providing us with access to such information for that purpose of verification. We only use the information they provide in documents solely for the verification purpose stated above and otherwise maintain the confidentiality of that information.

8. Prohibited Activities

You may use the Website only for lawful purposes and in accordance with these Terms. You agree not to use the Website:

  • in any way that violates any applicable federal, state, local or international law or regulation (including, without limitation, any laws regarding the export of data or software to and from other countries);
  • for the purpose of exploiting, harming or attempting to exploit or harm minors in any way by exposing them to inappropriate content, asking for personally identifiable information or otherwise;
  • to send, knowingly receive, upload, download, use or re-use any material which does not comply with our content standards;
  • to transmit, or procure the sending of, any advertising or promotional material without our prior written consent, including any “junk mail”, “chain letter” or “spam” or any other similar solicitation
  • to impersonate or attempt to impersonate us, any of our employees, another user or any other person or entity (including, without limitation, by using email addresses or screen names associated with any of the foregoing); or
  • to engage in any other conduct that restricts or inhibits anyone’s use or enjoyment of the Site, or which, as determined by us, may harm us or users of the Site or expose them to liability.
  • in any manner that could disable, overburden, damage, or impair the Website or interfere with any other party’s use of the Website, including their ability to engage in real time activities through the Website. 

In addition, you must not:

  • use any robot, spider or other automatic device, process or means to access the Website for any purpose, including monitoring or copying any of the material on the Website.
  • use any manual process to monitor or copy any of the material on the Website or for any other unauthorised purpose without our prior written consent.
  • use any automatic or manual process to reverse engineer or decompile any part of the Website;
  • use any device, software or routine that interferes with the proper working of the Website.
  • introduce any viruses, trojan horses, worms, logic bombs, spyware, computer code, file, program or material which is malicious or technologically harmful;
  • attempt to gain unauthorised access to, interfere with, damage or disrupt any parts of the Website, the server on which the Website is stored, or any server, computer or database connected to the Website
  • attack the Website via a denial-of-service attack or a distributed denial-of-service attack; or
  • otherwise attempt to interfere with the proper working of the Website.

We may report any of the activities above to the relevant law enforcement authorities and we will cooperate with those authorities by disclosing your identity to them. In the event of such a breach, your right to use our Website will cease immediately.

9. Electronic Communications

Upon registration, you will be subscribed to our marketing email list. From time to time, we may send you electronic communications about marketing opportunities, promotions, reminders and contests. These may include marketing information about OpenAgent and/or our selected business and commercial partners, including without limitation real estate agents.

In connection with electronic communications, we may provide details of your registration to various real estate agents to facilitate the rental or sale of property where you authorise us to do so, including without limitation, by nominating or advising us of your communication preferences.

If you wish to unsubscribe from our marketing email list, you may do so by sending an email to support@openagent.com.au. In addition, each email sent to you via our marketing email list will contain an unsubscribe link so that you can opt-out of that subscription.

10. Third Party Links

Our Website may include links to third-party sites. These links are intended to provide you with further information you may need in relation to a particular product or service. In no circumstances do we make representations about the accuracy of any information contained on any other websites. We exclude all liability for any loss, damage, cost or expense you incur in accessing or attempting to access a third party site.You agree that if you choose to access links to third-party sites via our Website or related services, you do so at your own risk.

11. General

The information on our Website is provided for the benefit of Australian residents only.

You may not always be able to access the Website or our services as a result of scheduled or unscheduled maintenance, or for other reasons, you should consider this in situations that are time-sensitive such as when you need to provide us with information by a particular date and time.

Your use of our Website is governed by the law in the State of New South Wales, Australia, and you agree to submit to the exclusive jurisdiction of the courts in New South Wales, Australia.

If any part of these Terms are determined to be invalid or unenforceable pursuant to applicable law, then the invalid or unenforceable provision will be deemed superseded by a valid, enforceable provision that most closely matches the intent of the original provision and the remainder of these Terms shall continue in effect.

OpenAgent reserves the right to investigate and take appropriate internal measures, as well as legal action, against anyone who breaches these Terms or is involved with the breach of these Terms. If we do not act in relation to a particular breach by you of these Terms, this will not be treated as a waiver by us of our right to act with respect to subsequent or similar breaches.

The rights and obligations under these Terms which by their nature are intended to survive the termination or expiry of any of our Website or our related services will continue in full force and effect after these Terms end.

We may, in our sole discretion and without notice, vary, suspend or discontinue, temporarily or permanently, any or all of the Website or our related services. You agree we are not liable to you or any third-party for such variation, suspension or discontinuance.