amica™ Terms of Use

In using this website, or amica™ or any part of amica™'s associated services (described below) you are consenting to be bound by these Terms of Use.

amica™ is an initiative of National Legal Aid and the Legal Services Commission of South Australia with support from the Australian Government. The Legal Services Commission of South Australia is the entity responsible for delivering amica™ and its associated services on behalf of National Legal Aid. For the purposes of these Terms of Use, “amica”, “we”, “us” and “our” is a reference to the Legal Services Commission of South Australia.

ABOUT AMICA™

amica™ is an online dispute resolution tool designed to help separating couples to agree on on financial and parenting arrangements.

The services associated with amica™ (associated services) include:

• the amica™ website (the “Website”)
• the amica™ interactive online platform (the “Tool”)
• technical support to provide assistance with technical difficulties in relation to using the Tool

Legal Information not Legal Advice

amica™ is a neutral tool designed to facilitate a method by which separating couples can reach agreement; it does not provide legal advice to either party or to you as a couple.

amica™ and associated services provide general legal information, are not legal advice and are not a substitute for obtaining legal advice from a properly qualified legal practitioner.

No client-solicitor relationship is created between you and amica™.

You agree that amica™ and its associated services do not constitute:

• legal advice
• legal representation
• the process of Family Dispute Resolution for the purposes of the Family Law Act (1975)(Cth);
• a decision of any Court or Tribunal; or
• a legally binding outcome

No guaranteed outcome

amica™ suggests a division of money and property based on the information that each person enters, and agrees to, on the Tool. amica™ also helps you to communicate about parenting arrangements using a user-friendly platform with a guided step-by-step approach. However, amica™ cannot guarantee that you will achieve an agreed outcome as this may be affected by many factors which are outside of amica™'s control.

BEFORE USING AMICA™

Before using amica™ you should assess whether amica™ and the associated services are appropriate for your particular situation and needs. There is a questionnaire on the Website to assist you to check if amica™ is right for your situation. To access the questionnaire click the button “is amica right for me”. If you are not sure whether amica™ is right for your situation you should seek independent advice before using it.

REGISTRATION AND ACCOUNT DETAILS

User account

You will be required to register an account in order to use and access the full functionality of the Tool. You do not have to register an account in order to browse the Website.

Your registration details

You warrant that all information provided by you in your registration on the Tool or otherwise in connection with your use of amica™ is complete, current, accurate and is not misleading, and that you will not misrepresent your identity. You agree that we may rely on that information unless and until we receive notice from you of any change or update to the information provided by you. Any such varied information will be covered by this warranty.

Password protection

You must choose a password as part of completing the registration process on the Tool. Your password is your key to accessing the Tool and your account. You must keep your password confidential and you are solely responsible for all activities that occur through use of your password including any unauthorised use of your account.

To protect your password it is recommended that every time you exit amica™ you do so by clicking the 'Logout' option. If you suspect any unauthorised use of your password you must immediately notify the amica™ team via email at amica@lsc.sa.gov.au. You can change your password whenever you wish by using the 'Change Password' option.

USING AMICA™

Your participation

In browsing the Website or using amica™ and the associated services you are required to comply at all times with these Terms of Use and to act in good faith.

Duress

In using amica™, in particular the Tool, you acknowledge and agree that you are doing so of your own free will, free from duress or coercion.

Full and frank disclosure

You agree that when using amica™ in relation to dividing your money and property you will provide your former partner with full and frank disclosure of your direct and indirect financial circumstances.

Without prejudice

You agree that all information that you exchange with your former partner in connection with using amica™ is exchanged on a ‘without prejudice' basis for the purposes of achieving an agreed outcome in relation to your separation. You agree not to disclose any such information in connection with any proceedings in Court or Tribunal unless required to do so by law.

Keeping each other's information confidential

Any information that either of you enters onto the Tool is entered on a confidential basis for the purposes of achieving an agreed outcome in relation to your separation. You agree not to disclose any information that your former partner provides in connection with using amica™, and in particular the Tool, including but not limited to disclosure:

• in any Court proceedings
• on any form of social media
• except as required by law
• to any children of the relationship except to the extent necessary to give effect to any Agreement reached via using amica™.

Prohibited Content of Messages

You agree that you will not post or transmit content using amica™ that:

• is unlawful, threatening, abusive, defamatory, obscene, vulgar, pornographic, profane or indecent, constitute (or encourages conduct that would constitute) a criminal offence, gives rise to civil liability or are otherwise objectionable
• infringes any copyright, trademark, patent, design, confidentiality or other intellectual property rights of any other person;
• impersonates any person or entity or falsely states or otherwise misrepresents your affiliation with a person or entity;
• for purposes of spamming or obstructing the normal operation of the website, amica™ and the associated services or another persons use of the website, amica™ and the associated services;
• contains any virus or other harmful component;
• or is an invasion of privacy or any other third party rights.

Technical Support

You agree to use the email amica@lsc.sa.gov.au if you are having technical issues accessing amica™.

Commercial purposes

You agree not to:

• collect or harvest any personally identifiable information, including account names, from amica™, nor to use the communication systems provided by amica™ for any commercial solicitation purposes;
• solicit, for commercial purposes, any users of amica™ .

Disruption and modification

You agree not to interfere with or disrupt amica™ or servers or networks connected to amica™ . You agree not to alter or modify any part of amica™ other than as may be reasonably necessary to use amica™ for its intended purpose.

Termination of or suspension of access to amica™

We may at our sole discretion terminate or suspend your registration of and access to amica™ or the associated services at any time with or without notice and for any reason including circumstances where we suspect that you have provided false or misleading registration information, interfered with other users or the administration of this website, or breached these Terms of Use.

MARKET RESEARCH

We are committed to continuous improvement of amica™ and the associated services. People who use amica™ may be contacted by organisations authorised by the Legal Services Commission of SA to discuss their user-experience. If you use amica™ you give us your consent to being contacted for this purpose via the email address or mobile number with which you registered your account.

CONSENT TO CONTACT YOU

By using amica™, you give us your consent to contact you if we consider that there is a reasonable need to do so. For example, in relation to:

• the outcome suggested by amica™ in your situation
• providing technical assistance, including account cancellation or password changes
• any other reason we consider is reasonably necessary.

INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY

Our Content

The content of amica™ and associated services (except material submitted by users) including without limitation the text, software, source code, pages, documents and online graphics, photographs, sounds, audio, video and other interactive features are owned by or licensed to us and are protected by copyright and other intellectual property laws. amica™ also contains registered and unregistered trademarks belonging to us and third parties.

We grant you a limited licence to access and use amica™ subject to these Terms of Use. However this licence does not allow you to make any commercial or derivate use of amica™ except as otherwise permitted by these Terms of Use.

Your content

By uploading content into amica™ you grant (or warrant that the owner of such rights has expressly granted) us a royalty free, irrevocable, non-exclusive right and licence to use your content for the purpose of facilitating your access to and use of amica™ and the associated services.

You agree that we may collect and use technical data and related information including but not limited to technical information about your device, system and application software, that is gathered periodically to facilitate the provision of amica™ and the associated services.

PROTECTION OF INFORMATION

Privacy

By using this website, amica™ and the associated services you agree to be bound by the terms of the Privacy Statement and you acknowledge and agree that the Privacy Statement forms part of these Terms of Use.

Security

Where appropriate, we use available technology to protect the security of communications made through amica™ . However, we do not accept liability for the security, authenticity, integrity or confidentiality of any transactions and other communications made through amica™.

Internet communications may be susceptible to interference or interception by third parties. Despite our best efforts, we make no warranties that amica™ is free of infection by computer viruses, Trojans or other unauthorised software. We will not be liable for any loss, damage, cost or expense resulting from any breach of a security measure (including viruses, Trojans or other unauthorised software).

GENERAL DISCLAIMER AND LIMITATION OF LIABILITY

Disclaimer

The information posted on amica™ and the associated services is provided on an “AS IS” basis and to the extent permitted by law is provided without warranties of any kind either express or implied including the warranties of merchantability, fitness for purpose and non-infringement and we make no statements or representations, about the timeliness, accuracy, completeness or reliability of any part of amica™ or any associated services and you rely on any information contained in amica™ at your own risk. To the extent permitted by law, our liability for a non-excludable warranty is limited at our election to either the resupply of services or a refund.

Linked Sites

We are not responsible or liable for the availability or content of any third party website (i.e. a website not owned or controlled by us) linked to or from amica™. We have no control over, and assume no responsibility for the content, privacy policies or practices of any third party website. Access to any other website that is linked to amica™ is entirely at your own risk.

Continuity of Service

We do not guarantee continuous accessibility or uninterrupted operation of amica™. We will not be liable for any loss, damage, cost or expense resulting from any delay in operation or transmission, communications failure, internet access difficulties or malfunctions in equipment or software.

Modification to amica™ and the associated services

We reserve the right at any time to modify, discontinue temporarily or permanently features of amica™ or associated services with or without notice at any time. You agree we shall not be liable to you or any third party for any modification, suspension or discontinuation of, amica™ or the associated services.

Limitation of Liability

To the extent permitted by law we will not be liable for any direct, special, indirect or consequential loss or damage, loss of profit or opportunity whether at common law, under contract, tort (including negligence), in equity, under statute or otherwise arising out of or in connection with:

• the use of amica™ and the associated services;
• the unavailability of amica™ and the associated services;
• the content of these Terms of Use.

Indemnification

You agree to indemnify us from any loss, expense, damage or claim (including legal costs on a full indemnity basis) arising out of your breach of these Terms of Use, your violation of any third party right, including without limitation any copyright, property or privacy right, or any claim that your use of amica™ caused damage to a third party.

GENERAL

Applicable laws

Use of amica™ and the associated services these Terms of Use are governed by the laws of the State of South Australia, Australia. Any claim relating to use of amica™ shall be heard by the courts of South Australia.

amica™ and the associated services are only for use by persons within Australia. If you choose to access amica™ or the associated services from a location outside Australia, you do so on your own initiative and are responsible for compliance with applicable local laws.

Complaints process

amica™ is committed to providing an excellent level of service to its users. If you wish to notify of us of a complaint in relation to amica™ or its associated services you can do so via email at amica@lsc.sa.gov.au.

Variation

We may revise these Terms of Use at any time by updating this page. You should visit this page from time to time and review the then current Terms of Use because they are binding on you. We may modify or discontinue any information or features that form part of amica™ at any time, with or without notice to you, and without liability.

Severability

If any of these Terms of Use are determined to be unlawful, void or for any reason unenforceable, then that provision is deemed severable from these Terms of Use and does not affect the validity and enforceability of the remaining provisions. If there is any inconsistency between these Terms of Use and any other documentation included on amica™ or the associated services these Terms of Use prevail.

Entire Agreement

These Terms of Use, as they made be varied from time to time, constitute the entire agreement between you and us with respect to use of, amica™ and the associated services.

Interpretation

In these Terms of Use, a reference to us includes our employees, officers, agents and contractors from time to time.

Assignment

You do not have the right to assign any of your rights to use amica™ to anyone.