Scam victim alliance terms of service
DEFINITIONS AND INTERPRETATION
1.1 Definitions
Scam Victim Alliance (SVA) is waiting to be registered with ACNC and we are registered as a not for profit (ABN 44 692 533 698);
Private Community means the Better Mode hosted discussion board;
Member is someone who has a profile in our Better Mode hosted community;
Website means the public website https://scamvictimalliance.org.au/ or any other website owned or operated by SVA;
SVA Partners are private companies who offer services to our members, the terms of which are outlined on our site and community;
Intellectual Property means all intellectual property rights of whatever nature anywhere in the world conferred under statute, common law or equity and includes rights in respect of or in connection with copyright, whether or not registered or registrable, and includes the right to apply for or renew the registration of such rights;
Community guidelines refers to the rules of engagement in our community. Members can be removed for not following these rules;
Terms refers to these terms of service;
You and your refer to an individual, company or organisation that has visited, read or is using the Website and/or its associated Private Community.
1.2 Interpretation
In the Terms, unless context indicates otherwise:
references to a person include an individual, form or a body, whether incorporated or unincorporated;
where a word or phrase is given a particular meaning, other grammatical forms of that word or phrase have corresponding meanings;
headings are for references only and shall not form part of the Terms nor used in the interpretation of the Terms;
all amounts, including out of pocket expenses, expressed and described on or in connection with the Terms, are listed in Australian Dollars (AUD) and are GST exclusive
words in the singular include the plural and vice versa in accordance with the context of which that word is used;
words importing a gender include other genders;
an obligation binding on a party that consists of two or more persons, binds those persons jointly and severally;
a reference to a clause, annexure, or schedule is a reference to a clause, annexure, or schedule in the Terms;
the words ‘includes’, ‘such as’, ‘for example’ and similar expressions are not words of limitation;
a reference to a statute, ordinance, code, or law includes regulations and other instruments under it and any consolidations, amendments, re-enactments, or replacements of any of them;
a reference to any party include that party's executors, administrators, substitutes, successors and permitted assigns; and
no rule of construction applies which disadvantages a party because the party was responsible for drafting this document, or drafting or requesting any provision in it.
In addition, these Terms will govern the interpretation and application of any Supplementary Terms, or promises or commitments made through the Website.
2. ABOUT THE SVA PRIVATE COMMUNITY
The private community is a platform that provides technology powered information, products and services to Partners, Members and others who may include, but is not limited to:
People who verify themselves with SVA
People from time to time may evade verification and onboarding and be excluded from the community
The private community is provided and operated by SVA. Access to and use of the private community, or any of its associated products and/or Services, are provided by SVA and/or relevant third parties like Partners. Access to and use of any third party products and/or services through the private community are subject to the Terms and any third party terms referenced herein or brought to your attention during your use of the private community and/or its associated products or services.
Please read these Terms carefully. By using, reading or browsing the private community, registering as a Member, this signifies that you have read, understood and agreed to be bound by the Terms and our Privacy Policy. If you do not agree to the Terms or the Privacy Policy, you must cease usage and your membership and use of any of its associated products, services or partners immediately.
SVA reserves the right to review and change any of the Terms by updating this page at its sole discretion at any time. Any changes to the Terms will take effect immediately from the date of their publication. Your access and use of the private community after SVAmakes any changes constitute your acceptance of any such changes and you will be bound by those changes. If you do not agree to any changes, you must cease usage of the private community and any of its associated products or Services immediately.
3. MEMBERSHIP
In order to access the private community, you are required to register an account ("Member Account").
In order to create a Member Account, you are required to provide SVA with:
your personal information such as your name, address, email address, phone number and location;
a username; and
a password.
Details of your experience with frauds, scams, deception or cyber-enabled crime
your personal information such as your name, your email address, your contact number, and the email address that you would like non-member comms sent to;
your headshot for your profile.
Once your application is submitted, SVA volunteers will approve your application and onboard you as quickly as possible. Depending on the number of applicants, approval time can range from 24 hours to four (4) weeks.
Once you have completed the registration process you will be a registered member of the private community (the "Member") and you agree to be bound by the Terms.
You warrant that any personal and/or registration information you provide to SVA will always be accurate, correct and up to date. You must immediately notify SVA if your registration details change.
You understand that by supplying SVA with your address, email address and phone number, you may receive regular emails, newsletters, telephone calls or SMS updates from SVA in order to keep you informed about SVAactivities.
You may not register for an account and may not use the Services if:
you are not of legal age to form a binding contract with SVA; or
you are a person barred from using online services under the laws of Australia or other countries including the country in which you are resident or from which you use the Services.
By registering for a Member Account or using the Services, you represent and warrant to SVA that:
you have reached the legal age in your jurisdiction;
you have the right, authority and capacity to agree to and abide by the Terms;
if you are registering with SVA and have accepted the Terms and you are taken to have been duly authorised to bind the business or individual; and
you will use the private community in a manner consistent with any and all applicable laws, regulations and all other SVA policies.
4. OBLIGATIONS OF SVA PRIVATE COMMUNITY MEMBERS
The Scam Victim Alliance (SVA) is a survivor‑led, not‑for‑profit community. Our private community exists to provide a safe, respectful, and empowering space for scam victims, their supporters, and allies to share experiences, seek help, and work together for systemic change.
These standards apply to all members, moderators, and contributors within any SVA private online forum, event, or meeting. By participating, you agree to uphold these standards and help maintain a safe and supportive environment.
1. Preserve the Safety and Integrity of the SVA Community
Protect Access & Privacy: Do not share your login or community access with anyone outside the group.
Keep the Space Secure: Do not introduce malware, harmful links, or suspicious files into the community.
Avoid Promotion & Spam: This community is for support and advocacy, not for advertising unrelated products, services, or causes.
No Impersonation: Do not falsely present yourself as another person, SVA staff member, or partner organisation.
No Fraudulent Behaviour: Any misleading, deceptive, or unethical conduct will result in removal from the community.
2. Respect the Rights, Safety, and Dignity of All Members
Be Kind and Respectful: Harassment, bullying, or intimidation will not be tolerated.
No Discrimination: We do not permit offensive language or behaviour related to race, ethnicity, gender, sexuality, disability, age, religion, or nationality.
Respect Privacy: Never share another member’s personal details or story outside the group without their explicit consent.
Acknowledge Intellectual Property: Give credit where due and do not share copyrighted or proprietary content without permission.
3. Protect Emotional Wellbeing
Trauma‑Informed Communication: Remember that members may be experiencing acute emotional distress. Be compassionate and avoid judgemental language.
Trigger Warnings: If your post contains sensitive details (e.g. financial loss amounts, bank account details, self-harm), use a trigger warning at the start.
No Graphic or Harmful Content: Do not post explicit images or content that may cause harm or distress.
4. Reporting Concerns
If you see behaviour or content that violates these standards:
Use the in‑platform “Report” feature (if available) or
Email support@scamvictimalliance.org with details such as:
Links or screenshots of the content
The username of the person involved
A brief description of the concern
All reports are handled confidentially and in good faith. SVA moderators will review and take appropriate action, which may include content removal, warnings, or account suspension. Where there is a risk of harm, we may notify relevant authorities.
5. Commitment to a Safe Space
By joining and participating in the SVA private community, you agree to:
Act with respect, empathy, and integrity
Protect the confidentiality of this space
Support fellow members without judgement
We are stronger together when we make this a space where survivors feel safe, heard, and empowered.
PARTNER INCLUSIONS
Depending on the type of partner offer, you are advised to check their security, terms and privacy at your own risk
A Member may access the partner services as they wish and SVA does not provide any warranties or guarantees. If you have any questions or concerns regarding the use of partner offers, you must seek independent legal advice. You are solely responsible for determining if a partner offer is fit for your specific purposes.
Members must not use Partner Offers in any way that infringes the proprietary interests of our partners, nor their terms of service, privacy or other conditions.
IDENTITY HEALTH CHECK (SECURITY AND ONBOARDING)
Upon requesting to join our SVA private community, members will be verified and onboarded. This is intended to help keep this community safe.
SVA’S RIGHTS
SVA may, in its absolute discretion, accept, refuse, suspend or terminate its products and/or services to you where you have acted in a manner that is in material breach of these Terms, or have evidenced your intention to act in a manner that is materially different to the terms and conditions set out in these Terms, including but not limited to your breach of clauses 3(e) (registration information), 3(h) (warranties), 4 (Member obligations), 7(c) (copyright), 10 (reasonable use), 20 (company and business registration), 23 (payment), 26 (confidential information), 27 (non-solicitation), 28 (website content), 29 (copyright and intellectual property), and 42 (assignment).
WEBSITE & PRIVATE COMMUNITY CONTENT
You may read and copy the information on SVA’s website and private community for your own needs but you may not publish, resell or sub-licence it. SVA makes no guarantees, representations or warranties about the accuracy or legal correctness of any of the information.
Information on the Website and private community is no substitute for professional legal or personal financial advice. You should not delay or forgo seeking legal or financial advice should you need it..
User content
In this clause, “User Content” means any and all information and content that a member or visitor of the private community, submits to or uses with the Website or private community.
SVA does not claim ownership of your User Content. SVA makes no guarantees about the User Content and SVA does not endorse or accept any responsibility for the User Content.
Members are solely responsible for your User Content. You assume all risks associated with the use of your User Content, including any reliance on its accuracy or completeness.
You represent and warrant that your User Content does not violate any third party licenses.
By posting User Content onto the Website or private community, you expressly grant to SVA and its successors an irrevocable, non-exclusive, transferrable, sub-licensable, perpetual, royalty-free, worldwide license to broadcast, republish, up-load to a third party, transmit, post, distribute, publicly display, and otherwise use and exploit your de-identifiable User Content. This license does not grant SVA the right to on-sell User Content. You hereby irrevocably waive any claims and assertions of moral rights with respect to your User Content.
SVA reserves the right to review, remove or amend any User Content, but SVA does not have the legal obligation to do so.
Third Party Website
SVA may work with a number of partners and affiliates whose websites are linked with SVA and are controlled by parties other than SVA (each a “Third Party Website”).
SVA is not responsible for and does not endorse or accept any responsibility for the availability, contents, products, services or use of any Third Party Website, any website accessed from a Third Party Website or any changes or updates to such sites. SVA makes no guarantees about the content or quality of the products or services provided by such sites.
COPYRIGHT AND INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY
The Website, the Partner Offers and Private Community are subject to copyright. The material on the Website and Private Community is protected by copyright under the laws of Australia and through international treaties. Unless otherwise indicated, all rights (including copyright) in the content and compilation of the Website and private community (including but not limited to text, graphics, logos, button icons, video images, audio clips, Website, code, scripts, design elements and interactive features) (the “Content”) are owned or controlled for these purposes, and are reserved by SVAs or its contributors.
SVA retains all rights, title and interest (including copyrights, patents and trade marks) in and to the Website, private community, partner offers and all related content therein. Unless otherwise indicated, the Terms do not transfer to you any SVA or third party’s right, title, and interest in copyrights, patents and trade marks.
You may not, without the prior written permission of SVA and the permission of any other relevant rights owners: broadcast, republish, up-load to a third party, transmit, post, distribute, show or play in public, adapt or change in any way the Content or third party content for any purpose. This prohibition does not extend to materials on the Website or private community which are freely available for re-use or are in the public domain.
You acknowledge and agree that SVA may use your logo, branding or other trademarks (the “Trademarks”) for SVA’s marketing efforts. You grant to SVA a non-exclusive, non-transferable, royalty free right to use the Trademarks.
GENERAL DISCLAIMER
Nothing in the Terms limits or excludes any guarantees, warranties, representations or conditions implied or imposed by law, including the Australian Consumer Law (or any liability under them) which by law may not be limited or excluded.
If you are not a Consumer (under the Australian Consumer Law), you agree that SVA has no direct or indirect liability (including in negligence) to you in any way related to your use of SVA.
If you are a Consumer (under the Australian Consumer Law), SVA limits all its direct and indirect liability (including in negligence) to you to the Consumer Guarantees under the Australian Consumer Law.
Where there is a breach of the Consumer Guarantees, then to the maximum extent permitted by law, SVA’s liability to you is limited at its option to:
in the case of goods, replacement or repair of the goods or payment of the cost of replacing or repairing the goods; and
in the case of services, resupply of the services or payment of the cost of re-supplying the services.
Subject to this clause 30, and to the extent permitted by law:
we exclude all representations, warranties or guarantees, whether express or implied, by statute, trade or otherwise; and
we will not be liable for any liabilities, claims, costs and expenses (including legal costs), damage or injury or any special, direct, indirect or consequential loss or damage (unless such loss or damage is reasonably foreseeable resulting from our failure to meet an applicable Consumer Guarantee), loss of profit or opportunity, or damage to goodwill arising out of or in connection with the Services or these Terms (including as a result of not being able to use the Services or the late supply of the Services), whether at common law, under contract, tort (including negligence), in equity, pursuant to statute or otherwise.
Use of the Website and the private community is at your own risk. Everything in relation to the Website and the private community are provided to you “as is” and “as available” without warranty or condition of any kind. None of the affiliates, directors, officers, employees, agents, contributors, third party content providers or licensors of SVA make any express or implied representation or warranty about its Content or any products or Services (including the products or services of SVA) referred to on the Website and private community. This includes (but is not restricted to) loss or damage you might suffer as a result of any of the following:
failure of performance, error, omission, interruption, deletion, defect, failure to correct defects, delay in operation or transmission, computer virus or other harmful component, loss of data, communication line failure, unlawful third party conduct, or theft, destruction, alteration or unauthorised access to records;
the accuracy, suitability or currency of any information on the Website, the private community, or any of its Content related products (including third party material and advertisements on the Website);
costs incurred as a result of you using the Website, the private community or any of the products of SVA;
(the Content or operation in respect to links which are provided for your convenience; or
any defamatory, threatening, offensive or unlawful conduct of third parties or publication of any materials relating to or constituting such conduct.
LIMITATION OF LIABILITY
SVA’s total liability arising out of or in connection with the Services or these Terms, however arising, including under contract, tort (including negligence), in equity, under statute or otherwise, will not exceed:
the most recent fee paid by you toSVA for the purchase of the Services under these Terms; or
where you have not paid the fee, then the total liability of SVA is the resupply of the Services to you, which shall be capped at a maximum amount of $5,000.00.
You expressly understand and agree that SVA, its affiliates, employees, agents, contributors, third party content providers and licensors shall not liable to you for any loss or damage, or for any direct, indirect, incidental, special, consequential or exemplary damages which may be incurred by you, however caused and under any theory of liability. This shall include, but is not limited to, any loss of profit (whether incurred directly or indirectly), any loss of goodwill or business reputation and any other intangible loss.
INDEMNITY
You agree to indemnify SVA and its officers, directors, employees, sublicensees, agents, affiliates, successors and assigns from and against any and all claims, damages, liabilities, losses, settlements, costs and expenses (including, without limitation lawyers’ fees and court costs) which arise out of or relate to your use of the Website and/or Services (including the document templates), including but is not limited to:
any misuse of the Website or Services by you, including and without limitation, any dishonest, inaccurate, incomplete, fraudulent, negligent, wrongful, unlawful, or criminal act or omission by you;
any act or omission (including negligent acts or omissions) of SVA or the Legal Professional in the performance or purported performance of any Services including if you fail to obtain formal advice from an appropriately qualified professional adviser concerning whether the Services (including the document templates) you choose are suitable for its intended purpose or is suitable for your particular circumstances;
your breach of the Terms;
the use of any intellectual property created in respect of the Services not contemplated by the Terms or as a consequence of a breach of the Terms; or
any activity which you engage on or through SVA.
This indemnity will survive termination of the Terms.
TERMINATION
Termination of services
Either you or us may terminate the Terms or close the Member Account at any time for any reason by email.
If you want to terminate the Terms, you may do so by:
providing SVA with fourteen (14) days’ notice of your intention to terminate; and
SVA may, at any time, for any reasons, terminate your access to all or any part of the Website or Services, with or without notice.
Your elected termination will be effective upon receipt of the notice of your intention to terminate by SVA.
GOVERNING LAW
These Terms are governed by the laws of New South Wales, Australia. Any dispute, controversy, proceeding or claim of whatever nature arising out of or in any way relating to the Terms and the rights created hereby shall be governed, interpreted and construed by, under and pursuant to the laws of New South Wales, Australia, without reference to conflict of law principles, notwithstanding mandatory rules. The validity of this governing law clause is not contested. The Terms shall be binding to the benefit of the parties hereto and their successors and assigns.
VENUE AND JURISDICTION
The Services offered by SVA are intended to be viewed by residents of Australia. In the event of any dispute arising out of or in relation to the Website or private community, you agree that, once the dispute resolution procedure in clause 34 has been exhausted, for any further disputes, the exclusive venue for resolving any dispute shall be in the courts of New South Wales, Australia and the venue shall be Sydney Australia.
SEVERANCE
The Terms will be enforced to the fullest extent permitted by applicable law.
If any part of the Terms is found to be void or unenforceable by a Court of competent jurisdiction, that part shall be severed and the rest of the Terms shall remain in force.
WAIVER
A waiver of any right, power or remedy under these Terms must be in writing signed by the party granting it.
A waiver is only effective in relation to the particular obligation or breach in respect of which it is given. It is not to be taken as an implied waiver of any other obligation or breach or as an implied waiver of that obligation or breach in relation to any other occasion.
The fact that a party fails to do, or delays in doing, something the party is entitled to do under these Terms does not amount to a waiver.
ASSIGNMENT
SVA may assign, transfer or novate its rights or obligations under these Terms without your consent with prior written notice.
You may assign, transfer or novate your rights or obligations under these Terms with prior written consent of SVA, and SVA will not unreasonably refuse such consent. A purported assignment, transfer or novation of your rights or obligations under these Terms without the prior written consent of SVA will be deemed void and convey no rights or obligations to the third party whom you have purportedly assigned, transferred or novated your rights and obligations to.
LIMITATION OF ACTION
To the fullest extent possible permitted by law, you agree that you cannot make bring a claim, action, suit, demand or proceedings (Claim) under these Terms for breach of these Terms or under any indemnity unless you give SVA written notice of the Claim and issue or initiate the Claim in a competent court, tribunal or other judicial body within 12 months from the event, fact or matter giving rise to the Claim has occurred, or within 12 months from the discovery of the event, fact or matter giving rise to the Claim occurring, whichever is later. You agree that failure to bring a Claim within the time period above will result in your Claim being permanently barred.
Notwithstanding this clause, the limitations do not apply to a Claim arising from the fraud or wilful misconduct or deliberate concealment on part of SVA or its third party service providers or their respective agents or representatives.
NON-DISCLOSURE
Neither party will disclose to any third party details of any agreement made with SVA or any of the negotiations undertaken in relation to such an agreement without the prior written consent of the other.