HomeService and Integrity Statement

Service and Integrity Statement

1.0 General

1.1 Unless otherwise specifically and expressly agreed in writing by Compliance Bureau (hereinafter called “CB”), all services provided by Compliance Bureau are governed by the following general conditions of service, which prevail any purchase terms and conditions. We reserve the right to change these terms and conditions at any time, and you agree to abide by the most recent version of this Terms of Use Agreement each time you view and use the Website.

1.2 Services carried out by CB, on behalf of an entity or individual from whom the instructions to act have originated (hereinafter called the “Principal”) will be carried out by using techniques and processes that permit an independent, impartial and objective approach. The end result of the Service will consist in a certificate or document (hereinafter called the “Report”) communicating the collection of information CB has been requested to supply and will be delivered as a fax, a written document or an online report.

1.3 No other party than the Principal shall be entitled to give instructions to CB, particularly on the scope of inspection or delivery of Report, unless so authorized by the Principal.

2.0 Provision of services

2.1 CB in the capacity of an independent third party, supplies information in the form of ascertainment or recommendations for the special purpose of contributing to the prevention of the risks to which the beneficiaries of its services are exposed, and of helping them assure the quality of their products. CB’s services (hereinafter called the “Services”) consist of work performed by CB, including but not limited to:

  • Audit of factories ;
  • Pre-production inspections and quality control of the products ;
  • Pre-shipment inspections and quality control ;
  • Container loading inspections ;
  • During production inspections.

3.0 CB’s obligations and undertakings

3.1 CB expressly reserves the right to act at its own discretion in accepting or declining a request for service, and cannot be compelled to accept or be held liable for declining a request for services or for products:

  • Falling out of its scope of activity or specialization ;
  • Presenting geographical accessibility problems, such as services to be rendered or products to be found in restricted or highly remote areas ;
  • Requiring CB to obtain special permissions to operate such as governmental permissions.

3.2 CB undertakes to supply the Services it has accepted to carry out in a professional and timely manner, in accordance with proper professional practice and in compliance with:

  • The Principal’s special instructions when ordering the Service and as confirmed by CB- the terms of reference should be duly signed by the Principal and CB -, and in the absence of such instructions:
  • Any relevant professional standard, trade custom, usage or practice ;
  • Such methods as CB shall consider appropriate on technical, operational and/or financial grounds.

3.3 CB shall exercise due care and skill in the selection and assignment of its personnel.

Principal’s obligations and undertakings

4.1 To take all reasonable steps to assure CB has access to the site and materials on which Service will be based;

4.2 To provide CB with all information and samples, as well as the documents necessary to complete requested Service, in a timely manner (and in any event not later than 48 hours prior to the desired intervention),except for generally available documents such as codes and standards, either directly or through suppliers or agents of the Principal ;

4.3 To insure that adequate instructions and notice are given to CB in due time to facilitate proper performance for the Service requested;

4.4 To advise CB of the date on which the Services are to commence, or to be resumed, and also of essential dates affecting the item(s) for which Services are being rendered;

4.5 Generally to render all reasonable assistance to CB in providing necessary instructions, information, documents, safety and security information in connection with the working conditions, required equipment and access (as the case may be).

4.6 Documents reflecting engagements between the Principal and third parties or third parties’ documents – if received by CB – are considered to be for information only and do not extend or restrict the scope of the services or obligations accepted by AI.

Invoicing, fees and payment

5.1 Payment

Payment is expected as per document P 00141 (latest version).

All Inspections, Audits and Testing are billed to in one monthly invoice, issued at the month-end.

5.2 Cancellation charges: we accept cancellation until 16 00 hrs. (+5 GMT) the day before the projected Inspection date. After this limit, the Services booked will be charged in full.

5.3 In the case of an Order paid online and cancelled, CB will refund the amount after deduction of bank charges, whatsoever.

5.4 In the event that CB is being prevented from performing or completing in full requested Services, for any reason beyond its control, such as but not limited to, wrong information given by Client or Factory (e.g. goods not ready for Inspection despite information given by Factory,…), the Principal agrees to :

5.4.1 Reimburse any expenditure, and out of pocket expenses made or incurred in relation to this Service ;

5.4.2 Pay proportion of fees due for Services actually rendered and to release CB from all responsibility for partial or non-performance of the Services.

5.5 In the event when the Inspection must be cancelled on the projected Inspection day, because of wrong information given by Client or Factory (e.g. goods not ready for Inspection despite information given by Factory,…), the man-day will be considered spent, and CB will charge full fee to Client as a ‘missed Inspection’ fee. CB advises its clients to then re-charge this cost to their factory when the factory is proved to be mistaken.

5.5 Principal provided inspection sample(s) : If an inspection sample is provided by the Principal and shipped to an CB office, and then must be re-forwarded by CB to the Principal’s factory, and the shipping charge exceeds $10 USD, then the shipping fee will be automatically added to the final invoice amount.

Liability and indemnification

6.1 Limitation of liability

6.1.1 CB is neither an insurer nor a guarantor and disclaims such capacity. Clients seeking a guarantee against loss or damage should obtain appropriate insurance.

6.1.2 Subject to the Principal’s instructions as accepted by CB (as specified in the terms of reference), CB will issue the Report relating to the facts as recorded by it within the limits of the instructions received and on the basis of the documents and information provided by the Principal (refer to #4 above), but CB is under no obligation to report upon any facts or circumstances which are outside the specific scope of its assignment.

6.1.3 CB advice is given only in relation to documents and information provided by the Principal, and

CB cannot be held liable if it has received incomplete or erroneous information.

6.1.4 In the event of false information being given to CB by a third party, CB accepts no liability.

6.1.5 CB undertakes to use its best efforts and to exercise due care and skill in the performance of its Services, and accepts liability only in case of negligence proven by the Principal.

6.1.6 CB does not repack goods following an inspection; this should be performed by the supplier. Should the client request CB repackage the goods, CB is not liable for any possible damages or losses incurred related to the repacking process.

6.1.7 Subject to a building structural audit order being placed by the Principal, CB will conduct a visual audit of the property’s appearance and will prepare a descriptive report. CB shall take no responsibility in the case of damage or loss of assets, injury or death arising from problems with the property construction, the materials or with the equipment and how it is operated.

6.2 Indemnification

6.2.1 In the event of CB being held liable in respect to any claim of loss, damage or expense of whatsoever nature and however arising, its liability to the Principal shall in no circumstances exceed five times the total aggregate sum of fees paid for the specific single service for which a claim is made if no approved reference sample was provided by the Principal, and ten times if an approved reference sample was provided and available for the inspector at the factory on the day of inspection, or an approved CB office 48 hrs prior to the scheduled inspection date subject to the inspection having been performed to an AQL minimum general inspection level II per product reference.

6.2.2 In addition, in case of the Service of pre-shipment inspections:

  • Where less than 100% of the production is complete, our responsibility will only extend to those items completed at the time of inspection ;
  • The Report does not evidence shipment.

6.2.3 The Principal shall guarantee and indemnify CB and its servants, agents or subcontractors against all claims made by third parties for loss, damage or expense of nature arising, relating to the performance or non-performance of any service, to the extent that the total sum of such claims exceed the limitation of liability mentioned in Article 6.2.1.

6.3 In the event of any claim, notice must be given to CB headquarters (Diakam Pty ltd, suite 145, 585 little Collins Street, Melbourne, Vic 3000, Australia) within seven days following discovery of the facts, or three months from the completion of the CB Service.

Termination of services

CB shall be entitled to automatically either terminate and/or suspend provision of services in the event that :

7.1 The Principal commits any material breach of its obligations under these terms and conditions and/or the terms of reference and (if such breach shall be capable of remedy) fails to make good such breach within ten (10) days of receipt of notice served by the Non-Defaulting Party (CB) requiring it so to do. Material breaches include, without limitation any wilful and deliberate breach by the Principal of its obligations under clause 4 hereabove ;

7.2 The principal is insolvent or unable to pay its debts, in suspension of payments, or convenes a meeting of or compounds with its creditors or has a receiving order made against it or (other than for the purposes of bona fide amalgamation or reconstruction) has an order made or a resolution passed for its winding up or for the appointment of an administrator to manage its affairs, business and property or has a receiver or administrative receiver appointed over any of its assets or undertaking or if CB takes or suffers any similar or analogous action in consequence of debt.

Privacy Policy

8.1 How Do We Protect Your Information?

8.1.1 All personal data held by Compliance Bureau will be kept confidential except in such cases where disclosure is necessary to satisfy the purpose for which the data was collected. In these cases, information may be supplied to the following parties:

  • Any subsidiary, holding company, associated company, affiliate of, or companies controlled by or under common control with Compliance Bureau.
  • Any commercial partner of Compliance Bureau agreeing to Compliance Bureau partnerships conditions.
  • Any individual who is under a duty of confidentiality to Compliance Bureau agreeing to keep such information confidential?
  • Any financial institution, charge or credit card issuing company, credit information or reference bureau, or collection agency necessary for establishing and supporting the payment of any services being requested.

8.1.2 Personal data may also be disclosed to any person or persons that have a right to access such information, provided they are able to prove their authority to access such information. For example, if Compliance Bureau were served with a court order demanding certain information regarding the customer, then Compliance Bureau would disclose the information to the duty appointed officer of the court.

8.1.3 Compliance Bureau reserves the right to send, either by email, mail or phone, promotional offers on behalf of third-party partners that may complete the services provided by Compliance Bureau this may include, though is not limited to, sample delivery, web analytics, data analysis, etc.

8.1.4 Unless explicitly required otherwise, CB may use the customer’s company name and logo as exhibits of the work performed.

8.2 Access to and Correction of Personal Data

8.2.1 To edit your personal and corporate information at any time, write to admin@c-b.org.au, and :

  • Specify the data which is incorrect, the reason why it is incorrect, and the appropriate corrections.
  • Provide proof of identity verifying that the individual making the request is authorized to request such corrections.

8.2.2 CB will, upon satisfying itself of the authenticity and validity of the correction request, make every effort to comply with and respond to the request within the shortest period of time. You have the right to request that CB delete your account, voluntarily terminating your access to CB services.

8.3 Data Retention

8.3.1 Webmaster will destroy any information it may hold in accordance with our internal retention policy. This policy requires that information will only be retained for as long as it is necessary to fulfill the original or directly-related purpose for which it was collected, unless such information is retained to satisfy any applicable statutory or contractual obligations.

8.4 Electronic Notification

8.4.1 To the extent that we may need to contact you, you agree that we may do so via any electronic means, included but not limited to communication posted on the Site, electronic mail, or instant messaging.

8.4.2 If you don’t want to be on our mailing list or limit communications, you can opt out anytime by updating your preferences or email admin@c-b.org.au

8.4.3 Should you have any further queries, don’t hesitate to contact us! Our team will gladly answer any of your questions!

Intellectual Property

9.1 CB is and will remain the owner of all possible intellectual property rights and database producer rights relating in general to the provision of the Services, in particular with regard to the techniques and processes it uses to gather the information, the way to present the information, certificates or other documents and the raw information collected during the course of the Services. CB will be free to host, store and publish all its intellectual property rights and all information collected and to use it for example to offer new kinds of services or to compile data.

9.2 Clause 9.1. here above is stipulated without prejudice of the confidential nature of the Report(s) provided to the Principal and of the rights granted to the Principal to use, reproduce and represent the Report(s) in the normal course of its business and for personal use, worldwide and for the full duration of all intellectual property rights.

Miscellaneous

10.1 The Report will reflect findings of the Service at the time and place of Service. This Report does not discharge sellers and suppliers from their legal and/or commercial obligations towards the principle.

Applicable and Governing law, Jurisdiction and settlement of dispute

11.1 Unless otherwise provided, these terms and conditions shall be governed by and construed in accordance with Exporting country Law.

11.2 All disputes or differences of any kind whatsoever between the parties in connection with or arising out of the services shall be submitted to the nonexclusive jurisdiction of the courts of Australia.

Language

These terms and conditions have been drafted in English. In case of discrepancy, the English version shall be controlling for all purposes.