Terms and Conditions

1. About these terms

These Terms and Conditions govern your use of our website at [www.builderschoice.com.au] and the brokerage services we provide. By using our website, submitting an enquiry, booking a consultation or engaging us as your building broker, you agree to these terms. If you do not agree, please do not use our website or our services.

These terms should be read together with our Privacy Policy.

2. Who we are

[Insert registered legal entity name] trading as Builders Choice (ABN 91 689 205 776) (Builders Choice, we, us or our) is an independent building brokerage operating in Perth and Melbourne. We help people compare builders and navigate the home-building process.

We are not a builder, developer, land vendor, lender, credit provider, lawyer, conveyancer, accountant, financial adviser, surveyor, town planner or certifier. We do not construct homes and we do not hold or handle your construction funds.

Your website footer currently reads “Building broker · Licence no. ABN 91 689 205 776”, which presents an ABN under a licence heading. Confirm what licences or registrations Builders Choice actually holds in WA and VIC, insert the real numbers here, and correct the footer. In Western Australia, arranging or negotiating residential building work can attract registration requirements — have your lawyer confirm your position in both states.

3. What we do

Our services typically include a discovery discussion about your goals, budget and stage; exploring building pathways, designs and locations; a review of your finance position and a referral to finance partners where you want one; a roadmap and independent recommendations; introductions to builders we consider well suited to your project; and ongoing guidance and advocacy through to handover.

The scope of what we do for you is the scope we agree with you. We may decline to provide services, or stop providing them, at any time.

4. What we do not do

• We do not build, supply, project manage or supervise construction work.
• We do not enter into any contract on your behalf, and we cannot sign anything for you.
• We do not guarantee that a builder will accept your project, quote a particular price, meet a particular timeframe, or deliver a particular standard of work.
• We do not guarantee that you will be approved for finance, or that you will qualify for any grant, rebate or concession.
• We do not provide legal, tax, financial product, credit, planning, engineering or surveying advice.

5. Information, not personal advice

Everything on our website, and the general guidance we give you, is information of a general nature. It does not take into account your objectives, financial situation or particular needs, and it is not financial product advice, credit assistance, legal advice or tax advice.

Before you sign a building contract, a land contract or a finance agreement, you should obtain your own independent legal, financial and technical advice. Building and land contracts are significant, long-term commitments and you should not rely on us as a substitute for professional advice.

6. How we are paid

Our brokerage service is free to you. We are paid a commission or referral fee by the builder when a client we introduce proceeds to a build. The amount varies between builders in our network. We may also receive a referral fee from finance partners or other service providers where you engage them through us.

[Confirm and state whether the commission is paid out of the builder’s own margin and does not increase the price you pay. Only include a statement to that effect if it is accurate for every builder in your network — a statement that turns out to be wrong exposes you to a misleading conduct claim under the Australian Consumer Law.]

You may ask us at any time what we would receive in connection with a builder we recommend, and we will tell you. We recommend builders on the basis of what suits your budget, block, design and timeframe. You are never obliged to proceed with a builder we introduce, and you are free to stop working with us at any time at no cost.

7. Builder introductions and your contract with the builder

When we introduce you to a builder, we are making an introduction — nothing more. The decision to engage any builder is yours alone.

Any contract you enter into is between you and the builder. We are not a party to it, we do not administer it, and we are not responsible for the builder’s pricing, quotations, inclusions, variations, workmanship, defects, delays, warranties, insurances, conduct, solvency or compliance with the law.

While we pre-vet the builders in our network, you should still carry out your own due diligence before signing — including confirming the builder’s registration or licence and insurance, checking references and completed work, reading the contract in full, and obtaining independent legal advice. Nothing we say about a builder is a warranty or guarantee about that builder.

8. Eligibility checks, finance and grants

Our eligibility check and any review of your finance position are indicative only. They are based on the information you give us and on our general understanding of lender criteria and government programs at the time. They are not an assessment by a lender, not an approval or pre-approval, and not a promise that you will receive any grant, rebate or concession.

Grants, rebates and concessions are administered by government agencies, have their own eligibility criteria, and change from time to time. You should confirm your position with the relevant agency and with a licensed credit or financial professional.

Where you ask us to, we can refer you to mortgage partners. Those partners hold their own Australian Credit Licence or act as credit representatives, and any credit assistance is provided by them, not by us.

Have your lawyer confirm your position under the National Consumer Credit Protection Act 2009 (Cth). Referring a client to a licensed credit provider or broker can fall within the point-of-referral exemption, but only if you stay within its limits — broadly, you must not suggest a particular credit product or assist the client to apply.

9. Website content, floor plans and tools

Floor plans, house and land packages, renders, photographs, inclusions, prices and timeframes shown on our website are indicative only. They are supplied by builders and developers, are subject to change and availability, and may not reflect the current offer.

Images and renders are illustrative. They may show landscaping, fixtures, finishes, furniture and upgrades that are not included in a standard build.

Our Home Visualiser and similar tools are a guide for exploring possibilities. They are not a survey, a site assessment, a planning or building compliance assessment, or an engineering opinion, and they must not be relied on for any of those purposes. Anything a tool shows about how a design fits on a block, or about compliance, must be verified by the builder, a licensed surveyor and the relevant local authority.

Nothing on our website is an offer capable of acceptance.

10. Testimonials and reviews

Testimonials on our website reflect the experience of the individual clients who gave them. They are not a guarantee, prediction or warranty that you will have the same experience or outcome.

11. Your responsibilities

• Give us accurate, current and complete information. We rely on what you tell us, and the quality of our guidance depends on it.
• Tell us promptly if your circumstances change — particularly your budget, land position or finance.
• Make your own enquiries and get your own advice before you commit to anything.
• Use our website lawfully. Do not interfere with it, attempt to gain unauthorised access, introduce malicious code, scrape or data-mine it, or use it in a way that could damage or overburden it.
• Do not use our website if you are under 18 without the involvement of a parent or guardian.

12. Intellectual property

All content on our website — including text, layout, graphics, logos, photographs, renders, videos and software — is owned by us or our licensors and is protected by copyright and other laws. Floor plans, designs and imagery supplied by builders remain the property of those builders.

You may view, download and print our content for your own personal, non-commercial use in connection with considering a build. You must not otherwise reproduce, modify, distribute, publish or commercially exploit any of it without our prior written permission.

13. Third-party links

Our website may link to builder, developer, lender and government websites. We provide those links for convenience only. We do not control, endorse or accept responsibility for the content, products or services of any third-party site.

14. Privacy

We handle personal information in accordance with our Privacy Policy, which forms part of these terms. In particular, when you ask us to match you with a builder, you agree that we may share your details with the builders we shortlist so they can respond to you.

15. Availability of our website

We try to keep our website available and accurate, but we do not guarantee that it will be uninterrupted, error-free or free of viruses. We may change, suspend or withdraw any part of our website or our services at any time without notice.

16. Your rights under the Australian Consumer Law

Nothing in these terms excludes, restricts or modifies any guarantee, right or remedy you have under the Australian Consumer Law or any other law that cannot lawfully be excluded.

Our services come with guarantees that cannot be excluded under the Australian Consumer Law, including that they will be provided with due care and skill and will be fit for the purpose you told us about. Where we fail to meet a consumer guarantee, you are entitled to the remedies the law provides.

17. Limitation of our liability

Subject to section 16, and to the maximum extent permitted by law:

• all terms, conditions, warranties and representations not expressly set out in these terms are excluded;
• where we are permitted to limit our liability for breach of a consumer guarantee in relation to services, our liability is limited to resupplying the services or paying the cost of having them resupplied;
• we are not liable for any indirect, special or consequential loss, or for loss of profit, revenue, opportunity, anticipated savings or goodwill; and
• we are not liable for loss or damage arising from the acts, omissions, work, pricing, delay, insolvency or conduct of any builder, lender, developer, land vendor, consultant or other third party, from your reliance on indicative information such as plans, prices, renders or eligibility estimates, or from your failure to obtain independent advice.

Our liability is reduced to the extent that your own acts or omissions, or your failure to give us accurate information, caused or contributed to the loss.

Have your lawyer review this section against the unfair contract terms regime in the Australian Consumer Law. Since November 2023 the penalties for including an unfair term in a standard form consumer or small business contract are substantial, and broadly drafted exclusions, indemnities and unilateral variation rights are the clauses most often challenged. Section 18 below should be reviewed in the same light.

18. Indemnity

You agree to indemnify us against any loss, damage, cost or liability we reasonably incur as a direct result of your breach of these terms, your breach of the law, or information you give us that is materially inaccurate or misleading. This indemnity does not apply to the extent our own negligence or breach caused the loss.

19. No obligation, and ending the relationship

Engaging us places you under no obligation to proceed with any builder, any finance partner or any build. You may stop using our services at any time, at no cost. We may decline or discontinue services at our discretion, including where we cannot identify a suitable builder for your project.

20. Changes to these terms

We may update these terms from time to time. The current version will always be published on our website with the date it was last updated. Changes apply from the date they are published, and your continued use of our website or services after that date means you accept them.

21. Governing law

These terms are governed by the laws of [Western Australia], and you and we submit to the non-exclusive jurisdiction of the courts of that state and the courts able to hear appeals from them.

Choose the state of your principal place of business. You operate in both Perth and Melbourne — note that a governing law clause cannot displace a Victorian consumer’s rights under the Australian Consumer Law or the Domestic Building Contracts Act 1995 (Vic), so confirm this with your lawyer.

22. General

If any part of these terms is found to be unenforceable, it is severed and the rest continues to apply. A failure by us to enforce a term is not a waiver of it. These terms, together with our Privacy Policy and anything else we agree with you in writing, make up the entire agreement between us in relation to our website and our services.

23. Contact us

• Builders Choice
• Email: [email protected]
• Phone: 0861 660 625
• Post: [insert postal address]