Terms & Conditions

1. Acceptance of Terms

These Terms and Conditions ("Terms") govern your access to and use of the IT services, products and website operated by BITS IT Support, a wholly owned subsidiary of Accel IT ("BITS", "we", "us" or "our"), located at Suite 2/98–100 Williams Rd, Dandenong South VIC 3175.

By engaging BITS for any service, whether through a signed service agreement, written proposal, verbal instruction or ongoing arrangement, you ("Client", "you") agree to be bound by these Terms. If you do not agree, please do not engage our services.

These Terms apply in addition to any specific service agreement or statement of work entered into between BITS and the Client. In the event of any inconsistency between these Terms and a signed service agreement, the terms of the service agreement will prevail to the extent of the inconsistency.

2. Services

BITS provides managed IT support, cyber security, cloud infrastructure, data and AI solutions, VoIP services and IT project services to businesses, primarily within Melbourne and surrounding areas of Victoria, Australia.

2.1 Service Availability

Standard support hours are Monday to Friday, 8:00 am to 6:00 pm AEST/AEDT, excluding Victorian public holidays. After-hours emergency support is available to clients with an active managed IT support agreement that includes after-hours coverage.

2.2 Third-Party Services

Some services involve third-party products, platforms or vendors (such as Microsoft 365, cloud providers and security vendors). BITS will manage these on your behalf where agreed, but the terms of those third parties also apply. BITS is not liable for outages, changes or failures caused by third-party vendors.

2.3 Remote and On-Site Support

BITS provides support remotely and on-site as required. On-site visits are subject to technician availability and may incur travel charges for locations outside our standard service area. BITS technicians attending your premises must be provided with safe and appropriate working conditions.

3. Quotes & Proposals

Written quotes and proposals provided by BITS remain valid for 30 days from the date of issue unless stated otherwise. After this period, pricing may be subject to change.

A quote or proposal does not constitute a binding contract until it has been accepted in writing (including by email) by an authorised representative of the Client. Work will not commence until acceptance is confirmed.

3.1 Scope Changes

Where the scope of work changes after a quote or proposal has been accepted, BITS will advise of any additional costs before proceeding. Clients will be provided with a variation notice for approval. Work required outside the original scope will be charged at our current standard rates unless otherwise agreed in writing.

4. Payment Terms

4.1 Invoicing

Invoices for managed IT support services are issued monthly in advance. Project work and ad hoc support may be invoiced upon completion, at project milestones or as otherwise agreed. Hardware and software procurement is invoiced upon order or delivery.

4.2 Payment Due Date

Payment is due within 14 days of the invoice date unless otherwise stated on the invoice or agreed in a service agreement. Payments may be made by electronic funds transfer (EFT), direct debit or credit card as arranged with BITS.

4.3 Late Payment

Accounts overdue by more than 14 days may incur a late payment fee. BITS reserves the right to suspend services for accounts overdue by more than 30 days without further notice. BITS will provide reasonable written notice before suspending services wherever practicable.

4.4 Disputes

If you dispute an invoice, please notify us in writing within 7 days of receipt. Undisputed portions of the invoice remain payable by the due date. BITS will work in good faith to resolve any billing disputes promptly.

5. Acceptable Use

You agree to use BITS services only for lawful purposes and in accordance with these Terms. You must not use BITS services, infrastructure or systems to:

• Engage in any unlawful activity under Australian or applicable law
• Transmit, distribute or store content that is defamatory, obscene, abusive or otherwise objectionable
• Send unsolicited commercial messages (spam) in breach of the Spam Act 2003 (Cth)
• Infringe the intellectual property rights of any person or organisation
• Introduce malware, viruses or other malicious code into any system
• Attempt to gain unauthorised access to any computer system, network or data
• Engage in activities that place excessive or unreasonable load on shared infrastructure

BITS may immediately suspend services if we reasonably believe you are in breach of this clause, and we will notify you as soon as practicable. Persistent or serious breaches may result in termination of services.

6. Intellectual Property

6.1 BITS Materials

All intellectual property developed, created or owned by BITS prior to or independently of any engagement, including methodologies, tools, documentation templates, scripts and software, remains the property of BITS. Nothing in these Terms transfers ownership of BITS' pre-existing intellectual property to the Client.

6.2 Client Materials

All data, files, software, systems and content owned by the Client remain the property of the Client. You grant BITS a limited licence to access and use your systems and data solely for the purpose of providing the agreed services.

6.3 Custom Deliverables

Where BITS creates custom deliverables specifically for a Client (such as scripts, configurations or documentation) as part of a project engagement, ownership of those deliverables will be as agreed in the relevant project proposal or service agreement. Where not specified, deliverables remain the property of BITS until full payment has been received.

6.4 Website Content

All content published on the BITS website (businessitsupport.au), including text, images, graphics and design, is owned by or licensed to BITS. You may not reproduce, redistribute or repurpose any website content without prior written consent.

7. Limitation of Liability

7.1 General Limitation

To the maximum extent permitted by law, BITS' total liability to you for any loss or damage arising from or related to the provision of services, whether arising in contract, negligence, tort or otherwise, is limited to the total fees paid by you to BITS in the three months immediately preceding the event giving rise to the claim.

7.2 Consequential Loss

To the maximum extent permitted by law, BITS excludes all liability for indirect, incidental, special or consequential loss or damage, including loss of data, loss of revenue, loss of profits or business interruption, even if BITS has been advised of the possibility of such loss.

7.3 Consumer Guarantees

Nothing in these Terms excludes, restricts or modifies any right or remedy, or any guarantee, warranty or other term or condition, implied or imposed by the Australian Consumer Law (Competition and Consumer Act 2010 (Cth), Schedule 2) that cannot lawfully be excluded or limited.

7.4 Data Backup

While BITS may assist with backup solutions, you are ultimately responsible for maintaining adequate backups of your own data. BITS recommends maintaining your own independent backup copies of all critical data. BITS is not liable for data loss unless this results directly from our gross negligence or wilful misconduct.

7.5 Cyber Incidents

BITS implements best-practice security measures on your behalf but cannot guarantee that systems will be free from all security threats. You acknowledge that no IT system can be made entirely immune to cyber attack. BITS is not liable for losses arising from cyber incidents unless directly caused by our gross negligence or wilful misconduct.

8. Privacy

BITS is committed to protecting your privacy and handling personal information in accordance with the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth) and the Australian Privacy Principles (APPs).

In the course of providing services, BITS may collect, use and store personal information about your employees, contractors and customers as necessary to deliver the agreed services. We will not disclose this information to third parties except:

• As required to deliver the services (e.g. to third-party vendors or cloud platforms)
• As required by law or a regulatory authority
• With your prior written consent

For full details of how BITS collects, uses, stores and protects personal information, please contact us at info@businessitsupport.au to request our Privacy Policy.

9. Termination

9.1 Termination by Client

You may terminate a managed service arrangement by providing 30 days' written notice to BITS, unless a different notice period is specified in your service agreement. Project engagements may be terminated by written notice, with payment due for all work completed to the date of termination.

9.2 Termination by BITS

BITS may terminate or suspend services with written notice if:

• You fail to pay invoices within 30 days of the due date after receiving notice of the overdue amount
• You are in material breach of these Terms or a service agreement and have not remedied the breach within 14 days of written notice
• You become insolvent, are placed into administration or liquidation, or make an arrangement with creditors
• Continuing to provide services would place BITS in breach of any law or professional obligation

9.3 Effect of Termination

Upon termination, all outstanding invoices become immediately due and payable. BITS will provide reasonable assistance to transition services to a replacement provider, subject to payment of any applicable fees. BITS will return or delete your data as requested, subject to any legal retention obligations.

10. Changes to These Terms

BITS reserves the right to update these Terms from time to time. Where changes are material, we will notify active clients via email at least 14 days before the changes take effect. The current version of these Terms is always available at businessitsupport.au/terms-and-conditions. Continued use of our services after the effective date of any changes constitutes your acceptance of the updated Terms.

11. Governing Law

These Terms are governed by the laws of the State of Victoria, Australia. Both parties submit to the non-exclusive jurisdiction of the courts of Victoria and the Federal Court of Australia for the resolution of any dispute arising under or in connection with these Terms.

BITS and the Client agree to attempt to resolve any dispute in good faith before initiating formal legal proceedings. Where mediation is required, the parties will use the mediation services of the Resolution Institute or a mutually agreed mediator.

12. Contact Us

If you have any questions about these Terms or wish to discuss your service arrangement, please contact us:

• BITS IT Support (a wholly owned subsidiary of Accel IT)
• Suite 2/98–100 Williams Rd, Dandenong South VIC 3175
• Phone: 03 9067 7787
• Email: info@businessitsupport.au