These Terms & Conditions apply to design, website development, branding, digital services, consulting, maintenance, support and related services provided by Ferndril Design Co. (“Ferndril”, “we”, “us” or “our”) to clients (“client”, “you” or “your”).
By accepting a proposal or quotation, approving a project, making payment, instructing Ferndril to commence work, or otherwise proceeding with our services, you agree to these Terms & Conditions together with the applicable project proposal, quotation, invoice, scope of work or written agreement.
Where a specific written project agreement or proposal contains terms that expressly differ from these Terms & Conditions, the specific agreed project terms will apply to the extent of the inconsistency.
[Last Updated – 10 November, 2025]
Ferndril provides services including, but not limited to:
The specific services to be provided will be described in the applicable proposal, quotation, invoice, statement of work or written correspondence.
Before commencing a project, Ferndril will generally establish the agreed scope of work.
The scope may include:
Work outside the agreed scope may constitute additional work and may be quoted or charged separately.
Requests that materially change the original requirements, functionality, platform, design direction or deliverables may require a revised quotation, timeframe or project scope.
A project is considered commenced once Ferndril begins work following confirmation of the engagement.
Project commencement may include:
Once work has commenced, cancellation does not automatically entitle the client to a full refund.
Unless otherwise agreed in writing:
Ferndril will communicate any material additional costs before incurring them where reasonably practicable.
Where a deposit or initial payment is required, it secures project commencement and allows Ferndril to allocate resources and begin the agreed work.
A deposit is not described as automatically or unconditionally non-refundable.
If a project is cancelled after work has commenced, the amount retained by Ferndril will be assessed having regard to:
Any refund will be considered in accordance with these Terms & Conditions and applicable law.
The client agrees to provide information, content, approvals, access credentials and other materials reasonably required for Ferndril to perform the services.
The client is responsible for ensuring that materials supplied to Ferndril:
Delays caused by the client may affect project deadlines.
Where Ferndril is waiting for information, content, approvals, access or decisions from the client, the project timeframe may be extended accordingly.
A delay caused by the client does not automatically create a right to a refund.
Where a project is placed on hold for an extended period, Ferndril may require the project to be rescheduled based on current availability.
Unless otherwise specified in the project proposal, revisions are limited to the number of revision rounds included within the agreed scope.
A revision means a reasonable modification to work already produced within the original project requirements.
A change in the underlying project requirements, design direction, functionality, platform or scope may constitute additional work.
Ferndril may provide an additional quotation before undertaking substantial additional work.
Where the client reviews and approves a design, page, feature, branding asset, functionality or milestone, that approval may be relied upon by Ferndril when progressing the project.
The client remains responsible for reviewing supplied materials and identifying errors or changes that are reasonably apparent during the review process.
Approval does not remove any rights the client may have under applicable consumer law.
A client may request cancellation of a project at any time by providing written notice.
However, cancellation after work has commenced does not automatically entitle the client to a full refund.
Upon receiving a cancellation request, Ferndril may assess:
The client will remain responsible for amounts properly attributable to services already performed and other agreed or reasonably incurred project costs, subject to any rights the client has under applicable law.
Where an amount has been paid for services that have genuinely not been performed and is otherwise refundable, Ferndril will consider an appropriate refund.
Where a project has progressed substantially, cancellation will generally not result in a full refund because a significant portion of the contracted services has already been performed.
For the purpose of assessing cancellation, substantial completion may be considered by reference to:
A client deciding that they no longer require, want to use or intend to launch a project does not, by itself, mean that work already performed was not supplied.
This provision does not limit any statutory consumer rights or remedies available under Australian law.
Unless otherwise required by law, a change of mind does not automatically entitle a client to a full refund.
Examples may include:
Where cancellation occurs for these or similar reasons, Ferndril may retain amounts reasonably attributable to work already performed, deliverables supplied and costs incurred, subject to applicable law.
The ACCC confirms that a customer who has received what they agreed to purchase is generally not entitled to a consumer-guarantee refund simply because they changed their mind or no longer have a use for it.
Nothing in these Terms & Conditions prevents a client from exercising rights available under the Australian Consumer Law or other applicable legislation.
Where a service has a problem, Ferndril will have the opportunity, where legally applicable and reasonably possible, to investigate and rectify the issue within a reasonable period.
Where Australian Consumer Law provides the client with a right to cancel or obtain a refund or other remedy, Ferndril will comply with those requirements.
Nothing in these Terms & Conditions excludes, restricts or modifies any consumer guarantee, right or remedy that cannot legally be excluded under the Australian Consumer Law, including the Competition and Consumer Act 2010 (Cth).
Our services come with guarantees that cannot be excluded under the Australian Consumer Law. For major failures with the service, you are entitled:
• to cancel your service contract with us; and
• to a refund for the unused portion, or to compensation for its reduced value
You are also entitled to be compensated for any other reasonably foreseeable loss or damage.
For services supplied after 9 June 2019, the ACCC identifies this wording as mandatory wording for businesses where applicable.
If a service problem is not a major failure, applicable Australian Consumer Law remedies may include having the problem rectified within a reasonable time and, where the legal requirements are met, cancellation and a refund for the unused portion.
Nothing in these Terms & Conditions is intended to:
If any provision of these Terms & Conditions conflicts with a mandatory legal requirement, that requirement will prevail to the extent of the conflict.
Where a refund is requested, Ferndril may assess the circumstances of the request, including:
A refund, where appropriate, will be calculated having regard to the services that have and have not been provided rather than automatically treating the entire project payment as refundable.
For clarity, Ferndril does not represent that a client will receive a particular percentage refund merely because a project is cancelled at a particular stage.
A project may require third-party services, including:
Where Ferndril purchases or commits to third-party services on the client’s behalf, the relevant cost may remain payable where the third-party provider does not provide a refund.
Ferndril will not represent a third-party cost as refundable where the third-party provider has not agreed to refund it.
Where website development or software development is provided, the project may involve third-party platforms, frameworks, APIs, hosting providers and software services.
Unless expressly included in the project scope, ongoing third-party subscription fees, hosting fees, domain fees, software licences and external service fees are the client’s responsibility.
The client is responsible for maintaining third-party accounts after handover unless ongoing maintenance has been separately agreed.
Upon completion, cancellation or termination of a project, Ferndril may provide the client with the agreed deliverables and relevant project materials.
Depending on the project, handover may include:
Where a client requests a handover following cancellation, Ferndril may require outstanding amounts properly due for work already performed to be resolved before completing additional handover work, subject to any rights the client has under applicable law.
Unless otherwise agreed in writing, ownership and licensing of intellectual property will be determined by the applicable project proposal or agreement.
Where the client has paid for custom work and the agreement provides for transfer of ownership, Ferndril will transfer the applicable rights upon the conditions specified in the agreement.
Third-party materials remain subject to their respective licences and terms.
Ferndril may retain rights in pre-existing tools, frameworks, templates, methodologies, processes, code libraries and reusable components that were not specifically created exclusively for the client.
Unless otherwise agreed in writing, Ferndril may display completed work in its portfolio, website, social media or marketing materials after the project has been publicly launched.
Ferndril will not knowingly disclose confidential information belonging to the client.
A client may request that a particular project not be publicly displayed where this has been agreed in writing.
Each party should take reasonable steps to protect confidential information received from the other party.
Confidential information does not include information that:
Any project timeframe provided by Ferndril is an estimate unless a specific deadline has been expressly agreed in writing.
Timelines may change due to:
Unless ongoing maintenance or support is specifically included in the agreement, project fees do not automatically include unlimited ongoing support.
Ferndril may provide reasonable post-completion assistance relating to the delivered project.
Additional development, redesign, troubleshooting, content changes or technical work may be separately quoted.
Changes requested after a project has been approved or completed may constitute additional work.
Examples include:
Such work may be separately quoted.
If you have a concern regarding our services, please contact Ferndril in writing and provide reasonable details of the issue.
We will review:
Where appropriate, the parties should attempt to resolve the matter directly before commencing formal proceedings.
Nothing in this clause prevents a client from exercising any statutory right or contacting an appropriate consumer protection or dispute-resolution body.
To the extent permitted by law, Ferndril will not be responsible for loss caused by matters outside its reasonable control, including failures of third-party platforms, hosting providers, payment processors, domain providers, software providers or other external services.
Nothing in these Terms & Conditions excludes liability that cannot legally be excluded under applicable law, including liability arising from non-excludable consumer guarantees.
Ferndril may use third-party platforms and services including hosting providers, payment processors, content-management systems, cloud services, email services, software libraries and other technology providers.
Ferndril cannot guarantee uninterrupted operation of third-party services.
Where a third-party service changes its pricing, functionality, availability or terms, additional work may be required to maintain or modify the client’s project.
Ferndril will not be responsible for delays caused by circumstances reasonably outside its control, including significant technical failures, infrastructure outages, natural disasters, government actions, internet outages, third-party platform failures or other events that could not reasonably have been prevented.
Ferndril will make reasonable efforts to communicate material delays and resume services when reasonably possible.
Ferndril may update these Terms & Conditions from time to time for future projects and engagements.
The version applicable to a particular project will generally be the version incorporated into or otherwise agreed for that project at the time the contract is formed.
A subsequent website update will not automatically change an existing contract unless the parties agree to the change or the change is otherwise permitted by law.
These Terms & Conditions are intended to operate consistently with applicable Australian law, including the Australian Consumer Law where applicable.
Nothing in these Terms & Conditions is intended to prevent the operation of any mandatory law that applies to the services or the parties.
Where a specific project agreement specifies a governing law or jurisdiction, that provision will apply subject to mandatory applicable law.
If any provision of these Terms & Conditions is found to be invalid, unenforceable or unlawful, that provision will be interpreted or modified to the extent necessary to make it lawful where possible.
If it cannot be made lawful, it will be severed to the extent necessary without affecting the remaining provisions.
The applicable proposal, quotation, invoice, statement of work, written project agreement, these Terms & Conditions and any expressly incorporated documents together form the agreement between Ferndril and the client.
Where there is a conflict, the specific written project agreement or proposal will take precedence over these general Terms & Conditions to the extent of the conflict.
The client acknowledges that proceeding with a project may constitute acceptance of the applicable proposal, quotation, invoice and these Terms & Conditions.
Acceptance may occur through: