Terms and conditions

Social Carers

Like Family is an online platform that connects individuals seeking non-medical care, social and companionship services ('Members') with those willing to provide such services ('Social Carers'). Our mission is to build meaningful connections and support for people in local communities to reduce social isolation and Loneliness. The Platform enables Members to search for, communicate with, and engage Social Carers for various non-medical care services, including but not limited to companionship, social support, light household tasks, and community access assistance. Like Family does not directly provide care services but instead offers a technology-driven marketplace that empowers Members to find suitable Social Carers and allows Social Carers to offer their services independently.

1. Introduction

1.1. These terms and conditions which govern use by Social Carers of the Like Family website and app (together referred to as Platform). The Platform is available at likefamily.com.au.

1.2. The Platform is provided by Home Care Heroes Pty Ltd trading as Like Family (ABN: 30 609 427 349) (we, us and our) to users. These users may be:

(a) Social Carers who are willing to provide non-medical care and companionship services (Social Carers); or

(b) those who want non-medical care and companionship services (Members).

1.3. The Platform enables Members to find and connect with Social Carers.

1.4. To access and use the Platform as a Social Carer, you need to register as a user and agree to comply with these terms and conditions.

1.5. These terms and conditions govern use of the Platform by Social Carers. If you are wanting to have access to the Platform as a Member please click here.

1.6. When a Member books a Social Carer’s services through the Platform, an agreement will come into existence between the Social Carer and the Member. That agreement contains terms and conditions which are available in Companionship Agreement.

You must read the terms and conditions of the Companionship Agreement before you accept a booking.

2. Definitions and Interpretation

2.1. In these terms and conditions, the definitions have the following meanings:

Social Carer means a person who is a registered as a user of the Platform as a person who wants to provide non-medical care and companionship services to Members.

Social Carer Profile means the online profile a Social Carer creates to promote their services to Members which includes photos and personal details about that Social Carer.

Law means any Commonwealth, State, Territory or local government legislation in force in Australia.

Loss includes any liability, damage, costs (including legal costs on a solicitor and own client basis) and other outgoing, and any diminution in value of, or deficiency of any kind, in anything.

Member means a person who is a registered as a user of the Platform as a person who wants non-medical care and companionship services provided to them by Social Carers.

Platform Fee means the fee charged by us to a Social Carer (out of Service Fees to which that Social Carer is entitled) for providing access to the Platform and related services to each Social Carer.

Services means the non-medical care and companionship services you promote and provide to Members through the Platform.

Service Fee means the fee charged by a Social Carer to a Member for that Social Carer’s Services. 

2.2. In these terms and conditions, unless the context otherwise requires:

(a) words denoting any gender include all genders;

(b) headings are for convenience only and do not affect interpretation;

(c) the singular includes the plural and vice versa;

(d) a reference to a party includes its successors and permitted assigns;

(e) a reference to a person includes a corporation, trust, partnership, unincorporated body or other entity, whether or not it comprises a separate legal entity; and

(f) a reference to a statute or other law includes regulations and other instruments under it and consolidations, amendments, re-enactments or replacements of any of them.

3. Agreement

3.1. By creating a Social Carer Profile on the Platform you agree to comply with these terms and conditions. 

3.2. You will provide your Services to each Member, who engages you to provide Services through the Platform. You acknowledge and agree that you will do this as an independent contractor.

3.3. Nothing in these terms and conditions constitutes a relationship of employer and employee, principal and agent or partnership between you and us or between you and a Member.

3.4. You acknowledge and agree that you have read an understood the Introduction to Contracting published by us to assist Social Carers.

3.5. You declare that you have never, in Australia or in a country other than Australia, been convicted of an offence, or, if you have been convicted of an offence, you have disclosed the details of that offence.

4. Your Responsibilities

4.1. The responsibilities in this clause apply when you are providing your Services to Members, unless otherwise stated.

4.2. You must behave in a manner that is consistent with our Social Carer Code of conduct.

4.3. You must comply with the NDIS Code of Conduct if You are providing Care Services to or interacting with a participant of the NDIS. Comply with the Code of Conduct for Aged Care if You are providing Care Services to or interacting with a Client who receives or wishes to receive aged care.

4.4. You are expected to behave at all times in way that does not result in any damage to our reputation.

4.5. You must comply with the policies and procedures we publish on our website that applies to Social Carers, you can find these here.

4.6. Your failure to comply with our policies and procedures and/or the Social Carer Standards Guide may result in suspension and/or termination of your right to use the Platform. 

4.7. You must:

(a) provide your Services with reasonable care and in accordance with all applicable Laws; 

(b) bear all costs and expenses related to your use of the Platform and provision of Services to Members.

(c) notify Like Family if there's any change to your ABN

4.8. During and for a period of 12 months following when you cease being a Social Carer you must not directly or indirectly establish or operate a business which is in the same business as us or which offers a service that is substantively similar to that offered by us.

4.9. During and for a period of 12 months following when you cease being a Social Carer you must not without our prior written consent:

(a) solicit, canvass, approach or accept an approach from a person (who was at any time during the 12 months prior to the date you ceased being a Social Carer) a Member or client with an intention to obtaining their custom;

(b) interfere with the relationship between the us and our Members, clients, employees or suppliers; or

(c) induce or help to induce an employee or contractor of ours to leave their employment or terminate their contract.

4.10. You must provide to us, at your expense and on our request, with the following:

(a) evidence of your age and identity;

(b) evidence of your previous employment and qualifications;

(c) a valid Australian Driver’s Licence;

(d) criminal records checks;

(e) Working With Children check or Blue Card;

(f) an Australian Business Number (ABN);

(g) NDIS Worker Check;

(h) proof of vehicle registration; and

(i) proof of full COVID-19 vaccination or a valid medical exemption.

4.11. You warrant:

(a) you have valid Australia working rights as are required so you can provide your Services; and

(b) that all information so provided and any information provided when you registered as a Social Carer, is true accurate and complete.

4.12. You must not, in relation to your use of the Platform:

(a) impersonate others;

(b) misrepresent your affiliation with others;

(c) share your log in details and passwords to any other person;

(d) interrupt or attempt to negatively impact or alter the operation of the Platform in any way;

(e) engage in any other practices which may adversely affect the credibility or reputation of the Platform and/or us; 

(f) use the Platform in a way that violates applicable laws, that violates the intellectual property rights or other rights of us or others, or that is fraudulent, obscene, unprofessional, offensive, misleading or defamatory.

(g) reverse engineer, decompile or disassemble the Platform or use the Platform to develop a solution that is the same or substantially similar to the Platform;

(h) licence, sell, rent, lease, transfer, assign or otherwise commercially exploit, or otherwise make the Platform available to any third party;

(i) except as permitted under this agreement, modify, reproduce, display, publish, distribute, copy, transmit, perform, license, create derivative works from, transfer, or sell or re­sell any information, content, software, or materials made available through the Platform; or

(j) engage in any misleading or deceptive conduct or any other conduct that would contravene the Australian Consumer Law.

4.13. You grant to us a royalty-free, non-exclusive licence to use your name together with your images and other information in your profile on the Platform for the purpose of promoting you on the Platform, marketing the Platform, and publicly sharing a link to your profile outside of the Platform. This licence will automatically terminate when you close your account on the Platform.

4.14. In order to use the Platform, you must provide us with certain information about yourself. We will handle and store this information in accordance with our privacy policy.

5. Our Responsibilities

5.1. We will provide you with access to the Platform.

5.2. A booking for your Services is confirmed when the booking status on your dashboard on the Platform changes to ‘confirmed’.

5.3. We may, at any time, enhance and/or alter the features of the Platform at its sole discretion and without notice to you.

5.4. We will engage a third-party payment facilitator to enable Members to book and pay for your Services without us collecting payment details.


6. What Is Not Allowed

6.1. You must not engage in, nor enable any other person to engage in, any of the following prohibited activities (Prohibited Conduct):
(i) Provide care services for which you are not verified and approved by Like Family to provide.
(ii) Arrange to provide services similar to or the same as the care services to Members other than through the Platform.
(iii) Engage in any Avoidance Conduct, or otherwise fail to comply with the terms outlined in this agreement.
(iv) Reproduce, duplicate, copy, sell, resell, or exploit any portion of the Platform or Platform Services.
(v) Harass, discriminate against, intimidate, or otherwise engage in illegal or offensive behavior with respect to any other Member, or use the Platform to stalk another person.
(vi) Engage in any fraudulent conduct through the Platform.
(vii) Conduct or promote any illegal activities while using the Platform or Platform Services.
(viii) Upload, distribute, or print any prohibited content.
(ix) Use the Platform or Platform Services to generate unsolicited email advertisements or spam.
(x) Allow, enable, or otherwise support the transmission of mass unsolicited, commercial advertising or solicitations via email (spam).
(xi) Misuse or attempt to interfere with the Platform or Platform Services, including by:

  • (A) Attempting to reverse engineer or jeopardize the correct functioning of the Platform, or otherwise attempt to derive the source code of the software (including the tools, methods, processes, and infrastructure) that enables or underlies the Platform, or attempt to gain access to secured portions of the Platform or Platform Services to which you do not possess access rights;
  • (B) Uploading or transmitting to the Platform any form of virus, worm, trojan horse, or other malicious code;
  • (C) Interfering in any way with the proper functioning of the Platform or Platform Services or disrupt any servers or networks connected to the Platform or Platform Services, or disobey any requirements, procedures, policies, or regulations of networks connected to the Platform or Platform Services;
  • (D) Using any high volume automatic, electronic, or manual process to access, search, harvest, “screen scrape”, monitor, “mine” information from the Platform or Platform Services (including without limitation robots, spiders, or scripts) or copy any static or dynamic web page on the Site or Platform or the content contained on any such web page for commercial use without Like Family’s prior express written permission;
  • (E) Mirroring or framing the Platform or any Content, placing pop-up windows over its pages, or otherwise affecting the display of its pages; or
  • (F) Impersonating any person, or otherwise misrepresenting an affiliation with a person.

(xii) Otherwise behave in a manner that is contrary to the Code of Conduct.


6.2. Taking Arrangements Off the Platform (Avoidance Conduct)

(a) The conduct referred to in clauses 5.1(iii) is Avoidance Conduct, which constitutes Prohibited Conduct under this Agreement.
(b) You acknowledge and agree that:

  • (i) The Platform is not developed to introduce Social Carers to Members for them to then continue their arrangements off the Platform;
  • (ii) The Platform has various safety measures in place that will no longer apply if Social Carers and Members are merely introduced and then engage off the Platform; and
  • (iii) Our model has been developed to charge smaller fees on an ongoing basis rather than a large upfront fee that would apply if we were to provide a recruitment or referral service.

(c) During the Term of this Agreement:

  • (i) You are only entitled to use the Platform for the purposes described in this Agreement. You must not access or make use of the Platform for the purpose of developing a competing business, or for recruiting any other Member to provide or receive care services outside of the Platform;
  • (ii) You must only book and receive payment for care services through the Platform; and
  • (iii) You must not encourage or solicit any Member to avoid making payments through the Platform or avoid paying the fees that are due to Us under their agreement with Us.

(d) For a period of 12 months from the date You last accessed the Platform, in relation to Members You met on the Platform, You must not:

  • (i) Arrange or provide services similar to or the same as the care services to that Member other than through the Platform; or
  • (ii) Directly invoice that Member (or their nominated funding party), or that Member's representative, or accept any payment from that Member (or their nominated funding party), or that Member's representative other than through the Platform for the provision of services similar to or the same as the care services.

(e) The restrictions set out in clause 6.2.(d) survive termination of this Agreement, unless We terminate this Agreement under clause 10, in which case the restrictions set out in clause 6.2(d) cease to apply as at the date of termination.

(f) You agree to immediately notify Us if a Member requests that You be involved in any Avoidance Conduct.

(g) You acknowledge and agree that if You engage in Avoidance Conduct, or otherwise fail to comply with this clause:

  • (i) Such conduct will constitute a material breach of an essential term of this Agreement, and a Material Breach Event pursuant to clause 10;
  • (ii) We will suffer Loss as a result of such conduct; and
  • (iii) We will be entitled to remedies as a result of such conduct, including:
    (A) Pursuant to the indemnity by You under clause 9;
  • (B) Suspension of Your Account under clause 10;
  • (C) Investigating Your conduct under clause 10;
  • D) Termination of Your Account (and this Agreement) under clause 10;
  • (E) Damages as a result of breach of contract; and/or
  • (F) Any other remedies that may be available to Us under this Agreement or at Law.

6.3 Prohibited Content

(a) Prohibited Content is content of any kind that:

  • (i) Is offensive, defamatory, distressing, harmful, insulting, intimidating, menacing, harassing, discriminatory, unlawful, false, or misleading;
  • (ii) Poses, or may pose, a risk to any person;
  • (iii) Threatens, harasses, humiliates, or ridicules any person, or is otherwise unlawful, or encourages any such activity;
  • (iv) Is posted, uploaded, published, or disseminated without the lawful owner’s permission, or breaches any obligation of confidentiality;
  • (v) Contains any false or misleading statements, representations, or advertising (including but not limited to representations about the Member’s identity, qualifications, experience, or reputation);
  • (vi) Advertises or promotes goods or services other than care services;
  • (vii) Is personal information about a person and is posted, uploaded, published, or disseminated without that person’s prior consent or in breach of any privacy law, or is contrary to Like Family’s Privacy Policy;
  • (viii) Infringes another person’s copyright, trademark, or any other intellectual property rights;
  • (ix) Includes a person’s account credentials or is directed to accessing a person’s account other than in accordance with this Agreement or without the account holder’s consent;
  • (x) May cause Us to breach any law or otherwise expose Us to liability;
  • (xi) Is or includes any virus, worm, trojan, or other malicious or unauthorized code or disabling feature to or via the Platform or the Platform Services, or which may breach the requirements or cause the loss of services of Like Family’s internet service providers or other suppliers;
  • (xii) Is likely to interfere with or disrupt the proper and intended operation of the Platform or the Services, or is, or contains any means of automatically searching or mining data from the Platform; or
  • (xiii) Is contrary to any of the Like Family Policies.

7. Fees and Payment

7.1. We are responsible for setting the amount of the Service Fees which are charged by a Social Carer to a Member for Services provided by that Social Carer to that Member.

7.2. We will charge you the Platform Fee and retain it out of Service Fees received on your behalf. We reserve the right to vary both Service Fees and Platform Fees at any time but will give you not less than 30 days’ notice of any change.

7.3. The Service Fees to which a Social Carer is entitled will be invoiced by us, in respect of the Members to whom the Social Carer has provided Services.

7.4. We will do this (as the agent of the Member) by issuing a recipient created tax invoice once the Service has been provided. The invoice which will contain sufficient information to enable the Social Carer to know the amount of gross income they have earned and from which Member in any period.

7.5. The Service Fees we invoice to Members will be paid to us (and received by us on your behalf) by Members.

7.6. Following receipt of Service Fees to which a member is entitled, we will account to you for those Fees.

7.7. When we do this, you will receive from us:

(a) the sum of the gross Service Fee paid by the Member less the Platform Fee payable by you to us in respect of that gross Service Fee; and

(b) our invoice for the Platform Fee. 

7.8. We will keep and maintain true, complete and accurate financial records of the gross Service Fees generated by you and amounts we have invoiced you for Platform Fees. These records will be made available to you on the Platform.

7.9. GST is not chargeable, under the current Law, on the Services Fees charged to Members.

7.10. GST is chargeable by us and payable by you on the Platform Fees.

8. Insurance

8.1. You have the benefit of a public liability policy we have established for the benefit of our Social Carers. Details of the policy are available here.

8.2. We will provide you with general information about this policy but you are responsible for confirming that the policy is suitable for you or if you want to obtain additional insurance.

8.3. There is no additional cost for this insurance.

9. Liability

9.1. We are not responsible for any communication, interaction or relationship between you and any other users of the Platform, whether or not it occurs on the Platform or by another means.

9.2. Terms, conditions and warranties implied by Law which cannot be excluded, restricted or modified apply to these terms and conditions to the extent required by Law.

9.3. Subject to clause 8.2, our total and aggregate liability for loss suffered or sustained by you or a Member in connection with the provision of the Platform:

(a) whether arising as a result of breach of contract, in tort (including negligence) or under statute; and

(b) whether or not arising pursuant to an indemnity in these terms and conditions, is limited to us providing you with access to the Platform again. Neither party will be liable to the other party (or any other person) for any Indirect Loss arising from a breach of this Agreement.

9.4. For the purposes of clause 8.4, the term Indirect Loss means Losses which do not arise naturally (that is, according to the usual course of things) from the relevant breach of this Agreement (including loss of profits or revenue, loss of goodwill or reputation, loss of anticipated benefits or savings, loss of any prospect or business opportunity, loss of production or other business interruption loss.

9.5. You agree to indemnify, defend and hold us (and each of our officers, employees and agents) (together, the Indemnified Persons) harmless against any Loss incurred or arising in respect of:

(a) the death or illness of, or personal injury to, any individual in connection with provision of your Services; or

(b) the loss or destruction of, or damage to, any tangible property of the Social Carer or any person in connection with the Social Carer Services, except to the extent such Loss arises from our wilful misconduct.

10. Termination and Suspension

(a) You may stop using the Platform at any time by closing Your Account, without giving Us notice.

(b) If You close Your Account, You are still responsible for paying Us and Social Carers for any Services received before the closure.

(c) You acknowledge and agree that:
(i) Upon closing Your Account:
(A) This Agreement will automatically terminate;
(B) You will lose access to the Platform (unless You apply for a new Account, which we accept);
(C) Any Services booked but not yet received will be cancelled;
(ii) You may have obligations to Social Carers under your Companionship Agreement that may require you to give notice before cancelling Services;
(iii) We are not responsible for any consequences arising from your Companionship Agreement due to Your Account closure.

10.1. Suspension and Termination of Your Account

(a) We may terminate this Agreement:

(i) For any reason with 12 months' written notice;

(ii) With 30 days' notice if Your Account has been inactive for 12 consecutive months, unless You respond indicating your intention to use the Platform;

(iii) With 30 days' notice if Like Family ceases operations in Australia.

(b) If We terminate under clause (a), any non-compete restrictions will cease to apply.

(c) If You:

(i) Post prohibited content;

(ii) Engage in prohibited conduct;

(iii) Breach any term of this Agreement;

(each a "Breach Event"), We will notify You in writing, describing the Breach Event and giving You at least 21 days to remedy it.

(d) Failure to remedy a Breach Event may result in immediate suspension or termination of Your Account.

(e) A "Material Breach Event" occurs if the Breach Event:

(i) Involves avoiding platform fees or violating non-compete clauses; or

(ii) Poses significant health, safety, reputational, or financial risks.

(f) For a Material Breach Event, We may immediately:

(i) Suspend Your Account; and/or

(ii) Investigate the event.

(g) Following investigation, We may:

(i) Terminate Your Account if the Material Breach Event is confirmed; or

(ii) Lift the suspension if no Material Breach Event is found.

(h) We retain all other rights under this Agreement and by law.

(i) We will keep You informed of any ongoing investigations.

(j) If a Force Majeure Event prevents us from performing our obligations for 60 days, either party may terminate the Account with written notice.

10.2. Consequences of Account Suspension or Termination

(a) Account termination automatically terminates this Agreement.

(b) Suspension or termination is in addition to our other rights regarding a Breach Event.

(c) You remain responsible for paying for Services received before suspension or termination.

(d) You acknowledge:

(i) You may have obligations to Social Carers under your Companionship Agreement, including notice requirements for Service cancellations;

(ii) We are not responsible for any consequences arising from your Companionship Agreement due to Account suspension or termination.

11. Updates to these Terms and Conditions

11.1. We may change these terms at any time. If we make changes, we will take reasonable steps to let you know about the changes.

11.2. If you access the Platform following any amendment to these terms and conditions you will be taken to have agreed to comply with the terms and conditions as changed. If you do not agree with changes to the terms and conditions, you can choose to close your account with us.

12. Notices

12.1. Notices given under these terms and conditions must be in writing and delivered by email to the recipient’s email address specified on the Platform.

12.2. A notice is taken to be duly given and received if delivered by email on the business day after it is dispatched if the sender does not receive a message to the effect that the sender is ‘out of office’ or that delivery has failed.

13. General

13.1. Any confidential information disclosed by us to you must be kept confidential by you and only used for the purpose of providing the Services.

13.2. We have a royalty-free, worldwide, irrevocable, perpetual license to use and incorporate into the Platform any general suggestions, enhancement requests, recommendations or other feedback provided by you. 

13.3. We reserve the right to monitor your use of the Platform for the purpose of ensuring that the Platform is functioning as we intended and that users are complying with these terms and conditions.

13.4. Each of us must (at our own expense) do all things as the other party asks as may be reasonably required or necessary to give the other the full benefit of any obligations owed to the other and expressed in these terms and conditions.

13.5. The rights and obligations in clauses 3, 4, 8, 9, 11 and 12 will survive the termination or expiry of this Agreement.

13.6. All or any part of these terms and conditions that is illegal or unenforceable will be severed and will not affect the continued operation of the remaining provisions.

13.7. These terms and conditions are governed by the laws of the State of New South Wales. Each of us submits to the non-exclusive jurisdiction of courts exercising jurisdiction in the State of New South Wales in connection with all matters concerning these terms and conditions.

Members

1. Introduction

1.1. These terms and conditions which govern use by Members of the Like Family website and app (together referred to as Platform). The Platform is available at likefamily.com.au.

1.2. The Platform is provided by Home Care Heroes Pty Ltd trading as Like Family (ABN: 30 609 427 349) (we, us and our) to users. These users may be:

(a) Social Carers who are willing to provide non-medical care and companionship services (Social Carers); or

(b) those who want non-medical care and companionship services (Members).

1.3. The Platform enables Members to find and connect with Social Carers.

1.4. To access and use the Platform and/or benefit from the Services as a Member, you need to register as a user and agree to comply with these terms and conditions. You may register for an Account using your Google or other social media network account (Social Media Account). If you sign in to your Account using your Social Media Account, you authorise us to access certain information on your Social Media Account including, but not limited to, your name and email address.

1.5. If you are accessing the Platform to book the Services on behalf of a Member, you warrant:

(a) that you are authorised to do so by that Member; and

(b) you will commit that Member to these Terms and Conditions.

1.6. These terms and conditions govern use of the Platform by Members. If you are wanting to have access to the Platform as a Social Carer please click here.

1.7. When a Member books a Social Carer’s services through the Platform, an agreement will come into existence between the Social Carer and the Member. That agreement contains terms and conditions which are available in Companionship Agreement.

You must read the terms and conditions of the Companionship Agreement before you accept a booking.

1.8. Eligibility to Use the Platform and Platform Services

(a) This Agreement will commence and be binding on You and Us at the time We accept Your application to create an Account and become a Member, and will continue until it is terminated by You or Us in accordance with the terms of this Agreement (Term).

(b) To be a Member of the Platform, You need to meet the following eligibility criteria (Member Eligibility Criteria):

(i) You are at least 18 years old;

(ii) You have the right, authority, and capacity to enter into this Agreement;

(iii) You are the Member or a duly authorised agent of that Member;

(iv) If You create an Account on behalf of a Member, You represent that:

(A) You are duly appointed as that person's authorised agent to arrange Services on their behalf; and

(B) You have the proper authority to represent that person and bind them to this Agreement as the Member;

(v) You have not, and the people at Your Premises have not:

(A) been convicted of any serious criminal offence, or any criminal offence involving murder, sexual assault, assault offences with an imprisonment term, fraud or dishonesty offences, drug trafficking, terrorism, or any offence relating to the safety of children or vulnerable persons;

(B) been required to register as a sex offender in any jurisdiction or with any governmental entity; and

(vi) You are not, and the people at Your Premises are not currently the subject of any complaints, claims, investigations, or other legal action, charges, proceedings or other litigation in respect of any criminal conduct described at clause 1.8(b)(v)(A).

(c) At all times during the Term, You must:

(i) continue to meet the Member Eligibility Criteria;

(ii) if Services are being provided at Your Premises, inspect Your home or premises to ensure it is a safe work environment for the Social Carer to provide the Services;

(iii) comply with the terms of this Agreement and all of the Like Family Policies;

(iv) ensure that the information You provide to Us is true and not misleading;

(v) act in good faith in Your use of the Platform and Platform Services; and

(vi) not misuse the Platform or the Platform Services to cause harm or damage to Us or to any other person.

(d) You represent and warrant that you will only apply to create an Account if you meet all of the Member Eligibility Criteria listed above.

(e) If at any time during the Term, You do not meet the Member Eligibility Criteria, You must cease using the Platform and Platform Services and must not receive Services.

(f) If You do not meet the Member Eligibility Criteria, We will not accept Your application to create an Account and You will not be provided with access to the Platform.

1.9 Background Screening Process

(a) Like Family will perform a series of background checks on all individuals (including You) who apply to create an Account on our platform. We may request that applicants provide additional information pertinent to the Services they intend to offer or receive. These background checks will be conducted in accordance with our Screening Policy and may include, but are not limited to, the following:

  • Criminal record checks
  • Working with Children checks
  • Identity verification
  • Qualification and certification validation
  • Reference checks

(b) Our Screening Policy outlines in detail the specific background checks that Like Family will conduct for different user categories, including both Social Carers and Members. This policy is designed to ensure the safety and security of all platform users and to maintain the integrity of our services.

(c) By applying for an Account, you agree to undergo these background checks and to provide any necessary information or documentation to facilitate this process. Failure to comply with these requirements may result in the rejection of your application or the suspension of your Account.

(d) Like Family reserves the right to update our Screening Policy as needed to comply with legal requirements or to enhance the safety of our platform. Users will be notified of any significant changes to this policy.

(e) The results of these background checks will be used solely for the purpose of evaluating your suitability for using the Like Family platform and will be handled in accordance with our Privacy Policy.

1.10 Additional Verification Procedures

(a) In addition to the background screening process outlined in our Screening Policy, Like Family may, at its discretion, verify the following information provided by Members:

(i) Statements made by Members on the Platform;

(ii) Compliance with the Member Eligibility Criteria as defined in the Member's agreement with Like Family;

(iii) Identity verification.

(b) By submitting an application for an Account and throughout your use of the Platform, you consent to Like Family conducting these additional verification procedures.

(c) Your application to become a Member is contingent upon the satisfactory completion of all required background checks and verification procedures.

1.11 Limitations of Verification Processes

(a) Like Family's verification activities are limited to those specified in our Screening Policy and those required by applicable laws.

(b) You acknowledge and agree that:

(i) Members (including Social Carers) may make representations about themselves or their services via the Platform or in direct communications;

(ii) Like Family does not verify all such representations (unless explicitly stated in our Screening Policy).

(c) Consequently, you are responsible for:

(i) Conducting your own due diligence and making informed decisions about engaging a Social Carer for Services;

(ii) Verifying any information, document, statement, or representation provided by a Social Carer that is not explicitly verified by Like Family as per our Screening Policy.

1.12 Disclaimer Regarding Verification Processes

(a) The verification activities that We conduct on Members are limited to the Verification Checks set out in the Verification Policies and those mandated by Law.

(b) You acknowledge and agree that:

(i) Members (including Social Carers) may make representations to You about

themselves or the services they provide (including Services) via the

Platform, or in other communications to You; and

(ii) We do not verify such representations (unless expressly stated in the Verification

Policies), accordingly, You are solely responsible for:

(iii) making Your own inquiries and decisions regarding whether to engage a Social Carer to provide Services to You; and

(iv) verifying any document, information, statement or representation given to You by

a Social Carer that is not expressly stated as being verified by Us in the Verification Policies.

(c) In conducting Our Verification Checks:

(i) We rely on publicly available information including from government registers and

information provided to Us by third parties;

(ii) except where it is unreasonable to do so, We rely on the completeness and

accuracy of that information; and

(iii) We are not liable for any Loss or damage You suffer from Your reliance on Our

Verification Checks to the extent that it results from any information that We rely

on being inaccurate or incomplete.

2. Definitions and Interpretation

2.1. In these terms and conditions, the definitions have the following meanings:

Social Carer means a person who is a registered as a user of the Platform as a person who wants to provide non-medical care and companionship services to Members.

Law means any Commonwealth, State, Territory or local government legislation in force in Australia.

Loss includes any liability, damage, costs (including legal costs on a solicitor and own client basis) and other outgoing, and any diminution in value of, or deficiency of any kind, in anything.

Member means a person who is a registered as a user of the Platform as a person who wants non-medical care and companionship services provided to them by Social Carers.

Member Profile the online profile a Member creates about themselves which includes photos and personal details about that Member and allows them to search for Social Carers and book the Services.

NDIS means the National Disability Insurance Scheme.

Services means the non-medical care and companionship services which the Social Carer promotes and provides to you through the Platform.

Service Fee means the fee charged by a Social Carer to a Member for that Social Carer’s Services. 

2.2. In these terms and conditions, unless the context otherwise requires:

(a) words denoting any gender include all genders;

(b) headings are for convenience only and do not affect interpretation;

(c) the singular includes the plural and vice versa;

(d) a reference to a party includes its successors and permitted assigns;

(e) a reference to a person includes a corporation, trust, partnership, unincorporated body or other entity, whether or not it comprises a separate legal entity; and

(f) a reference to a statute or other law includes regulations and other instruments under it and consolidations, amendments, re-enactments or replacements of any of them.

3. Agreement

3.1. By creating a Member Profile on the Platform you agree to comply with these terms and conditions. 

3.2. You will book and receive the Services from Social Carers, who you engage with to provide the Services through the Platform.

3.3. Nothing in these terms and conditions constitutes a relationship of employer and employee, principal and agent or partnership between you and us or between you and a Social Carer.

4. Your Responsibilities

4.1. The responsibilities in this clause apply when you are booking and receiving the Services from Social Carers, unless otherwise stated.

4.2. You must behave in a manner that is consistent with our Community guidelines.

4.3. You are expected to behave at all times in way that does not result in any damage to our reputation.

4.4. You must comply with the policies and procedures we publish on our website that applies to Members, you can find these here

4.5. Your failure to comply with our policies and procedures and/orMember Standards Guide may result in suspension and/or termination of your right to use the Platform. 

4.6. You must:

(a) comply with all applicable Laws when using the Platform and receiving the Services; 

(b) bear all costs and expenses related to your use of the Platform.

4.7. During and for a period of 12 months following when you cease to be a Member you must not, without our prior written consent, engage with any of our Social Carers, for the purpose of booking the Services, outside of the Platform.

4.8. You must provide to us, at your expense and on our request, with the following:

(a) valid credit card information (if applicable);

(b) valid NDIS details (if applicable);

(c) evidence of your age and identity;

(d) criminal records checks; and

4.9. You warrant that all information so provided and any information provided when you registered as a Member, is true accurate and complete.

4.10. You must not, in relation to your use of the Platform:

(a) impersonate others;

(b) misrepresent your affiliation with others;

(c) share your log in details and passwords to any other person;

(d) interrupt or attempt to negatively impact or alter the operation of the Platform in any way;

(e) engage in any other practices which may adversely affect the credibility or reputation of the Platform and/or us; 

(f) use the Platform in a way that violates applicable laws, that violates the intellectual property rights or other rights of us or others, or that is fraudulent, obscene, unprofessional, offensive, misleading or defamatory.

(g) reverse engineer, decompile or disassemble the Platform or use the Platform to develop a solution that is the same or substantially similar to the Platform;

(h) licence, sell, rent, lease, transfer, assign or otherwise commercially exploit, or otherwise make the Platform available to any third party;

(i) except as permitted under this agreement, modify, reproduce, display, publish, distribute, copy, transmit, perform, license, create derivative works from, transfer, or sell or re­sell any information, content, software, or materials made available through the Platform; or

(j) engage in any misleading or deceptive conduct or any other conduct that would contravene the Australian Consumer Law.

4.11. You grant to us a royalty-free, non-exclusive licence to use your name together with your images and other information in your profile on the Platform for the purpose of promoting you on the Platform. We will only use your name together with your images and other information in your profile on the Platform for the purpose of our marketing of the Platform when you give us your approval to do so in writing. This licence will automatically terminate when you close your account on the Platform.

4.12. In order to use the Platform, you must provide us with certain information about yourself. We will handle and store this information in accordance with our privacy policy.

4.13. As a recipient of our Social Carer services, you are responsible for confirming bookings completed by your Social Carer within 48 hours of the completion date. After those 48 hours, by default, we will auto-confirm those bookings unless you opt-out and decide to manually confirm each booking. You can always change this setting from your profile settings or contact our support team at 1800 545 332.

4.14. As a recipient of our services, you are fully responsible for monitoring and managing your spending and accept that Like Family is not responsible for managing your expenses and the cost associated with the services provided by our Social Carers.

What Is Not Allowed

5.1. You must not engage in, nor enable any other person to engage in, any of the following prohibited activities (Prohibited Conduct):

(i) arrange to receive services similar to or the same as the Care Services from Social Carers other than through the Platform;

(ii) Engage in any Avoidance Conduct, or otherwise fail to comply with the terms outlined in this agreement.

(iii) Reproduce, duplicate, copy, sell, resell, or exploit any portion of the Platform or Platform Services.

(v) Harass, discriminate against, intimidate, or otherwise engage in illegal or offensive behavior with respect to any other Member, or use the Platform to stalk another person.

(vi) Engage in any fraudulent conduct through the Platform.

(vii) Conduct or promote any illegal activities while using the Platform or Platform Services.

(viii) Upload, distribute, or print any prohibited content.

(ix) Use the Platform or Platform Services to generate unsolicited email advertisements or spam.

(x) Allow, enable, or otherwise support the transmission of mass unsolicited, commercial advertising or solicitations via email (spam).

(xi) Misuse or attempt to interfere with the Platform or Platform Services, including by:

(A) Attempting to reverse engineer or jeopardize the correct functioning of the Platform, or otherwise attempt to derive the source code of the software (including the tools, methods, processes, and infrastructure) that enables or underlies the Platform, or attempt to gain access to secured portions of the Platform or Platform Services to which you do not possess access rights;

(B) Uploading or transmitting to the Platform any form of virus, worm, trojan horse, or other malicious code;

(C) Interfering in any way with the proper functioning of the Platform or Platform Services or disrupt any servers or networks connected to the Platform or Platform Services, or disobey any requirements, procedures, policies, or regulations of networks connected to the Platform or Platform Services;

(D) Using any high volume automatic, electronic, or manual process to access, search, harvest, “screen scrape”, monitor, “mine” information from the Platform or Platform Services (including without limitation robots, spiders, or scripts) or copy any static or dynamic web page on the Site or Platform or the content contained on any such web page for commercial use without Like Family’s prior express written permission;

(E) Mirroring or framing the Platform or any Content, placing pop-up windows over its pages, or otherwise affecting the display of its pages; or

(F) Impersonating any person, or otherwise misrepresenting an affiliation with a person.

(xii) Otherwise behave in a manner that is contrary to the Code of Conduct.

5.2. Taking Arrangements Off the Platform (Avoidance Conduct)

(a) The conduct referred to in clauses 5.1(ii) is Avoidance Conduct, which constitutes Prohibited Conduct under this Agreement.

(b) You acknowledge and agree that:

(i) The Platform is not developed to introduce Social Carers to Members for them to then continue their arrangements off the Platform;

(ii) The Platform has various safety measures in place that will no longer apply if Social Carers and Members are merely introduced and then engage off the Platform; and

(iii) Our model has been developed to charge smaller fees on an ongoing basis rather than a large upfront fee that would apply if we were to provide a recruitment or referral service.

(c) During the Term of this Agreement:

(i) You are only entitled to use the Platform for the purposes described in this Agreement. You must not access or make use of the Platform for the purpose of developing a competing business, or for recruiting any other Member to provide or receive care services outside of the Platform;

(ii) You must only book and receive payment for care services through the Platform; and

(iii) You must not encourage or solicit any Member to avoid making payments through the Platform or avoid paying the fees that are due to Us under their agreement with Us.

(d) For a period of 12 months from the date You last accessed the Platform, in relation to Members You met on the Platform, You must not:

(i) Arrange or provide services similar to or the same as the care services to that Member other than through the Platform; or

(ii) Directly invoice that Member (or their nominated funding party), or that Member's representative, or accept any payment from that Member (or their nominated funding party), or that Member's representative other than through the Platform for the provision of services similar to or the same as the care services.

(e) The restrictions set out in clause 6.2.(d) survive termination of this Agreement, unless We terminate this Agreement under clause 10, in which case the restrictions set out in clause 6.2(d) cease to apply as at the date of termination.

(f) You agree to immediately notify Us if a Member requests that You be involved in any Avoidance Conduct.

(g) You acknowledge and agree that if You engage in Avoidance Conduct, or otherwise fail to comply with this clause:

(i) Such conduct will constitute a material breach of an essential term of this Agreement, and a Material Breach Event pursuant to clause 10;

(ii) We will suffer Loss as a result of such conduct; and

(iii) We will be entitled to remedies as a result of such conduct, including:

(A) Pursuant to the indemnity by You under clause 9;

(B) Suspension of Your Account under clause 10;

(C) Investigating Your conduct under clause 10;

(D) Termination of Your Account (and this Agreement) under clause 10;

(E) Damages as a result of breach of contract; and/or(F) Any other remedies that may be available to Us under this Agreement or at Law.

5.3 Prohibited Content

(a) Prohibited Content is content of any kind that:

(i) Is offensive, defamatory, distressing, harmful, insulting, intimidating, menacing, harassing, discriminatory, unlawful, false, or misleading;

(ii) Poses, or may pose, a risk to any person;

(iii) Threatens, harasses, humiliates, or ridicules any person, or is otherwise unlawful, or encourages any such activity;

(iv) Is posted, uploaded, published, or disseminated without the lawful owner’s permission, or breaches any obligation of confidentiality;

(v) Contains any false or misleading statements, representations, or advertising (including but not limited to representations about the Member’s identity, qualifications, experience, or reputation);

(vi) Advertises or promotes goods or services other than care services;

(vii) Is personal information about a person and is posted, uploaded, published, or disseminated without that person’s prior consent or in breach of any privacy law, or is contrary to Like Family’s Privacy Policy;

(viii) Infringes another person’s copyright, trademark, or any other intellectual property rights;

(ix) Includes a person’s account credentials or is directed to accessing a person’s account other than in accordance with this Agreement or without the account holder’s consent;

(x) May cause Us to breach any law or otherwise expose Us to liability;

(xi) Is or includes any virus, worm, trojan, or other malicious or unauthorized code or disabling feature to or via the Platform or the Platform Services, or which may breach the requirements or cause the loss of services of Like Family’s internet service providers or other suppliers;

(xii) Is likely to interfere with or disrupt the proper and intended operation of the Platform or the Services, or is, or contains any means of automatically searching or mining data from the Platform; or

(xiii) Is contrary to any of the Like Family Policies.

6. Insurance

6.1. Our insurance does not provide cover to anyone other than Home Care Heroes Pty Ltd trading as Like Family and our staff.

6.2. We encourage Members obtain insurance to provide cover in respect of any liability arising from:

(a) damage to your property whether or not caused by a Social Carer; and

(b) death of or injury to any person at your property whether or not caused by a Social Carer.

6.3. You may already have a home and contents insurance policy or another type of insurance policy which covers you for any liability arising in connection with the liabilities referred to in clause 5.2.

7. Our Responsibilities

7.1. We will provide you with access to the Platform.

7.2. A booking for the Services is confirmed when the booking status on your dashboard on the Platform changes to ‘confirmed’.

7.3. We may, at any time, enhance and/or alter the features of the Platform at our sole discretion and without notice to you.

7.4. We will engage a third-party payment facilitator to enable you to book and pay for the Services without us collecting your payment details.

8. Fees and Payment

8.1. We are responsible for setting the amount of the Service Fees which are charged by a Social Carer to a Member for the Services provided by that Social Carer to that Member.

8.2. We will charge you the Service Fee. We reserve the right to vary the Service Fees at any time but will give you not less than 30 days’ notice of any change.

8.3. The Social Carer will invoice you for the Service Fees it is entitled for the Services it has provided to you. We will send you this invoice on the Social Carer’s behalf.

8.4. The invoice which will contain sufficient information to enable you to know the amount of gross payments you have made and to which Social Carers in any period.

8.6. We will collect the Service Fees on behalf of the Social Carers. 

8.7. If you are entitled to receive benefits under the NDIS, the following sets out how the type of NDIS Members pay for the Platform Fees and make an NDIS claim:

Type of NDIS member

Self-managed: A person who is entitled to NDIS entitlements and manages their NDIS plan themselves.

Plan-managed: A person who is entitled to NDIS entitlements and receives funding for a plan manager who manages their plan.

Agency-managed: A person who is entitled to NDIS entitlements and the NIDA manages their plan.

Method of payment

Member pays the Platform Fee through the Platform by credit card (No Fees).

The invoice for the Platform Fees will be sent to the plan manager who will pay the invoice on behalf of the Member.

The Member gives Like Family a service booking – an amount of money, time period and nominates the support category – and Like Family receives the Platform Fee from the NDIS.

Method of NDIS claim

A Member can either: claim directly from their allocated NDIS budget; or make a claim to the NDIS first and then pay the Platform Fee.

The plan manager will make the claim to the NDIS on the Member’s behalf.

We make a claim directly to the NDIS on your behalf.

8. Liability

8.1. We are not responsible for any communication, interaction or relationship between you and any other users of the Platform, whether or not it occurs on the Platform or by another means.

8.2. Terms, conditions and warranties implied by Law which cannot be excluded, restricted or modified apply to these terms and conditions to the extent required by Law.

8.3. Subject to clause 7.2, our total and aggregate liability for loss suffered or sustained by you or a Social Carer in connection with the provision of the Platform:

(a) whether arising as a result of breach of contract, in tort (including negligence) or under statute; and

(b) whether or not arising pursuant to an indemnity in these terms and conditions, is limited to us providing you with access to the Platform again.

8.4. Neither party will be liable to the other party (or any other person) for any Indirect Loss arising from a breach of this Agreement.

8.5. For the purposes of clause 7.4, the term Indirect Loss means Losses which do not arise naturally (that is, according to the usual course of things) from the relevant breach of these terms and conditions (including loss of profits or revenue, loss of goodwill or reputation, loss of anticipated benefits or savings, loss of any prospect or business opportunity, loss of production or other business interruption loss.

8.6. You agree to indemnify, defend and hold us (and each of our officers, employees and agents) (together, the Indemnified Persons) harmless against any Loss incurred or arising in respect of:

(a) the death or illness of, or personal injury to, any individual in connection with provision of the Services; or

(b) the loss or destruction of, or damage to, any tangible property of the Member or any person in connection with the Services, except to the extent such Loss arises from our wilful misconduct.

9. Termination and Suspension

9.1. We reserve the right to suspend or terminate your right to use the Platform if, at any time, you breach these terms and conditions, or if we suspect, on reasonable grounds, that you have, might or will commit a breach of this agreement; or notwithstanding anything else in this section 9, we may terminate this agreement at any time. We shall not be liable to you or any third party for any claims or damages arising out of any termination or suspension or any other actions taken by us in connection with such termination or suspension.

9.2. You may terminate your use of the Platform by closing your account.

9.3. If the Platform is shut down for any reason (Closure) we will give you as much notice as is practicable of a Closure. In this case we will have no liability to:

(a) Social Carers for any bookings that may have been received but do not result in provision of the Services as a result of the Closure; or

(b) you for not be able to benefit from the provision of the Services which you have booked.

10. Feedback and Complaints

10.1. If you wish to make any comments about the Platform or your experience as a Member, we encourage you to provide us feedback by contacting us by either:

(a) email at hello@likefamily.com.au or

(b) telephone on 1800 545 332.

10.2. We have established an Incident Reporting Policy and Complaints Policy to enable you to report and incident and/or make a complaint.

10.3. These policies describe the procedure which we follow to manage your complaints and find a resolution we are continuously trying to improve our management to provide a better Platform.

11. Updates to these Terms and Conditions

11.1. We may change these terms at any time. If we make changes, we will take reasonable steps to let you know about the changes.

11.2. If you access the Platform following any amendment to these terms and conditions you will be taken to have agreed to comply with the terms and conditions as changed. If you do not agree with changes to the terms and conditions, you can choose to close your account with us.

12. Notices

12.1. Notices given under these terms and conditions must be in writing and delivered by email to the recipient’s email address specified on the Platform.

12.2. A notice is taken to be duly given and received if delivered by email on the business day after it is dispatched if the sender does not receive a message to the effect that the sender is ‘out of office’ or that delivery has failed.

13. General

13.1. Any confidential information disclosed by us to you must be kept confidential by you and only used for the purpose of providing the Services.

13.2. We have a royalty-free, worldwide, irrevocable, perpetual license to use and incorporate into the Platform any general suggestions, enhancement requests, recommendations or other feedback provided by you. 

13.3. We reserve the right to monitor your use of the Platform for the purpose of ensuring that the Platform is functioning as we intended and that users are complying with these terms and conditions.

13.4. Each of us must (at our own expense) do all things as the other party asks as may be reasonably required or necessary to give the other the full benefit of any obligations owed to the other and expressed in these terms and conditions.

13.5. The rights and obligations in clauses 3, 4, 7, 8, 10 and 11 will survive the termination or expiry of these terms and conditions.

13.6. All or any part of these terms and conditions that is illegal or unenforceable will be severed and will not affect the continued operation of the remaining provisions.

13.7. These terms and conditions are governed by the laws of the State of New South Wales. Each of us submits to the non-exclusive jurisdiction of courts exercising jurisdiction in the State of New South Wales in connection with all matters concerning these terms and conditions.