Terms and Conditions

1. About these Terms

1.1These Terms govern access to and use of the Finchat website, apps, voice services and other services (the Services). The Services are provided by Stephen Alexander Manning trading as Finchat, ABN 59 407 037 823 (Finchat, we, us, our).

1.2The Services are designed for use by licensed financial advisers and the organisations they work for. They are not designed for, and must not be made available to, retail clients or super fund members for their own use.

1.3By creating an account, using the Services or signing an Order Form, you agree to these Terms and our Privacy Policy. If you accept these Terms for an Organisation, you confirm you are authorised to bind it.

1.4If an Order Form signed by Finchat and an Organisation conflicts with these Terms, the Order Form prevails for that Organisation.

2. Definitions

In these Terms:

• Adviser means an individual who provides financial product advice as an Australian financial services (AFS) licensee, or as an authorised representative or employee of a Licensee, including an internal adviser employed by, or acting for, a superannuation trustee.
• Licensee means the AFS licensee under whose licence an Adviser provides advice.
• Organisation means a Licensee, superannuation trustee, advice practice or other business that holds an account under which Authorised Users access the Services.
• Authorised User means an individual permitted by an Organisation to use its account.
• Client means a person to whom an Adviser provides, or proposes to provide, financial services, including a super fund member.
• User Inputs means information, text, audio, documents, assumptions and other material provided to the Services.
• Outputs means projections, calculations, charts, statements of advice and other drafts, transcripts, summaries and other material the Services generate.
• Client Data means User Inputs and Outputs that contain personal information about a Client or another individual.
• Recording means audio, a transcript or a summary of a conversation captured through the Services.
• Order Form means a written order or agreement for the Services signed by Finchat and an Organisation.

3. The Services

3.1The Services may include financial projections and scenario modelling, calculators, draft statements of advice and reports, meeting recording, transcription and AI-generated summaries, client records, platform integrations (such as investment platform holdings) and voice interaction.

3.2The features available to you depend on your subscription or Order Form.

3.3We may add, change or remove features. If we remove or materially reduce a feature you have paid for, clause 23 applies.

4. Accounts and Authorised Users

4.1You must give accurate account details and keep your credentials secure. Use multi-factor authentication where it is available.

4.2You are responsible for activity on your account, unless it results from our failure to take reasonable security measures. Tell us promptly at contact@finchat.com.au if you think your account has been accessed without authorisation.

4.3An Organisation is responsible for its Authorised Users’ use of the Services, for making sure each Authorised User is an Adviser or is supporting an Adviser, and for removing access when an Authorised User leaves. Seats may be reassigned between Authorised Users.

4.4An Organisation may access, export and manage data created by its Authorised Users under its account.

5. Subscriptions, fees and renewals

5.1Prices, subscription periods and renewal terms are shown at the time of purchase or in the Order Form. Prices are in Australian dollars.

5.2An automatically renewing subscription renews for the same period unless cancelled before the renewal date. You authorise us, or our payment provider, to charge the renewal fee to your nominated payment method.

5.3We will give at least 30 days’ notice of a price increase. It applies from your next renewal, and you may cancel before then.

5.4You may cancel at any time. Cancelling stops the next renewal, and you keep access until the end of the period you have paid for. Where we offer a money-back guarantee, its terms are shown at the time of purchase. Refunds are paid to the original payment method.

6. Responsibility for advice

6.1Finchat is a technology provider. Finchat does not hold an AFS licence, is not an authorised representative of a Licensee, and does not provide financial product advice to Clients.

6.2The Adviser and the Licensee provide any financial advice to Clients. Where an Adviser works for a superannuation trustee, the advice is provided by the Adviser under the trustee’s or its Licensee’s AFS licence.

6.3Outputs are tools and drafts. Before giving any Output to a Client or relying on it, the Adviser must review and verify it and apply their own professional judgement.

6.4The Adviser and Licensee remain responsible for complying with the Corporations Act 2001 (Cth), including the best interests duty and related obligations, advice documentation and record-keeping requirements, the Financial Planners and Advisers Code of Ethics, and the Licensee’s policies.

6.5The Adviser must not represent to a Client that Finchat provides the advice or is responsible for it.

7. AI and automated outputs

7.1The Services use artificial intelligence, including large language models, speech recognition and other automated technology, some provided by third parties.

7.2AI-generated and automated Outputs may contain errors, omissions or out-of-date information, and the same input may produce a different Output. Transcription and voice recognition may not always be accurate.

7.3We may change the AI models and providers we use. The behaviour of AI features may change as a result.

8. Projections and calculators

8.1Projections, calculations and scenarios are illustrations based on User Inputs and the assumptions built into each tool. They are not forecasts or guarantees.

8.2Returns, fees, inflation, tax, superannuation and social security rules and government policy may change and may materially alter any result.

8.3The Adviser is responsible for checking that the assumptions used are appropriate for the Client.

9. Recordings and voice

9.1Before recording or transcribing a conversation, the Adviser must obtain the consent of every participant and tell them that AI will be used to transcribe and summarise it. This applies whether or not the law of the relevant state or territory requires all-party consent.

9.2Finchat keeps audio only for as long as needed to produce the transcript or summary, and deletes it within 30 days. Transcripts and summaries are Client Data.

9.3Where you use Finchat through a third-party voice platform (such as Amazon Alexa), that platform processes your voice under its own terms and privacy policy.

10. Client Data and privacy

10.1The Adviser and Organisation warrant that they have collected Client Data lawfully and are entitled to disclose it to Finchat. Their collection notices must disclose the use of technology providers, including providers outside Australia as described in clause 11. Where Client Data includes sensitive information, such as health information for insurance advice, they must have the Client’s consent.

10.2Finchat will handle Client Data only to provide the Services to the Adviser or Organisation, in accordance with the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth) and the Australian Privacy Principles.

10.3Finchat will not sell Client Data, use it for marketing, or contact a Client, except to deliver a feature the Adviser initiates (such as emailing a report at the Adviser’s request).

10.4Finchat will give reasonable assistance with Client requests to access or correct their personal information.

11. Where data is stored and processed

11.1Finchat’s systems, including Client Data and Recordings, are hosted by Amazon Web Services in the United States (US East, North Virginia).

11.2AI processing is carried out by providers that may process data in the United States and other countries. Our Privacy Policy lists our service providers, what they do and where they process data.

11.3Finchat takes reasonable steps, including through its contracts with service providers, to ensure that overseas providers handle personal information consistently with the Australian Privacy Principles.

11.4Each Organisation is responsible for confirming that storing and processing Client Data outside Australia is consistent with its own obligations, including any obligations under its licence conditions, its trustee obligations and prudential standards such as CPS 234 (Information Security). On request, Finchat will provide reasonable information to support an Organisation’s due diligence.

12. Security and data breaches

12.1Finchat maintains reasonable security measures appropriate to the nature of Client Data, including encryption in transit and at rest, access controls and logging.

12.2If Finchat becomes aware of unauthorised access to, or disclosure or loss of, Client Data, it will notify the affected Adviser or Organisation without undue delay and within 72 hours, and give reasonable assistance so they can assess the incident and meet any obligations under the Notifiable Data Breaches scheme.

13. User Inputs, Outputs and AI training

13.1You must ensure User Inputs are accurate and that you are entitled to provide them.

13.2You keep all rights you have in User Inputs. As between you and Finchat, you own the Outputs, except for Finchat Materials (such as templates, layouts and software) embedded in them. Finchat grants you a perpetual, royalty-free licence to use those embedded Finchat Materials as part of the Outputs.

13.3You grant Finchat a non-exclusive, royalty-free licence to host, process, copy and transmit User Inputs and Outputs only as needed to provide and support the Services, keep them secure and prevent misuse, and comply with the law.

13.4Finchat will not use User Inputs or Outputs, or any personal information in them, to train or fine-tune any AI model. Finchat will only use AI providers whose terms do not permit them to use data submitted through Finchat to train their models.

13.5Finchat may use technical and usage data (such as feature usage, performance and error logs) that is de-identified and aggregated, and does not include the content of User Inputs or Outputs, to maintain and improve the Services.

14. Sharing Outputs

14.1Advisers and Organisations may copy, store and share Outputs with Clients, the Licensee, paraplanners, compliance reviewers, auditors, the Australian Financial Complaints Authority and regulators, and keep them in client files.

14.2This right continues after your subscription ends for Outputs generated during it.

15. Retention, export and deletion

15.1Advisers and Organisations may export their data at any time during the subscription.

15.2After a subscription ends, you have 60 days to export your data. Finchat will then delete Client Data within 30 days, except where the law requires it to be kept. Backups are overwritten within 35 days after deletion.

15.3Advisers and Licensees remain responsible for keeping records for the periods the law requires. Finchat is not a record-keeping service.

16. Third-party services and integrations

16.1The Services rely on third-party providers, including cloud hosting, AI models, speech recognition, payment processing and investment platforms. Their services may be subject to their own terms.

16.2Where you connect the Services to a third-party platform, you authorise Finchat to access and exchange data with that platform on your behalf. Finchat does not control third-party platforms and cannot guarantee the accuracy, completeness or availability of data they provide.

17. Intellectual property

17.1Finchat owns or licenses all software, content, templates, designs, names and logos in the Services (Finchat Materials). Finchat grants you a limited, non-exclusive, non-transferable licence to use Finchat Materials through the Services while your access continues.

17.2Except as allowed by clauses 13 and 14, you must not copy, republish, resell or commercially exploit Finchat Materials, reverse engineer the Services, or use them to build a competing product.

18. Acceptable use

You must not:

• use the Services unlawfully or to harm anyone;
• give access to anyone who is not an Adviser or Authorised User, or make the Services available to Clients for their own use;
• interfere with, overload or attempt to gain unauthorised access to the Services or other accounts;
• get around usage limits, access controls or security measures;
• introduce malicious code; or
• share or resell subscription access.

19. Availability

19.1We aim to keep the Services available but do not guarantee uninterrupted access. They may be unavailable during maintenance, technical problems, third-party outages or events beyond our reasonable control.

19.2We will try to schedule maintenance for low-use times and give notice of planned outages where practicable.

20. Suspension and termination

20.1We may suspend or end your access if you materially breach these Terms, fail to pay, use the Services unlawfully, or where reasonably necessary to protect the security of the Services, Client Data or other users.

20.2Except in an emergency, we will give notice and a reasonable opportunity to fix the problem first.

20.3If we end your subscription for any reason other than your breach, we will refund the unused prepaid portion.

20.4Clause 15 (export and deletion) applies when access ends, however it ends.

21. Liability

21.1Nothing in these Terms excludes, restricts or modifies any right or remedy under the Australian Consumer Law, the Australian Securities and Investments Commission Act 2001 (Cth) or any other law that cannot lawfully be excluded.

21.2Subject to clause 21.1, Finchat is not liable for indirect or consequential loss, including loss of profits, opportunity or data.

21.3Subject to clause 21.1, Finchat’s total liability arising from these Terms is limited to the fees paid in the 12 months before the event giving rise to the claim. For a breach of clause 10 or 12, that limit is instead the greater of $[amount] and three times those fees.

21.4Where the Services are not of a kind ordinarily acquired for personal, domestic or household use, Finchat’s liability for failing to comply with a consumer guarantee is limited, at Finchat’s option, to supplying the Services again or paying the cost of having them supplied again.

21.5Finchat is not liable for advice an Adviser gives, or for an Adviser’s reliance on an Output without the review clause 6.3 requires.

22. Indemnity

22.1The Adviser and Organisation indemnify Finchat against reasonable losses, liabilities and costs arising from a breach of clause 9.1 (recording consent) or clause 10.1 (Client Data warranties), or from their unlawful use of the Services.

22.2This indemnity is reduced to the extent Finchat caused or contributed to the loss.

23. Changes to the Services and these Terms

23.1We will give at least 30 days’ notice by email or in the Services of any change to these Terms that is materially adverse to you.

23.2If you do not accept a materially adverse change, or we remove or materially reduce a paid feature, you may cancel before the change takes effect and receive a pro-rata refund of prepaid fees.

23.3Changes that are not materially adverse, such as legal updates or clarifications, take effect when published.

24. Emails

24.1We send emails needed to run your account and provide the Services. With your consent, or where the law otherwise permits, we may also send news about Finchat. Every marketing email has an unsubscribe link.

25. Governing law and jurisdiction

25.1These Terms are governed by the laws of New South Wales, Australia.

25.2You and Finchat submit to the non-exclusive jurisdiction of the courts of New South Wales and the courts that can hear appeals from them.

26. General

26.1These Terms, any Order Form and our Privacy Policy are the whole agreement between you and Finchat about the Services.

26.2If part of these Terms is unenforceable, the rest continues to apply. Not enforcing a right is not a waiver of it.

26.3You may not transfer your rights under these Terms without our written consent. We may transfer them as part of a sale or restructure of the business, and will tell you if that happens.

26.4Notices may be given by email to the address on your account or, for Finchat, to contact@finchat.com.au.

27. Contact

Stephen Alexander Manning trading as Finchat, ABN 59 407 037 823

Email: contact@finchat.com.au

Website: https://www.finchat.com.au