Website terms and conditions are meant to protect your business, but if they are copied from another website, out of date or inconsistent with how your business actually operates, they can actually create more problems than they solve.
The biggest mistake is treating website terms as a legal formality. Good terms should clearly explain the deal between you and your customer, including payments, cancellations, refunds, liability and use of your content.
Here are six common mistakes Australian businesses should avoid:
1. Copying terms from another website
It is tempting to copy terms from a similar business and change the company name. The problem with this is that two businesses can look similar online but operate very differently in practice.
For example, one business may require full payment upfront, while the other may invoice customers monthly. Or, one business may allow cancellations, while the other may reserve appointments or project time that cannot easily be replaced.
Generic terms are also more likely to include clauses that do not suit your business or comply with Australian law.
What to do instead:
Draft your terms around how your business actually works and what you are offering, not around someone else’s template. Better yet, reach out to our experienced website terms and conditions lawyers that can provide bespoke terms a for your business that actually work.
2. Forgetting to update your terms
It is likely that your business will change over time. You might introduce online payments, subscriptions, new services, booking software, automatic renewals, or other digital products.
If your website terms were written before those changes, they may no longer reflect the evolving customer relationship. For example, terms written when you invoiced customers manually may not properly deal with recurring card payments or subscription cancellations.
What to do instead:
Review your terms whenever there is a significant change to your products, pricing, payment model or customer process. It can also be helpful to diarise a yearly or six monthly reminder to set aside some time review your online terms and conditions, just in case reviewing and updating the terms fall to the bottom of the to-do list.
3. Using a “no refunds” clause incorrectly
It is really important to remember that a blanket statement such as “no refunds under any circumstances” does not remove a customer’s rights under the Australian Consumer Law.
In many cases, consumers may have rights to a refund, repair, replacement or other remedy that your online terms cannot override.
That does not mean customers are always entitled to a refund simply because they change their mind. The important distinction is between:
- rights customers have under the law; and
- any additional refund or change-of-mind policy your business chooses to offer.
What to do instead:
Make sure your refund terms clearly distinguish between your own commercial policy and rights that cannot legally be excluded.
Learn how to ensure your terms are legally binding by reading about the enforceability of website terms and conditions, so you know what makes them actually hold up in disputes.
4. Making cancellation and subscription terms unclear
We see many disputes that begin with a customer saying: “I didn’t realise I would still be charged.”
This often happens with subscriptions, memberships, appointment bookings, courses and other ongoing service agreements.
Your terms should make it clear when payments are taken, whether a contract renews automatically, how a customer can cancel and what happens after cancellation.
If a customer is committing to your services for a minimum of six months, that should be clear before the customer pays you, and not buried in a long document afterwards.
What to do instead:
Put important payment and cancellation terms where customers are likely to see them before they commit. You might wish to consider implementing a reminder process where customers are notified of an upcoming payment or renewal date. Even one week before a renewal or the end of a payment period can help customers be aware of the upcoming fee and reduce the risk of complaints.
5. Making terms too one-sided
Businesses understandably want strong legal protection, but stronger wording is not always better.
It’s important to keep in mind that Australian unfair contract term laws can apply to standard-form consumer and small-business contracts. Potentially problematic clauses may include terms that give a business very broad rights to change prices, vary the agreement, cancel without consequence, impose excessive cancellation charges or try to exclude almost all responsibility.
Whether a term is unfair depends on the circumstances and the contract as a whole.
What to do instead:
Ask what genuine business risk the clause is trying to manage and whether the protection is reasonable and proportionate.
6. Hiding terms in the website footer
Even well-drafted terms can be difficult to rely on if customers were never properly shown them. A small link in the footer of your website or email is not always the best way to demonstrate that a customer knew about and accepted important contractual terms.
For online purchases, bookings and subscriptions, businesses should think carefully about how terms are presented during the customer journey and consider how those terms are drawn to the customers attention.
For example:
☐ I agree to the Terms and Conditions
with a clear link before payment or sign-up can help provide stronger evidence that the customer was given an opportunity to review your terms.
What to do instead:
Think about both the wording of your terms and how customers actually agree to them. You might need to substantiate this acceptance if a dispute arises.
A quick website terms health check
Ask yourself:
- Do our terms reflect how the business operates today?
- Are payment and cancellation rules clear?
- Are subscription or renewal terms obvious?
- Does our refund policy recognise Australian Consumer Law rights?
- Are liability clauses realistic rather than overly broad?
- Do we explain how customers may use our content and intellectual property?
- Are customers shown the terms before they buy, book or sign up?
If several answers are “no”, your terms may need updating.
The question businesses should really ask
Instead of asking:
“What clauses do I need?”
ask:
“What is most likely to go wrong in this customer relationship?”
For example:
- For an eCommerce business, it may be refund disputes.
- For a consultant, it may be scope changes or late cancellations.
- For a subscription business, it may be automatic renewals.
- For a digital product business, it may be customers sharing or reselling paid content.
That is where tailored website terms start, and they should reflect the real risks in your business to clearly set expectations before a disagreement happens.
Need help reviewing your website terms?
Website terms should match how your business actually operates-not simply fill a space in your footer. Prosper Law assists Australian businesses with preparing and reviewing website terms and conditions, including refund, cancellation, subscription, liability and intellectual property clauses.
Contact us on 1300 003 077 or enquire online to find out how we can help with your online business terms and conditions.
Finally, don’t overlook privacy – our guide on what you need in a privacy policy ensures you cover how personal data must be collected, used, and protected.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Can I copy another business’s website terms?
It is risky. Their business model, payment process, customers and legal risks may be different from yours. You may also copy outdated or inappropriate clauses.
Can my website say “no refunds”?
You cannot use website terms to remove rights customers have under the Australian Consumer Law. However, you may still set policies for situations such as change-of-mind returns where the law does not otherwise require a refund.
Are website terms legally binding if they are in the footer?
Not automatically. Whether terms form part of a contract depends on how they were presented and how the customer agreed to them.
How often should website terms be updated?
Review them whenever your business materially changes, particularly when you introduce new products, payment methods, subscriptions, cancellation processes or technology.
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