Terms of Use for all users

1. Website Terms of Use

1.1    The Head to Health - National Mental Health Website (Website), including the materials, information, quiz and service directory has been prepared and is managed by the Department of Health and Aged Care (Department, we, us, our). The Department provides this Website to promote access to information and guidance about the range of different mental health-related products and services available.

1.2    This document sets out the terms and conditions which governs the use of this Website (Terms). Please review these Terms carefully, especially the disclaimers and limitation of liability sections. By accessing and using this Website, you accept and agree to these Terms. You must not access or use this Website if you do not agree with these Terms.

2. Use of this Website

2.1    You are responsible for all of your activity in connection with accessing and using this Website. You must not use this Website for any activities that breach any laws, infringe any party’s rights or breach any standards, content requirements or codes promulgated by any relevant authority. You must not distribute through this Website any inappropriate communication, including any defamatory, scandalous, obscene, offensive, harassing or illegal material or content, or any virus or other disabling code in any form.

2.2    If you are accessing or using this Website on behalf of another person (Represented Person), you must ensure that you have consent from the Represented Person and that you are acting in the best interests of the Represented Person. You must not use this Website otherwise.

2.3    Where access to restricted parts of this Website is subject to more specific terms, those terms apply in addition to these Terms.

2.4    You must not bypass any security mechanisms imposed by this Website, or tamper with, hinder the operation of or make unauthorised access or modifications to this Website.

2.5    You may download, reproduce, print or copy any content on this Website solely for personal, non-commercial or fair dealing purposes in accordance with the Copyright Act 1968 (Cth). Any permitted reproduction made must acknowledge the Commonwealth as the source of the content. Any reproduction made of the information or material must include a copy of the original copyright and disclaimer notices as set out here.

2.6    You must not re-transmit, distribute or otherwise use any part of this Website for commercial purposes without the prior written consent of the Department, which may be withheld at our absolute discretion. In particular, you must not use this Website or any content to promote, sell or market a product or service or to increase traffic to your website for commercial purposes.

3. Disclaimers relating to the Website

3.1    The Website, including the materials, information, quiz and service directory, is intended to assist you to identify and access information about mental health services and tools which may be relevant to you. While we have made every effort to ensure that the information on the Website is accurate and informative, please keep in mind that the information, recommendations and other materials provided to you are intended to support the relationship between you and your healthcare provider and not replace it. The information and recommendations made available by this Website are general in nature and are not intended to take the place of clinical or medical advice from a healthcare professional. Do not use the information on this Website to attempt to diagnose, treat, or cure any disease or as a substitute for the advice of a health care professional. Before acting on any information, you should consider the appropriateness of the information having regard to your personal circumstances and needs.

3.2    We make no representation or warranty about the accuracy, completeness or reliability of the information you receive from this Website or that the information will be relevant to your circumstances, particularly if someone other than you provided the quiz responses on your behalf. If you choose to rely on the information provided on this website, you do so at your own risk. If you are unsure, please seek advice from an appropriately qualified healthcare professional before making decisions about your circumstances. You should not rely on the information on this Website to delay obtaining professional advice or disregard any professional advice you do receive. The information may contain views or recommendations of third parties and does not necessarily reflect the views of the Australian Government or the Department of Health and Aged Care.

3.3    We do not warrant that access to this Website will be uninterrupted, or that the services and features offered on this Website will be error-free. We reserve the right to change or discontinue any feature on this Website or the availability of this Website.

3.4   To the extent permitted by law, we exclude all liability for any loss or damage, including any consequential loss or indirect loss, loss of data, loss of profit, loss of reputation or loss of business arising in relation to the use or reliance on any part of this Website or any content (including any third party materials, the inability to use any part of this Website or the features on this Website), whether or not it is caused by our negligence.

4. Third party content

4.1    This Website contains content from third parties, including information, material and links to other websites and applications (Third Party Material). While we take reasonable care in including links to Third Party Material, we do not have direct control over, and are not responsible for, any Third Party Material (including its currency, accuracy or reliability). Unless we expressly state otherwise, we do not sponsor or endorse any Third Party Materials.  To the extent permitted by law, the Third Party Material is provided on an ‘as-is’ basis.

4.2    To the extent permitted by law, we do not make representation that any Third Party Material will be fit for your needs and objectives. If you are unsure, please seek advice from an appropriately qualified healthcare professional. Further, we do not warrant that the Third Party Material does not infringe the intellectual property rights or any other rights of any person. We do not authorise the reproduction of such material.

4.3    Before including Third Party Material on the Website, we take reasonable steps to ensure that: 

1. 1. the content is authentic, accurate and up-to-date; 
   2. the relevant service provider is a recipient of Commonwealth, State and Territory  Government support (such as grant funding); and 
   3. the relevant service provider has processes in place to maintain and keep their content accurate and up-to-date.
       

5. Linking to the Website

5.1    Any Australian State, Territory or local government websites may link to this Website.

5.2    If you wish to provide a link to this Website on your website, you must ensure that you do not:

1. 1. imply that the Australian Government endorses your website, products or services; 
   2. use the Website or any content solely for commercial purposes or practices; and 
   3. change or misrepresent the content set out on the Website.

5.3    If you do not agree or fail to comply with these requirements, we may request that you remove the link to the Website.

6.    Cookies and other tools

6.1    We may collect aggregated information about how users use the Website, including in some cases through the use of cookies and other similar tools. We use these tools to measure traffic patterns, obtain session recordings and similar functions, which allows us to determine which areas of our Website have been visited and to measure interaction patterns by the user. We use this to research our users’ habits so that we can improve our online information and education. If you do not wish to receive cookies, you can set your browser so that your computer does not accept them.

6.2    We may log IP addresses (that is, the electronic addresses of computers connected to the internet) to analyse trends, administer the Website, track users’ movements and gather broad demographic information.

7.    Security

7.1    We take reasonable steps to protect the information that you transmit using this Website.  However, we cannot guarantee the security of any information that you transmit to us using this Website. Therefore, any information you transmit using this Website is transmitted at your own risk.

7.2    When using this Website, you must take precautions to ensure that you are not exposed to the risk of viruses, malicious computer code or other forms of interference which may damage your own computer system. We do not accept responsibility for any such interference or damage to your systems which arises in connection with your use of this Website.

8.    Intellectual property

8.1    Unless otherwise indicated, we own or are licensed to use all intellectual property (including any copyright, trade marks and designs) subsisting in the content on this Website. We authorise you on a non-exclusive basis to reproduce and download the content solely for personal use. Otherwise, to the extent permitted by law, no part of this Website may be reproduced, reused, retransmitted, adapted, published, broadcast, communicated or distributed without our prior written permission.

8.2    All names, logos and trade marks on this Website are the property of their respective owners. Nothing on this Website should be interpreted as granting any rights to use or distribute any names, logos or trademarks, without the express written agreement of the relevant owners.

9.    Privacy

9.1    We may collect your personal information through this Website. By continuing to use this Website you consent to your personal information being collected, used and disclosed in accordance with these Terms and privacy notice for this Website. You must not submit the personal information of another person, unless that person has read, understood and accepted these Terms and the privacy notice.

9.2    The Department’s privacy policy contains further information about how we collect, hold, store and use your personal information and how you may access any personal information we hold about you. For more information, please refer to the Department's Privacy Policy.
 

10.    General

10.1    If any provision of these Terms are found to be void, unlawful or unenforceable for any reason, then that portion of the provision which creates the invalidity, unlawfulness or unenforceability will be severable from these Terms and will not otherwise affect the validity and enforceability of any remaining provisions.

10.2    To the extent permitted by law, we may change these Terms at any time. Please check these Terms at regular intervals for any changes.

10.3    These Terms are governed by the laws of the Australian Capital Territory, Australia, and you agree to submit to the exclusive jurisdiction of the courts of the Australian Capital Territory.

10.4    We would appreciate your feedback on our delivery of this Website. Please visit our feedback page if you have any thoughts on how we can improve the Website.

Terms of Use for healthcare professionals

11.    Additional Terms of Use

11.1    In addition to the Terms for all users (above), these additional Terms apply specifically to the use and access to the Website by healthcare professionals.

11.2    If you use this Website on as a healthcare professional on behalf of another person (that is, your patient), you must ensure that you have the consent from the patient and that you are acting in the best interests of the patient. You must not use this Website otherwise.

12.    Professional judgment

12.1    As a healthcare professional, you may use the Website to access information and materials about products and services which may be relevant to your patient.  However, you must use your professional judgment as to the relevance, applicability and accuracy of the Website for your patient in each case.  You will remain responsible for any advice or recommendation you provide in your capacity as a healthcare professional, and the Department will not liable for any such advice or recommendation.

12.2    You must only use this Website with practices and procedures that are consistent with professional and ethical best practice and standards, including any relevant codes of conduct, guidelines or procedures issued by the Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency.

13.    Consent to use personal information

13.1    If you collect and use any personal information (including any sensitive information) from your patient in order to use the Website (such as the quiz functionality), then you must ensure that you have informed your patient that you will be collecting their personal information and that you have obtained their consent to proceed. For more information, please see the Website's privacy notice.

14.    Updates to the Website

14.1    From time to time, the Department may be required to update or amend the content included on the Website. We recommend that you implement processes and procedures to ensure that the information, advice or recommendations you make based on the Website is up-to-date, accurate and relevant.

Copyright information

© Commonwealth of Australia 2022

This work is copyright. You may download, display, print and reproduce the whole or part of this work in unaltered form for your own personal use or, if you are part of an organisation, for internal use within your organisation, but only if you or your organisation do not use the reproduction for any commercial purpose and retain this copyright notice and all disclaimer notices as part of that reproduction. Apart from rights to use as permitted by the Copyright Act 1968 (Cth) or allowed by this copyright notice, all other rights are reserved and you are not allowed to reproduce the whole or any part of this work in any way (electronic or otherwise) without first being given the specific written permission from the Commonwealth to do so.

Requests and inquiries concerning reproduction and rights are to be sent to the Communications Branch, Department of Health and Aged Care, GPO Box 9848, Canberra ACT 2601.

(Page last updated: 29 May 2023)