Terms of Use

EthicalHub is operated by EthicalHub Pty Ltd, a company registered in Victoria, Australia (ABN: 87 677 816 732).

We build and maintain a compliance management platform designed specifically for Class 1 childcare centres. Our platform helps you track food delivery logs, manage supplier certifications, record and monitor FSS certificates, log corrective actions, prepare audit-ready documentation, and stay across your obligations under VECRA, the National Quality Framework (NQF), and FSANZ food safety standards.

What EthicalHub is

A practical, daily compliance tool. A secure record-keeping system. A way to walk into any audit prepared — without spending six hours pulling documents from a binder.

What EthicalHub is not

A replacement for your Food Safety Supervisor. A legal advice service. A guarantee that you will pass an audit. An accreditation body. These are your responsibilities — and they remain with you.

These Terms of Use apply to every person who accesses or uses any part of EthicalHub, including:

• Childcare centre directors and approved providers using the platform to manage compliance
• Staff members (educators, administrators, FSS officers) given access by a director or owner
• Food suppliers and distributors listed in the EthicalHub supplier directory
• Anyone browsing or interacting with ethicalhub.co, including public-facing pages

By creating an account, completing a free trial, accessing the platform, or continuing to use EthicalHub after these terms take effect, you agree to be bound by them.

If you are using EthicalHub on behalf of a childcare centre, group, or business, you confirm that:

• You have the authority to enter into these terms on that entity's behalf
• The entity agrees to these terms as a condition of accessing the platform
• You will ensure all authorised users within your centre comply with these terms

If you do not agree to these terms, you must not access or use EthicalHub.

When we use the following terms in this document, here is what we mean:

Registration

To use EthicalHub, you must create an account with accurate, complete, and current information. You are responsible for keeping your account details up to date. Providing false information — including false details about your centre, its registration status, or your compliance records — is a breach of these terms.

Login security

You are responsible for keeping your password and access credentials confidential. Do not share your login with anyone outside your centre team. Each staff member who needs access should have their own account under your subscription.

If you suspect your account has been accessed by someone without your authorisation, notify us immediately at hello@ethicalhub.co. We will help you secure your account. We are not liable for any loss or damage that arises from unauthorised access due to a failure to protect your credentials.

Account responsibility

You are responsible for all activity that occurs under your account — including the actions of staff members you authorise. If you grant staff access, make sure they understand and comply with these terms. You remain the account holder and primary responsible party.

Accurate centre information

Your account must reflect your centre's current registration, licensed capacity, FSS details, and other relevant information. If circumstances change — for example, your centre's approved provider changes, your FSS certification lapses, or your licence status is varied — you must update your account details promptly.

EthicalHub is built for one purpose: helping childcare centres manage their food safety compliance accurately, efficiently, and honestly. Use it for that.

You agree to use the platform at all times in a lawful, ethical, and good-faith manner. You are solely responsible for everything you do on the platform and for all content you enter or upload.

The following conduct is strictly prohibited

Reporting misuse

If you become aware of someone using EthicalHub in a way that could compromise child safety or food safety standards, please contact us at hello@ethicalhub.co. We will treat all reports confidentially.

This section matters. Read it carefully.

Compliance is still your responsibility

EthicalHub is a tool to help you meet your obligations under VECRA, the NQF, and FSANZ standards. Those obligations belong to you — the approved provider, director, or responsible person — not to us.

The information and templates within EthicalHub are provided in good faith as general guidance. They do not constitute legal, regulatory, or professional advice. Regulations change. Your specific circumstances matter. Always verify critical compliance decisions with your FSS, a registered food safety auditor, or a qualified legal professional.

No warranty on regulatory outcomes

We make no warranty — express or implied — that using EthicalHub will result in a satisfactory outcome at any regulatory audit, inspection, or accreditation review. Audit outcomes depend on many factors, including how your centre operates day-to-day, the actions of your staff, and the judgement of the inspecting officer.

Ownership

The compliance records, delivery logs, certificates, corrective action notes, and other data you enter into EthicalHub belong to you. We do not claim ownership of your content.

Licence to us

By uploading or entering content into EthicalHub, you grant us a limited, non-exclusive, royalty-free licence to store, process, back up, and display that content — solely for the purpose of providing and improving the platform for you. We will not use your content for marketing, research, or any other commercial purpose without your explicit consent.

Your responsibility for accuracy

You are solely responsible for the accuracy, completeness, and lawfulness of the content you enter. EthicalHub cannot verify the authenticity of records you upload. Entering false records is a breach of these terms and may have serious regulatory and legal consequences for you and your centre.

Exporting your data

You can export your compliance data at any time from within the platform. We recommend doing this regularly and before making any changes to your subscription.

Data retention after account closure

If you cancel your subscription or your account is terminated, we will retain your data for 60 days. During this period, you can request an export. After 60 days, your data will be permanently and irreversibly deleted from our systems.

We are not liable for any loss arising from your failure to export your data prior to account closure or the expiry of the 60-day retention window.

Aggregate and de-identified data

We may use anonymised, aggregated, non-personally identifiable data (for example, trends in delivery log frequency or common corrective action categories) to improve EthicalHub's features and to publish industry benchmarks. This data will never identify you, your centre, or any individual.

We take the security of your data seriously. Childcare compliance records are sensitive. We treat them that way.

What we do to protect your data

• All data is encrypted in transit using TLS 1.2 or higher
• Data at rest is encrypted using AES-256 encryption
• All data is stored on servers located within Australia
• We maintain regular automated backups
• Access to production systems is restricted to authorised personnel only
• We monitor for unusual access patterns and security threats

What you must do

Security is a shared responsibility. Your account is only as secure as your password and how carefully you manage access. You must:

• Use a strong, unique password for your EthicalHub account
• Not share login credentials between staff members
• Remove access immediately when a staff member leaves your centre
• Report any suspected data breach or unauthorised access to us without delay

If there is a data breach

In the event of a data breach that is likely to result in serious harm, we will notify affected users as required under the Notifiable Data Breaches (NDB) scheme under the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth). We will notify you as quickly as practicable, describe what happened, and tell you what steps we are taking.

EthicalHub is offered on a monthly subscription basis. Current pricing and plan inclusions are set out on our Pricing page. Prices are in Australian dollars (AUD) and inclusive of GST unless otherwise stated.

Billing cycle

Subscriptions are billed monthly in advance. Your first payment will be taken at the end of your free trial period (see Section 10). Subsequent payments are charged on the same date each month.

Payment methods

We accept major credit and debit cards processed through our secure third-party payment provider. By providing your payment details, you authorise us to charge your nominated payment method for your recurring subscription fees.

Failed payments

If a payment fails, we will notify you by email. You will have a 7-day grace period to update your payment details before access to your account is suspended. If payment is not received within 14 days of failure, we may terminate your subscription.

You remain liable for all amounts owed up to and including the date of termination. Outstanding amounts may be referred to a debt collection service if unpaid.

Price changes

We may change our subscription prices from time to time. If we increase your plan price, we will give you at least 30 days' written notice by email before the change takes effect. Your continued use of EthicalHub after the new price takes effect constitutes your acceptance of the new price.

If you do not accept a price increase, you may cancel your subscription before the new price applies. We will make that easy.

Taxes

You are responsible for any applicable taxes in your jurisdiction beyond Australian GST. If you are a business registered for GST, you may be entitled to claim an input tax credit — please consult your accountant.

New accounts receive a 30-day free trial with full access to the features included in the plan you select. No credit card is required to start a trial.

What happens at the end of your trial

We'll email you before your trial ends to remind you. If you'd like to continue, you'll need to add a payment method. If you don't, your account will be paused — your data is preserved for 30 days so you can come back without starting from scratch.

Trial limitations

• One free trial per centre. Creating multiple accounts to extend a trial is a breach of these terms.
• Trial accounts are for genuine evaluation purposes. Using a trial to generate audit documentation for a real upcoming inspection without intending to subscribe is not the intended use.
• We reserve the right to end a trial early if we have reason to believe it is being abused.

Cancelling your subscription

You can cancel your subscription at any time through your account settings or by contacting us directly. Cancellations take effect at the end of your current billing period. You will continue to have full access to EthicalHub until that date.

Refund policy

We do not issue refunds for partial billing periods. If you cancel mid-month, your access continues until the end of that month. No pro-rata refund is issued.

Exceptions may apply in the following circumstances:

• A material failure of the platform that we are unable to resolve within a reasonable timeframe
• A billing error on our part (for example, being charged the wrong amount)
• Circumstances covered by your rights under the Australian Consumer Law

To request a refund under any of the above circumstances, contact us at hello@ethicalhub.co within 14 days of the relevant billing event. We will assess each request on its merits and respond within 5 business days.

Australian Consumer Law

Nothing in this refund policy overrides your rights under the Australian Consumer Law. If a consumer guarantee applies to our services and we fail to meet it, you may be entitled to a remedy under law regardless of this policy.

We work hard to keep EthicalHub available and performing well. We aim for high availability and run regular backups to protect your data.

Planned maintenance

Occasionally we need to take the platform offline for updates, maintenance, or infrastructure work. Where possible, we will schedule this during low-usage periods (typically late night or weekend) and give you advance notice by email or in-app notification.

Unplanned outages

We cannot guarantee that EthicalHub will always be available, error-free, or uninterrupted. If an unplanned outage occurs, we will communicate via our status page and email as quickly as we can, and work to restore access as a priority.

No uptime guarantee

We do not currently offer a formal service level agreement (SLA) with a guaranteed uptime percentage. If this is a requirement for your organisation, please contact us to discuss options.

From time to time, we may give you early access to new features, tools, or integrations that are still in development — sometimes called "beta" features.

Beta features are provided as-is, without warranty. They may be incomplete, behave unexpectedly, or be discontinued at any time. We value your feedback on beta features and use it to improve the final version.

Do not rely on a beta feature as your sole method of managing a critical compliance task until it reaches general availability. If a beta feature is removed, we will give you reasonable notice and, where possible, provide an alternative.

What we own

Everything we've built — the EthicalHub platform, its design, features, code, algorithms, templates, user interface, documentation, and brand assets — belongs to EthicalHub Pty Ltd or our licensors. These terms do not transfer any intellectual property rights to you.

What you can do

You are granted a limited, non-exclusive, non-transferable licence to use EthicalHub for the purpose of managing your centre's food safety compliance during the term of your active subscription. This licence does not include the right to:

• Copy, reproduce, or distribute EthicalHub's code, design, or content
• Create derivative works based on the platform
• Use EthicalHub's branding, logo, or name without our prior written consent
• Resell, sublicense, or transfer access to EthicalHub to a third party

Your feedback

If you share feedback, suggestions, ideas, or feature requests with us, you give us a perpetual, royalty-free licence to use those ideas to improve EthicalHub. We appreciate the input — and we're under no obligation to compensate you for it. Nor are we obligated to act on it.

Your content and our IP

You retain ownership of the content you enter into EthicalHub (see Section 7). Nothing you upload grants us any rights to your compliance records, business data, or proprietary information beyond what is needed to operate the platform.

Your data is confidential

We treat your centre's compliance records, supplier relationships, audit history, and operational data as confidential. We will not disclose your data to third parties except:

• Where you explicitly authorise us to do so (for example, granting a supplier access to their certification status)
• Where required by law, court order, or lawful regulatory demand
• To our trusted service providers and subprocessors, who are bound by equivalent confidentiality obligations
• In connection with a business transfer, merger, or acquisition — in which case you will be notified in advance

Our confidential information

In using EthicalHub, you may gain access to information about our product roadmap, pricing structure, technology, or business methods that is not publicly known. You agree to keep such information confidential and not to share it with competitors or third parties without our consent.

Regulatory disclosures

If we receive a lawful demand from a regulator — for example, a subpoena, regulatory notice, or court order — we may be required to disclose your data. Where legally permissible, we will notify you before complying and give you the opportunity to seek legal protection.

Third-party services

EthicalHub may connect with or rely on third-party services — including payment processors, document storage providers, email delivery services, and analytics tools. These providers operate under their own terms of service and privacy policies. We select them carefully and require them to maintain appropriate data protections, but we are not responsible for their actions or failures.

Supplier directory

EthicalHub operates a directory of vetted food suppliers for use by childcare centres. Listing in our directory is based on information provided by suppliers at the time of onboarding. We carry out reasonable verification of key requirements, including HACCP certification and public liability insurance.

However, EthicalHub does not guarantee the accuracy, currency, or completeness of any supplier's certifications, claims, or product information. You are responsible for conducting your own due diligence before ordering from any supplier. We recommend:

• Independently verifying supplier certifications before they expire
• Maintaining your own records of supplier communications and delivery confirmations
• Not relying solely on EthicalHub's directory as evidence of supplier compliance in an audit

Third-party links

EthicalHub may contain links to third-party websites, resources, or tools. These are provided for your convenience only. We do not endorse, control, or take responsibility for any third-party content, and linking to a third-party site does not imply our endorsement of it.

EthicalHub exists because children's safety in childcare settings matters. This is not a legal formality — it is the reason the platform was built.

As a Class 1 childcare centre, your obligations under the NQF, VECRA, and FSANZ food safety standards are designed to protect children in your care. EthicalHub is a tool to help you meet those obligations reliably. It does not reduce or replace them.

Our commitment

We will never knowingly assist any centre in creating the appearance of compliance while actual practices fall short. If we have reasonable grounds to believe that a user is using EthicalHub to generate false compliance documentation that could put children at risk, we will:

• Suspend the relevant account immediately, without prior notice
• Notify the relevant regulatory authority, including the Department of Education, Safer Care Victoria, or the local council environmental health team
• Cooperate fully with any investigation or inquiry

This is not a threat — it is a commitment. Child safety is non-negotiable.

Platform designed for children's food safety

EthicalHub is built for adults managing childcare centre compliance. It is not designed or intended for use by children, and children should not be given access to the platform under any circumstances.

Your privacy matters. How we collect, use, store, and disclose personal information is set out in our Privacy Policy, which forms part of these terms and should be read alongside them.

The short version:

• We collect only what we need to provide the platform to you
• All personal data is stored securely in Australia
• We never sell your personal information to third parties
• You can access, correct, or request deletion of your personal data at any time

Applicable law

EthicalHub complies with the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth) and the Australian Privacy Principles (APPs). If you believe we have mishandled your personal information, you have the right to raise a complaint with the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC).

Staff and children's personal data

In using EthicalHub, you may enter personal information about your staff (for example, FSS names and certificate numbers) and, in some features, information relating to children's dietary needs or allergies. You are responsible for obtaining appropriate consent and complying with applicable privacy obligations in respect of this data. We will process it only in accordance with your instructions and our Privacy Policy.

EthicalHub is a small business built on the belief that childcare compliance should be simpler. We try to do right by our users. But we also need to be clear about the limits of our legal responsibility.

What we are not liable for

To the fullest extent permitted by Australian law, EthicalHub Pty Ltd will not be liable for:

• Any regulatory penalties, fines, enforcement action, or licence conditions arising from your centre's compliance obligations
• Any loss arising from an unsatisfactory outcome at a food safety audit, NQF assessment, or regulatory inspection
• Loss or corruption of data arising from events outside our reasonable control (see Section 21)
• Any indirect, incidental, special, consequential, or punitive loss of any kind, including lost revenue, lost business, or reputational damage
• Actions, errors, or omissions of third-party suppliers or service providers connected to the platform
• Your reliance on information generated by EthicalHub as legal, regulatory, or professional advice

Cap on liability

Where our liability cannot be excluded by law, our total aggregate liability to you for any claim arising under or in connection with these terms or your use of EthicalHub is limited to the lesser of:

• The total subscription fees you paid to EthicalHub in the 3 months immediately preceding the event giving rise to the claim, or
• AUD $500

Australian Consumer Law

Nothing in this section excludes, restricts, or modifies any consumer guarantee, right, or remedy that you have under the Australian Consumer Law that cannot lawfully be excluded. If the Australian Consumer Law applies and we fail to meet a consumer guarantee, your remedies will be limited to what is prescribed under that law.

You agree to indemnify, defend, and hold harmless EthicalHub Pty Ltd, its directors, employees, and contractors from and against any claims, liabilities, losses, damages, costs, and expenses (including reasonable legal fees) arising out of or relating to:

• Your breach of these terms
• Your use of the platform in a way that is unlawful or that causes harm to a third party
• Content you upload that infringes a third party's intellectual property, privacy rights, or other legal rights
• False or misleading compliance records entered into the platform by you or someone acting under your account
• Any regulatory or legal action arising from the way your centre operates

This indemnity does not apply to the extent that a claim arises from our own negligence, wilful misconduct, or breach of these terms.

We will not be in breach of these terms or liable to you for any delay or failure to perform our obligations where that failure is caused by circumstances outside our reasonable control. This includes — but is not limited to:

• Natural disasters, severe weather events, or acts of God
• Power outages or failures of internet infrastructure
• Cyberattacks, DDoS attacks, or other malicious interference with our systems
• Acts of government, war, civil unrest, or public health emergencies
• Failures by third-party cloud infrastructure or hosting providers
• Strikes or labour disputes affecting critical service providers

If a force majeure event affects our ability to provide the platform for more than 30 consecutive days, either party may terminate the relevant subscription by giving written notice. In that case, we will refund any prepaid fees for the affected period on a pro-rata basis.

Termination by you

You may cancel your subscription and terminate your use of EthicalHub at any time through your account settings or by contacting us. See Section 11 for the effect of cancellation on your billing and data.

Termination by us — with notice

We may terminate or suspend your access to EthicalHub with 14 days' written notice if:

• You have failed to pay your subscription fees within the applicable grace period
• We decide to discontinue the platform or a significant component of it
• We are required to do so by law or court order

Termination by us — immediate

We may terminate or suspend your access immediately and without prior notice if:

• You have materially breached these terms and the breach is incapable of remedy, or you have failed to remedy a remediable breach within 7 days of receiving notice
• We have reasonable grounds to believe you are using the platform fraudulently or to generate false compliance records
• Your use of the platform poses a risk to the safety of children or other users
• You have become insolvent, entered voluntary administration, or are subject to a winding-up order

Effect of termination

On termination, your access to the platform ceases. Your data will be held for 60 days as described in Section 7. Provisions of these terms that are intended to survive termination — including Sections 7, 14, 15, 19, 20, and 25 — will remain in full force.

We may update these terms from time to time. Reasons we might do this include:

• We launch a new feature that changes how the platform works
• A change in Australian law affects our obligations or yours
• We identify a gap or ambiguity in the current terms that needs clarifying
• Our business model changes in a material way

How we'll tell you

If we make material changes to these terms — meaning changes that could significantly affect your rights or obligations — we will:

• Email you at least 14 days before the new terms take effect
• Display a notice in the platform dashboard
• Update the "Last updated" date at the top and bottom of this page

Your continued use of EthicalHub after the effective date of updated terms constitutes your acceptance of them.

If you do not agree with a material change, you may cancel your subscription before it takes effect. We will not penalise you for doing so and will not charge you for any period following cancellation.

For minor or administrative changes (such as correcting a typo, updating our contact details, or clarifying existing language without changing its meaning), we may update the terms without advance notice.

Entire agreement

These Terms of Use, together with our Privacy Policy and any applicable order form or subscription confirmation, constitute the entire agreement between you and EthicalHub in relation to your use of the platform. They supersede all prior agreements, representations, and understandings — whether written or verbal.

Severability

If any provision of these terms is found to be invalid, unenforceable, or illegal by a court of competent jurisdiction, that provision will be severed from the rest of the terms. The remaining provisions will continue in full force and effect.

Waiver

If we fail to enforce any provision of these terms at a particular time, that does not constitute a waiver of our right to enforce it in the future. No waiver of any provision is effective unless it is made in writing by an authorised representative of EthicalHub Pty Ltd.

Assignment

You may not assign, transfer, or sublicense your rights under these terms to any third party without our prior written consent. We may assign our rights and obligations under these terms in connection with a merger, acquisition, or sale of all or substantially all of our assets — in which case we will notify you and the new entity will be bound by these terms.

No agency

Nothing in these terms creates any agency, partnership, joint venture, employment, or franchise relationship between you and EthicalHub. You are an independent customer using a software platform.

Notices

Any formal notices required under these terms must be sent by email and will be deemed received when acknowledged in writing. Notices to us should be sent to hello@ethicalhub.co. Notices to you will be sent to the email address associated with your account.

These terms are governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of Victoria, Australia, without regard to conflict of laws principles. Any disputes arising under or in connection with these terms will be subject to the exclusive jurisdiction of the courts of Victoria.

Dispute resolution — talk to us first

Before escalating any dispute to formal legal proceedings, we ask that you contact us first. Most issues can be resolved quickly with a direct, honest conversation. We're a small team and we take every concern seriously.

To raise a dispute, email hello@ethicalhub.co with a clear description of the issue. We will acknowledge your message within 2 business days and aim to resolve the matter within 14 business days.

Mediation

If a dispute cannot be resolved through direct negotiation, either party may refer the matter to mediation through the Resolution Institute (Australia) before commencing court proceedings. Mediation is voluntary but we will engage in it in good faith.

Questions about these terms? Something unclear? We'd rather you asked than assumed. Reach out — we'll give you a straight answer, quickly.