Terms and conditions

These terms and conditions and any additional terms which may appear on the Website from time to time apply to the use of the Website. By accessing and using the Website, you agree to be bound by these terms and conditions as amended from time to time. If you do not accept these terms and conditions, you must refrain from using the Website.

1. Definitions

In these terms and conditions:

“AFSL” means Australian Financial Services Licence;

“ASIC” means the Australian Securities and Investments Commission;

“Companies” means current and intending ASX-listed companies about which information is provided on the Website;

“Forum” means the internet discussion site hosted on the Website at https://smallcaps.com.au/forum and any live chat or similar communication feature associated with this internet discussion site;

“Linked Website” means a website that is hyperlinked from the Website or whose URL is disclosed on the Website;

“Small Caps”, “we”, “us” and “our” means StocksOnline Pty Ltd ACN 616 724 559; and

“Website” means the website maintained and operated by us at https://smallcaps.com.au/ and includes the Forum.

2. Financial product advice

Unless otherwise expressly stated, the information provided on the Website is factual information. It is not intended to imply any recommendation or opinion about a financial product and should therefore not be considered to be financial product advice.

We do not hold and are not authorised under an AFSL to provide financial product advice. Before acquiring any financial product you should obtain the product disclosure statement or other relevant disclosure document for the financial product, as appropriate, and read it, including terms relating to any cooling-off regime, before making a decision to acquire the financial product.

Any information provided on the Website is of a general nature only and has been prepared without taking into account your personal objectives, financial situation or needs and as such, you should before acting on the information or advice, consider the appropriateness of the information in relation to your objectives, financial situation or needs.

You understand that in certain circumstances we or our associates may have received, or be entitled to receive, financial or other consideration in connection with providing information about Companies and other entities on the Website and in communications otherwise provided to you. There may be a conflict of interest present with our commercial arrangements with these Companies and other entities.

3. Website content

All information provided by us on the Website is provided in good faith. You accept that any information provided by us is general information and is not in the nature of advice. We derive our information from sources that we believe to be accurate and up to date as at the date of publication and we reserve the right to update this information at any time.

No content included is intended for trading or investing purposes and we will not be responsible or liable for any trading or investment decisions made based on such information.

We publish or make available on the Website information, advertisements, and other content supplied and posted by third parties. We do not warrant, represent, authorise, endorse or otherwise assume responsibility for the reliability, accuracy or completeness of any such material published on the Website, including, but not limited to, any financial product advice contained in this material or a representation or warranty given by a third party. We accept no responsibility and are not liable for any claim, loss or damage as a result of information provided by third parties, including as a result of any action taken or reliance made by you on any information or material posted by another person on the Website.

Responsibility for the content of any advertisements appearing on the Website (including via advertisers’ Linked Websites) rests solely with the advertisers. The placement of such advertisements does not constitute a recommendation or endorsement by us of the advertisers’ products or services, and each advertiser is solely responsible for any representations made in connection with its advertisement.

We make no representations or warranties that your access to or use of the Website will be uninterrupted, timely or secure. We are not liable for any loss resulting from any action taken or reliance made by you on any information or material posted by us or users. You should make your own inquiries and seek independent advice from relevant professionals before acting or relying on any information or material which is posted by any person on the Website.

We do not accept any responsibility or liability for any use or misuse that you or any other person make or information or material that you obtain or submit using the Website.

If you download any material from the Website, you acknowledge that we are not liable to you for any loss or damage, however caused, arising from the downloading or subsequent use of the downloaded material.

You must not adapt, reproduce, store, distribute, transmit, print, display, publish or create derivative works from any downloaded material. In addition you must not commercialise any information, products or services from the downloaded material.

4. Restricted use

Unless we agree otherwise in writing, you are provided with access to and use of the Website only for your personal use. You must not forward, on-sell or otherwise use information obtained from the Website for commercial purposes without our written permission.

5. Linked Websites

Links to Linked Websites are provided for convenience only and may not remain current or be maintained. We are not responsible for the condition, content or privacy practices associated with Linked Websites.

Content provided through Linked Website is provided “as is” and without any warranty of any kind, including as to quality, accuracy or completeness. To the extent permitted by law, you release us from liability arising from your access to or use of any Linked Websites. Your access to and use of any Linked Website is governed by, and subject to, the terms and conditions applicable to that Linked Website.

Our links to Linked Websites should not be construed as an endorsement, approval or recommendation by us of the owners or operators of those Linked Websites, or of any information, graphics, materials, products or services referred to or contained on those Linked Websites, unless and to the extent otherwise stated.

6. Disclosure and warnings for the Forum, as an internet discussion site

Our Forum complies with ASIC Regulatory Guide 162: Internet Discussion Sites (RG 162). Under RG 162 we are obliged to give people who view and/or post on the Forum the following warnings and disclosures:

Disclosure and Warnings to people who view postings on the Website:

• We do not endorse or vouch for the accuracy of authenticity of postings.
• No one is permitted to make postings on the Website in their capacity as a representative of a holder of an AFSL or as an Authorised Representative of a holder of an AFSL.
• Postings are at best general information, not professional investment advice prepared by taking into account any individual circumstances and needs of particular investors. Therefore, before acting on the basis of what is said in a posting, you should:
  • (i) consider consulting a licensed adviser (ASIC’s website at https://asic.gov.au/ has a list of licensed advisers); and
  • (ii) visit ASIC’s consumer website at https://www.moneysmart.gov.au/ for general guidance about investing.
• People making postings are individually responsible for the accuracy and authenticity of their postings.
• Because of the nature of the internet, it may be hard to identify or locate the person making a posting. The person may also be in an overseas jurisdiction, so it may be hard to take any legal action against them.
• You will have no access to ASIC-approved dispute resolution schemes to recover any losses you may suffer by relying on the postings.
• Securities cannot be offered to you for sale or issue through postings on the Website.
• It is advisable that you alert us or ASIC on 1300 300 630 if you have good reason to suspect that any postings are inaccurate, are based on inside information or are likely to mislead or deceive people who view or use the postings.

Disclosure and Warnings to people making postings on the Website:

• You are personally responsible for your postings (including any alterations that you make to postings). Therefore, you should not include any misleading or deceptive information in your postings and not carry out illegal or unauthorised activities using the Website. Information in postings may, where appropriate, be made available to ASIC. ASIC and people acting on such information may take action against you.
• If you include hyper-links to other websites, you may be seen as endorsing the material on such Linked Websites. It may be advisable to you to warn people accessing other Linked Websites that you do not endorse or take responsibility for material in the Linked Websites.
• If you own or have some other interest in a security, or you have any connection with a securities issuer that you might benefit from, you must disclose that fact. For example, you may be entitled to receive direct or indirect commissions, fees or other benefits from a financial product or service provider; or you may be associated with a particular securities issuer such as by being an employee or director of a securities issuer. If so, you must disclose that fact in your posting.
• If we find or reasonably suspect that you are making illegal or unauthorised postings, your right to make postings will be withdrawn.
• No one is permitted to make postings on the Website in their capacity as a representative of a holder of an AFSL or as an Authorised Representative of a holder of an AFSL. By accepting these terms you confirm that you will not make postings in their capacity as a representative of a holder of an AFSL or as an Authorised Representative of a holder of an AFSL.

7. Forum rules

Users who post on the Forum must comply with the following rules:

• No spam – Any automated messages, advertisements, and links to competitor websites are not permitted and will be deleted immediately. No repeated, unwanted or unsolicited actions, whether automated or manual, that negatively affect users or the Website will be tolerated.
• No confidential information – No posting or messaging of any material that you do not have a right to make available under any law or under contractual or fiduciary relationships (such as inside information, proprietary and confidential information learned or disclosed as part of employment relationships or under non-disclosure agreements).
• Post in relevant sub-forums only – Messages posted in the wrong topic area will be removed and placed in the correct sub-Forum by moderators.
• Respect other users – No flaming or abusing fellow Forum members. Tortious, defamatory, hateful or racially, ethnically or otherwise objectionable material is strictly prohibited. Users who continue to post inflammatory, insulting, offensive, intimidating or abusive comments will be removed from the Forum.
• No harassment – No threats, harassment or bullying of other users, or encouraging others to do so, will be tolerated. Any instance of threatening or harassing behaviour is grounds for the user’s posts being deleted from the Forum.
• No misuse of information – No collection or storage of another user’s information or invasion of another’s privacy. No doxxing or publication of personal information of users or third parties.
• No impersonation – No impersonating any person or entity, or representing your affiliation with a person or entity, in a misleading or deceptive manner.
• No adult content – No profanity or pornography is allowed. Posts containing adult material will be deleted and the user’s account removed.
• No interference – No interference with or disruption of the normal use of the Forum or the Website, its servers or networks connected to the Website.
• No illegal content – No re-posting of copyrighted materials or other illegal content is allowed. Any posts containing illegal content or copyrighted materials will be deleted.
• No violation of law – No intentional or unintentional violation of any applicable local, state, national or international laws. You agree to comply with all local rules regarding online conduct and acceptable content. You acknowledge that the Forum is not intended for people outside of Australia, and must not access or post in the Forum if you are outside of Australia.

You should always consult an expert before making any financial decision based on what you read. Content on the Forum may not always be accurate and users may have a vested interest in a particular company or investment. You should always conduct your own due diligence as some information posted to the Forum may be misleading.

We reserve the right to ban, delete or suspend anyone who we suspect is violating the Forum rules in any way.

Any statements or opinions posted by any person on the Forum are strictly those of the relevant author and not us. While we monitor and will take appropriate action to ensure compliance with the Forum rules set out in this clause 7, we do not approve or endorse the contents of comments posted by users in the Forum, and do not accept responsibility for any loss, damage, harm or injury occasioned by unlawful, offensive, harmful, threatening, abusive, harassing, defamatory, vulgar, obscene, discriminatory, invasive of another’s privacy, hateful or racially, ethnically or otherwise objectionable material available on the Forum.

By registering to use the Forum, you consent to subscribe to our join our mailing list and to receive electronic communications from us and our affiliates, including newsletters containing news, events and opportunities on the Australian stock market.  These communications are considered part of your Forum membership.  You may at any time opt out of receiving electronic communications from us, however to remain a Forum member with posting privileges you must remain opted-in to receive electronic communications.

You accept that any information provided by us in electronic communications is general information and is not in the nature of advice.  No content in our electronic communications is intended for trading or investing purposes and we will not be responsible or liable for any trading or investment decisions made based on such information.

Responsibility for the content of any advertisements appearing in our electronic communications (including via advertisers’ Linked Websites) rests solely with the advertisers.  The placement of such advertisements does not constitute a recommendation or endorsement by us of the advertisers’ products or services, and each advertiser is solely responsible for any representations made in connection with its advertisement.

8. For information of Australian investors only

The Website is provided for the information and use of Australian residents only. The use of the Website in jurisdictions outside Australia may be restricted by law. Any person who uses the Website outside of Australia should inform themselves about and observe any such restrictions. Any failure to comply with these restrictions may constitute a violation of applicable securities laws. The Website is not intended to be made available in any place in which, or to any person to whom, it would be unlawful for the Website to be made available.

9. Amendments to terms and conditions

We reserve the right to amend these terms and conditions from time to time. Amendments will be effective immediately upon being posted on the Website. Your continued use of the Website following such posting will represent an agreement by you to be bound by the terms and conditions as amended. It is your responsibility to check these terms regularly for changes.

10. Privacy Policy

You acknowledge that you have read and understood our privacy policy at [https://smallcaps.com.au/privacy].

11. Copyright

Copyright in the Website (including text, graphics, logos, icons, sound recordings and software) is owned or licensed by us. Other than for the purposes of, and subject to the conditions prescribed under, the Copyright Act 1968 (Cth) and similar legislation that applies in your location, and except as expressly authorised by these terms and conditions, you must not, unless we give you our written permission, do any of the following in any form or by any means:

• adapt, reproduce, store, distribute, print, display, perform, publish or create derivative works from any part of the Website; or
• commercialise any information, products or services obtained from any part of the Website.

12. Trade marks

Except where otherwise specified, any word or device to which is attached the ® symbol is a registered trade mark.

If you use any of our trade marks in reference to our activities, products or services, you must include a statement attributing that trade mark to us. You must not use any of our trade marks:

• in or as the whole or part of your own trade marks;
• in connection with activities, products or services which are not ours;
• in a manner which may be confusing, misleading or deceptive; or
• in a manner that disparages us or our information, products or services (including the Website).

13. Disclaimer and indemnity

You must ensure that your access to and use of the Website is not illegal or prohibited by laws that apply to you. We do not accept responsibility for any loss damage, however caused (including through negligence), that you may directly or indirectly suffer in connection with your use of the Website or any Linked Website, nor do we accept any responsibility for any such loss arising out of your use of or reliance on information contained on or accessed through the Website.

We make no guarantee of any specific results from the use of the Website.

You must take your own precautions to ensure that the process that you employ for accessing the Website does not expose you 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 interference or damage to any computer system that arises in connection with your use of the Website or any Linked Website.

We do not accept liability for any losses arising directly or indirectly from corruption to or loss of data, errors or interruptions, any suspension or discontinuance of the Website, any transmissions by others in contravention of these terms and conditions.

You indemnify us and our related bodies corporate and our directors, employees and agents against any claim by a third party arising out of a breach of these terms and conditions either by you or by any person authorised to represent you.

14. Australian Consumer Law

These terms and conditions do not exclude, restrict or modify any rights or statutory guarantees that you may have under applicable laws that cannot be excluded, restricted or modified, including any such rights or statutory guarantees under the Australian Consumer Law. To the extent that these terms and conditions are found to exclude, restrict or modify any such rights or statutory guarantees, those rights and/or statutory guarantees prevail to the extent of the inconsistency.

15. Governing law

These terms and conditions are governed by the law of the State of Victoria, Australia. You agree to submit to the non-exclusive jurisdiction of the courts of that jurisdiction and waive any right to claim that those courts are an inconvenient forum.

16. General

We accept no liability for any failure to comply with these terms and conditions where such failure is due to circumstances beyond our reasonable control.

Waiver by us of a breach of these terms and conditions or of any right or power arising on a breach of these terms and conditions must be in writing and signed by us. A right or power created or arising on a breach of these terms and conditions is not waived by any failure to exercise or delay in exercising, or a partial exercise of, that or any other right or power.

Any provision of these terms and conditions that is expressed to survive, or by its nature survive, termination or expiry of these terms and conditions will survive such termination or expiry and continue in effect.

If any provision of these terms and conditions or their application to any person or circumstance is or becomes invalid, illegal or unenforceable, the provision shall, so far as possible, be read down to such extent as may be necessary to ensure that it is not invalid, illegal or unenforceable. If any provision or part of it cannot be so read down the provision or part of it shall be deemed to be void and severable and the remaining provisions of these terms and conditions shall not in any way be affected or impaired.