Terms of Engagement

Acceptance

These terms apply from the point you accept a proposal, issue a purchase order, or ask us to begin work — whichever happens first. If you have signed a separate agreement with us, that agreement prevails over anything on this page.

Quotes and pricing

• Prices published on this site are indicative, in Australian dollars, and exclude GST. GST is added to invoices at the applicable rate.
• Fixed-price engagements are fixed against a written scope. Work outside that scope is quoted separately before it starts — we do not issue surprise variations.
• Time-and-materials work is billed in the increments stated in the proposal, with a four-hour minimum engagement.
• After-hours and weekend work attracts the surcharge stated in the proposal.

Hardware

We do not resell hardware and take no margin on it. Equipment is specified during the assessment phase and purchased by you directly from the supplier of your choice. Warranty, RMA and title therefore sit between you and that supplier. Any hardware budget we quote is indicative only.

Change windows and production work

• Changes to production networks are performed inside a maintenance window agreed in writing beforehand.
• A tested rollback plan is produced and walked through with you before any migration proceeds.
• You are responsible for having current, verified backups of any system we touch before we touch it.

What we do not do

We implement and evidence technical controls. We do not author your compliance program, determine your risk ratings, or provide legal, financial or regulatory advice. Assessments and evidence packs describe what was true as at the assessment date and do not constitute certification of compliance with any framework, standard or insurance requirement.

What we need from you

By engaging us you confirm that:

• You own, or are authorised by the owner to grant access to, every system and network you ask us to look at.
• Information you give us — device lists, configurations, network diagrams, licence details — is accurate and complete as far as you know. Our findings can only be as good as what we are given.
• You have current, verified backups of any system we touch, before we touch it.
• You will tell us about anything on the network that is fragile, undocumented or business-critical, so far as you are aware of it.

You indemnify us against claims arising from access you granted us that you were not entitled to grant.

What an assessment can and cannot find

An assessment reports what we found in the time and scope agreed, using the information available to us. No assessment finds everything. We do not warrant that a network is secure, that no vulnerability remains, or that no incident will occur — and nothing in a report should be read as such a guarantee.

Findings describe the environment as at the assessment date. Networks change; a report ages from the moment it is issued.

Your report, and what you can do with it

The report we produce for you is yours. You may share it freely with your insurer, broker, auditor, clients, board, or existing IT provider without asking us — that is what it is for.

We retain ownership of the underlying methods, templates, scripts and checklists used to produce it, and of anything we developed before or outside your engagement. You may not resell the report, or present it as your own work product to third parties for commercial gain.

Confidentiality

We treat your configurations, network design, credentials and business information as confidential, and will sign your NDA on request. We do not name clients publicly without written permission.

Invoicing

Unless the proposal states otherwise, fixed-price engagements are invoiced 50% on acceptance and 50% on delivery, with payment due 14 days from invoice date. Time-and-materials work is invoiced monthly in arrears. Retainers are invoiced monthly in advance and may be cancelled by either party with 30 days’ written notice.

Limitation of liability

To the extent permitted by law, and other than for liability that cannot lawfully be excluded, our total aggregate liability arising from an engagement is limited to the fees paid by you for that engagement. We are not liable for indirect or consequential loss, including loss of profit, revenue or data. Nothing in these terms excludes rights you have under the Australian Consumer Law.

Governing law

These terms are governed by the laws of Victoria, Australia. Questions: [email protected].