Terms and conditions

Effective 22 September 2026

These terms apply to customers who access Pawssum's website, app, booking, payment and related services.

Important

Please read these Terms and Conditions before booking or using the Service. They explain Pawssum's role as a booking and payment platform, your agreement with an independent Service Provider, payment and cancellation rules, and important limits that apply to the Service.

Nothing in these Terms excludes, restricts or modifies any right or remedy that cannot lawfully be excluded, including rights under the Australian Consumer Law.

1. Definitions

In these Terms:

Agreement means these Terms, the Privacy Policy, the confirmed booking details and any other terms expressly accepted during booking.

Customer, you or your means the person who accesses or uses the Service or makes a booking.

Pawssum, we, us or our means Pawssum Pty Ltd.

Pet Services means veterinary or other pet-related services booked through the Service, including home visits, Telepet consultations and related services.

Service means the Pawssum website, applications, booking, scheduling, communications, payment and related platform services.

Service Contract means the agreement between you and a Service Provider for Pet Services.

Service Provider means an independent veterinarian or other independent pet-service provider who accepts a booking through Pawssum.

2. Acceptance and changes

By accessing the Service, creating an account, making a booking or receiving Pet Services booked through Pawssum, you agree to this Agreement. You must be at least 18 years old and legally capable of entering into this Agreement.

We may update these Terms from time to time. Updated Terms will be published at https://www.pawssum.com.au/terms-and-conditions/ with a revised effective date. If a change materially affects an existing confirmed booking, the terms accepted when that booking was confirmed will continue to apply unless the change is required by law or you agree otherwise. Continued use of the Service after updated Terms take effect constitutes acceptance for future use and bookings.

3. Pawssum's role

Pawssum operates a technology platform that helps customers locate, book and pay independent Service Providers. Unless Pawssum expressly states otherwise in writing, Pawssum does not itself provide veterinary services, practise veterinary surgery or become a party to the Service Contract between you and the Service Provider.

The Service Provider is responsible for professional judgement, diagnosis, treatment, advice, clinical decisions and the Pet Services they provide. Nothing in these Terms prevents you from exercising any right you may have against Pawssum or a Service Provider under applicable law.

Availability depends on location, time, clinical suitability and Service Provider availability. A requested time is not guaranteed until Pawssum confirms the booking. Arrival times are estimates because mobile providers may be delayed by traffic, earlier appointments or urgent clinical circumstances.

4. Accounts and customer information

You must provide accurate, current and complete information, including your contact details, address, pet details, the reason for the booking and any relevant behaviour, aggression, weight, mobility, access or safety information. You must promptly correct information that changes.

You are responsible for keeping your login details secure and for activity on your account. Tell Pawssum promptly if you suspect unauthorised access. You may book for a pet for whom you are authorised to arrange care, including on behalf of the pet's owner, provided you disclose that arrangement and have authority to accept these Terms and consent to care.

5. Bookings and your responsibilities

When a booking is confirmed, you agree to:

ensure an adult aged 18 or over who is authorised to consent and pay is present throughout the appointment;
be contactable before and during the confirmed appointment window;
provide safe and reasonably close parking where available, and disclose access restrictions, stairs, gates, building procedures or parking costs;
have the pet safely restrained, accessible and ready for assessment, and follow reasonable preparation instructions;
disclose known aggression, bite history, fear, escape risk, infectious disease risk and other safety concerns before the visit; and
treat Service Providers and Pawssum personnel respectfully and provide a safe working environment.

A Service Provider may stop, modify or decline a service where they reasonably consider it unsafe, unlawful, clinically inappropriate or beyond what can be provided in the home. You remain responsible for services already provided and reasonable disclosed costs incurred.

6. Fees and price information

The amount payable may include the quoted visit or consultation fee, Pet Services supplied, medicines, consumables, diagnostic tests, procedures, aftercare and other items authorised during the appointment. Prices include GST where applicable unless stated otherwise.

Additional charges may apply where they are disclosed before you incur them or where you authorise them during the appointment. These may include:

after-hours, weekend or public holiday charges;
urgent-booking or out-of-service-area charges;
reasonable travel or parking charges where a local Service Provider is unavailable or access creates additional cost;
additional handling time, extra assistance or safety measures required because of the pet's behaviour, size or manageability, particularly where relevant information was not disclosed;
waiting time caused by access, the customer not being ready or no authorised adult being present; and
additional Pet Services, medicines, tests, procedures or aftercare requested or clinically recommended and accepted.

If an examination or consultation is followed by euthanasia or another separately priced service during the same visit, both charges may apply if disclosed and accepted. Where reasonably practicable, you will be told the expected additional cost before the additional service is provided.

7. Payments and card surcharges

You authorise Pawssum and its payment provider to pre-authorise, hold and charge your nominated payment method for the estimated or final amount payable for a booking, including authorised additional services. A pre-authorisation is a temporary hold and is not necessarily a completed charge. Release times are controlled by your bank or payment provider.

From 1 October 2026, Pawssum does not impose a surcharge, card processing fee, payment administration fee or other additional fee because you pay using a Visa, Mastercard or eftpos debit, prepaid or credit card, or an American Express card. This applies to every card payment Pawssum processes on or after 1 October 2026, including payments for bookings confirmed before that date. Pawssum absorbs its own card processing costs for those cards.

Not all payment methods are covered by those rules. If you choose a payment method that is not a Visa, Mastercard, eftpos or American Express card, an administration or processing fee may apply. If a fee applies, Pawssum will tell you the total amount payable, including that fee, before you complete payment.

A genuine fee for an optional finance, instalment, insurance-claim or other third-party service may also apply where permitted by law. Any such fee is for that separate service and is not a card surcharge. It will be disclosed before you choose or use the service. A third-party provider may impose its own terms, eligibility rules, interest, fees or charges directly on you.

If a pre-authorisation, hold or payment cannot be completed, Pawssum may request another payment method, delay confirmation or cancel the booking. You remain responsible for all undisputed amounts lawfully owing for Pet Services supplied.

8. GapOnly® claims

Pawssum may offer GapOnly® for eligible customers, policies and services. Eligibility and claim outcomes are determined by GapOnly® and the relevant insurer under the customer's policy, including its limits, exclusions, excesses and waiting periods.

If you request GapOnly®, Pawssum may pre-authorise your payment card for the full estimated amount before the appointment or treatment. If the claim is approved, Pawssum will charge only the amount not covered, including any excess, co-payment, gap, non-covered service or additional authorised amount. The remaining hold will be released subject to your bank's processing time.

If a claim is declined, partly approved, unavailable or cannot be completed, you remain responsible for the full amount lawfully owing. GapOnly® does not change the cancellation, refund or additional-charge terms in this Agreement.

9. Cancellations, late cancellations and no-shows

You may cancel by contacting Pawssum using the contact details shown on our website. If you cancel less than 24 hours before the confirmed appointment time, Pawssum may charge the full visit fee applicable to that scheduled time, including any after-hours, weekend or public holiday pricing.

The same charge may apply if the booking cannot proceed because you are not contactable within 60 minutes before the appointment, no authorised adult is present, the Service Provider cannot gain access, the pet is not available or safely ready for examination, or suitable parking or access has not been provided after being requested.

The charge reflects the reserved Service Provider time, administration and the reduced opportunity to reallocate the appointment. Pawssum will not charge more than the amount disclosed for the relevant cancellation or failed appointment, and the charge will not apply to the extent it would be unlawful, unfair or disproportionate in the circumstances.

If Pawssum or the Service Provider cancels through no fault of yours and no suitable replacement is accepted, you will receive a refund of amounts paid for services not supplied. This does not limit any other remedy available under the Australian Consumer Law.

10. Refunds

Approved refunds will be returned to the original payment method unless another method is agreed or required. Pawssum will not deduct or retain a card processing fee, Stripe fee or similar merchant fee from an approved refund merely because the original payment was made by card.

The amount of any refund depends on the services supplied, the reason for cancellation, applicable consumer-law rights and any properly disclosed cancellation charge. A delay caused by a bank, card issuer or payment provider after Pawssum has processed the refund is outside Pawssum's control.

11. Overdue amounts and recovery costs

If an undisputed amount remains overdue, Pawssum may take reasonable steps to recover it after giving you notice and a reasonable opportunity to pay or dispute the amount. To the extent permitted by law, you may be required to pay reasonable external recovery costs actually incurred because of your failure to pay. You are not responsible for costs that are unreasonable, were avoidable, or arise from an amount genuinely disputed on reasonable grounds.

12. Telepet and urgent care

Telepet consultations are delivered remotely by an independent registered veterinarian. Remote consultations have clinical limitations because the veterinarian may be unable to physically examine the pet or perform diagnostic tests. The veterinarian will determine what advice can appropriately be given and may recommend an in-person examination or emergency care.

Pawssum's booking team, website content, chat and general telephone assistance do not provide veterinary diagnosis or replace professional veterinary advice. Do not delay urgent care because of information on the Service. If your pet may need immediate medical attention, contact the nearest emergency veterinary hospital or another appropriate veterinary service promptly.

13. Communications, recordings and clinical notes

Pawssum may send booking confirmations, reminders, arrival updates, invoices, clinical documents and service communications by telephone, SMS, email, app notification or other contact method you provide.

Where permitted by law and after appropriate notice, telephone calls, video consultations or in-person consultations may be recorded or transcribed for clinical records, note preparation, quality assurance, training, safety and dispute resolution. Artificial intelligence-assisted tools and authorised service providers may assist with transcription and draft note preparation. A veterinarian remains responsible for reviewing clinical records they create.

If you do not consent to a proposed recording, tell Pawssum or the Service Provider before recording begins. Where recording is reasonably required for legal, clinical or safety reasons, Pawssum or the Service Provider may offer an alternative where practical or may decline to proceed. Personal information, recordings, transcripts and clinical records will be handled in accordance with the Privacy Policy and applicable law.

14. Customer content, feedback and reviews

You retain ownership of content you submit. You warrant that you have the right to provide it and that it is not unlawful, misleading, defamatory, threatening, obscene, discriminatory, privacy-invasive or infringing of another person's rights.

You grant Pawssum a non-exclusive, worldwide, royalty-free licence to host, store, reproduce, format and display content as reasonably necessary to operate, improve and protect the Service. Pawssum may moderate or remove content that breaches these Terms or the law.

If you publish a review, rating, recommendation, comment, photograph or other feedback about Pawssum or a Service Provider on a public channel, including Google, Facebook, ProductReview, another review platform or public social-media account, you consent to Pawssum reusing that publicly available material for its business and promotional purposes. You grant Pawssum a non-exclusive, worldwide, royalty-free licence to reproduce, quote, excerpt, format, publish, display and share the material on Pawssum's website, social-media channels, advertisements, emails and printed marketing materials, together with your name, username, rating and profile image as they appeared publicly with the review. Pawssum may correct obvious spelling or formatting issues or shorten the material for space, but will not materially change its meaning or present it in a misleading way. You confirm that you have the right to publish and license the material. This consent does not extend to personal, sensitive or private information that was not included in the public post. You may ask Pawssum to stop making new uses of the material by contacting Pawssum, and Pawssum will take reasonable steps to do so, although this may not require Pawssum to recall material already published or distributed.

15. Acceptable use and intellectual property

The Service and its software, branding, design and content are owned by or licensed to Pawssum and protected by intellectual-property laws. Pawssum grants you a limited, revocable, non-transferable right to use the Service for personal, lawful purposes in accordance with these Terms.

You must not:

interfere with, damage, overload or bypass the security of the Service;
introduce malware or attempt unauthorised access to systems, accounts or data;
scrape, crawl, reverse engineer, copy or commercially exploit the Service except as permitted by law or with Pawssum's written consent;
impersonate another person, harass others or use the Service for unlawful purposes; or
infringe Pawssum's or another person's intellectual-property, privacy or other legal rights.

16. Third-party services

The Service may use or link to third-party providers, including payment, communications, identity, scheduling, insurance-claim and finance providers. Their own terms and privacy policies may apply when you use their services. Pawssum is not responsible for a third party's separate service, except to the extent Pawssum is legally responsible for selecting, integrating or using that provider.

Payment card details may be collected and stored by Pawssum's payment provider rather than Pawssum. By providing a payment method, you authorise its secure use for the booking and any other amounts you expressly authorise or that are lawfully payable under this Agreement.

17. Suspension and termination

You may stop using the Service and request account closure by contacting Pawssum. Pawssum may suspend or terminate access where reasonably necessary, including for serious or repeated breach, fraud or suspected fraud, abuse, safety risks, non-payment, unlawful conduct, misuse of the Service or to comply with law.

Where reasonable, Pawssum will give notice and an opportunity to address the issue. Immediate action may be taken where necessary to protect a person, animal, the Service, data or legal rights. Termination does not affect accrued payment obligations, existing rights or provisions intended to survive termination.

18. Relationship between Pawssum, customers and veterinarians

Pawssum is the direct merchant for services booked through its platform. Customers book with and pay Pawssum, which manages scheduling, payments and customer support. Veterinary services are delivered by independent contracted veterinarians who remain responsible for their professional registration, clinical judgement and veterinary care. Pawssum remains responsible for its own obligations, including those under the Australian Consumer Law.

19. Consumer guarantees and liability

The Australian Consumer Law may give you guarantees, rights and remedies that cannot be excluded. Nothing in this Agreement excludes, restricts or modifies those guarantees, rights or remedies or any other liability that cannot lawfully be excluded or limited.

Subject to the paragraph above and to the maximum extent permitted by law, Pawssum is not liable for loss caused by:

the independent clinical judgement, acts or omissions of a Service Provider;
information you provide that is inaccurate, incomplete or withheld;
your failure to follow professional advice or obtain recommended urgent or in-person care;
events outside Pawssum's reasonable control; or
indirect or consequential loss that was not reasonably foreseeable.

Where Pawssum is legally entitled to limit a remedy for failure to comply with a consumer guarantee relating to services, Pawssum may limit its liability, at its option, to supplying the relevant platform service again or paying the cost of having that platform service supplied again. This limitation does not apply where it would be unfair, unreasonable or unlawful.

20. Your responsibility for loss

To the extent permitted by law, you are responsible for reasonable loss or cost suffered by Pawssum because of your unlawful conduct, your material breach of this Agreement, or content you provide that infringes another person's rights. You are not responsible to the extent the loss was caused or contributed to by Pawssum, a Service Provider or another person, or could reasonably have been avoided.

21. Complaints and disputes

If you have a concern about the platform, a payment or a booking, contact Pawssum promptly through https://www.pawssum.com.au/contact-us/ and provide the booking details and a clear description of the issue. For concerns about clinical care, Pawssum may assist with communication, but the relevant Service Provider remains responsible for their professional services and regulatory obligations.

The parties should first try to resolve a dispute in good faith. Nothing in this section prevents you from contacting a regulator, veterinary board, insurer, payment provider or consumer-protection agency, or from exercising any right to bring a claim.

22. General terms

Governing law. This Agreement is governed by the laws of New South Wales and the Commonwealth of Australia. The parties submit to courts with jurisdiction, but nothing in this clause deprives a consumer of a right to bring proceedings in another jurisdiction where the law permits.

Force majeure. Neither party is liable for delay or failure caused by events beyond its reasonable control, except for payment obligations already incurred and rights that cannot lawfully be excluded. This may include natural disasters, severe weather, road closures, public-health events, telecommunications outages, industrial action or government action.

Severability. If part of this Agreement is invalid or unenforceable, it will be read down to the extent possible and the remaining provisions continue to operate.

No waiver. A delay or failure to exercise a right does not waive that right.

Assignment. You may not transfer this Agreement without Pawssum's consent. Pawssum may transfer its rights or obligations as part of a genuine business restructure or sale, provided this does not materially reduce your rights for an existing booking.

Entire agreement. This Agreement records the agreement about your use of the Service and supersedes earlier statements on that subject, but it does not exclude representations, guarantees or rights that cannot lawfully be excluded.

23. Contact

Questions, cancellation requests, complaints and notices may be submitted through:

Pawssum Pty Ltd
Website: https://www.pawssum.com.au/
Contact: https://www.pawssum.com.au/contact-us/
Phone: 0480 030 580