Membership Terms and Conditions

Effective Date January 2026

SevenEight Management Pty Ltd (ABN 18860318942), trading as Business North West (Vic) and Business Essendon (collectively, BE)
You (and Your) refers to a member noted on the Membership Form.
Website means https://businessnorthwest.au

1. Introduction and Application
   1.1 Terms and Conditions set out herein together with the Membership Form, being BE’s online membership form for use of the membership, form the whole agreement between You and BE (Agreement).
   1.2 The Agreement commences on the day you receive a written confirmation from BE that your Membership Form has been approved and accepted by BE and You have made payment in cleared funds of the membership fee or such other date as confirmed by BE in writing (Membership Commencement Date).
   1.3 Each Member of BE is responsible for complying with, and ensuring that their guests comply with, these Terms and Conditions.
   1.4 Where capitalised terms are not defined in these Terms and Conditions, they have the same meaning as set out in the Membership Form.
   1.5 These Terms and Conditions are effective from the date of publication shown above.
   1.6 The terms of this Agreement may be amended from time to time, if not materially detrimental to the members of BE, by giving 14 days’ notice via email to the members of BE or, if materially detrimental to the members of BE, by giving 30 days’ notice via email.

2. Membership
   2.1 BE grants to You:
   (a) access to BE services provided from time to time;
   (b) access all event entitlements for events hosted or organised by BE; whilst You pay the Membership Fee and perform Your obligations under the Agreement or until such time that Your membership with BE terminates, save that BE may restrict access to events and benefits from time to time in its sole discretion; and
   (c) access to BE partner discounts and special offers;
   2.2 You must only use the BE membership benefits for their proper purpose and must otherwise comply with the terms of the Agreement in relation to those events or services.
   2.3 You are not given exclusive rights for any events or services.
   2.4 You must not assign or sub-licence Your membership rights under the Agreement, or otherwise share the use of the membership with any third party.
   2.5 BE reserves the right to vary the events and services it provides if and when such is necessary or required.  BE will endeavour to provide adequate notice of such events.
   2.6 If You are in breach of any of Your Membership obligations under this Agreement or otherwise in breach of any of BE’s policies from time to time, BE may issue You with a written warning for breach of terms or may otherwise terminate this Agreement in accordance with clause 8.1(c).

3. Membership Period
   3.1 The Agreement commences on the Membership Commencement Date and continues for until 31 December of the calendar year, unless some other period is specified in the Membership Form (Initial Membership Period).
   3.2 At the end of the Initial Membership Period, the Agreement will automatically renew for rolling 12 month periods unless otherwise terminated by You or BE in accordance with clause 8.1.
4. Membership Fee and Other Expenses
   4.1 You must pay an annual Membership Fee upon acceptance of Your Membership application via the payment methods notified by BE.
   4.2 You must pay the Membership Fee without demand, set-off or deduction.
   4.3 You are not entitled to any refund of the Membership Fee paid if You do not use the event entitlements or services  during the Membership Period or if the Agreement is terminated early because You have failed to comply with Your obligations under the Agreement.
   4.4 You must pay BE on demand, all costs and expenses, for additional services requested by You, which are not covered by the Membership Fee (see clause 2.2) (including events You wish to attend that have a charge associated with attending such event).
   4.5 Unless paid upfront on or before the Membership Commencement Date, You must provide a valid credit card to BE to hold on file for the purposes of You making payment in relation to the Membership Fees and any costs and expenses for additional services requested by You, which are not covered by the Membership Fees, and also for the purpose of clause 4.6.
   4.6 You consent to BE automatically charging Your provided credit card for all outstanding amounts due and payable to BE, which have not been paid within seven days after BE has made a demand for payment for any such outstanding due and payable amounts.
   4.7 If You do not pay money owing to BE under the Agreement by the due date, BE reserves the right, after providing written notice of late payment, to charge You interest on the unpaid amount.
   4.8 Any amounts payable under the Agreement are inclusive of GST (as defined in A New Tax System (Goods and Services Tax) Act 1999) and You are responsible for any additional costs, charges, taxes, claims or other liabilities (including any applicable fringe benefits tax) arising from Your use of the Clubhouse or any other goods or services offered or provided in connection with Your Membership with BE.
   4.9 BE may amend Membership Fees not yet paid at any time by providing You with written notice.
5. Use of and Access to Events
   5.1 You must:
   (a) comply in all respects with any rules made by BE and notified to You in relation to the attending events;
   (b) comply with all laws and requirements of any authority relating to use of the venue hosting BE events;
   (c) not use BE events for any illegal or immoral purpose;
   (d) not do anything in, or in the vicinity of, BE events,, in BE’s reasonable opinion, is annoying, dangerous or offensive to BE or other members of the respective BE membership;;
   (e) not bring or suffer to be brought into BE Events any noxious, noisome, explosive or inflammable thing or substance; and
   (f) not allow anything to be done at BE events which may invalidate or increase the premium payable on the BE’s insurance Policy..
   5.2 BE is under no duty to check or verify the identity, authority or good faith of any person seeking to enter BE events.
   5.3 BE is not liable for any personal security breaches suffered by You or Your guests accessing events or services including for any loss or damage suffered as a result of the unavailability of the facilities, services, equipment or internet, including interruptions during use.
   5.4 BE may film or photograph at any BE arranged or sanctioned event or arrangement and as a result You may appear in the background. Whilst using your event entitlements or services, You allow BE to use Your image in any BE promotional and or other business related material, including after Termination of Your Membership.
6. Restraint
   6.1 You must not, while being a Member and during the Restraint Period:
   (a) within the Restraint Area, create, develop, form, establish, carry on or be concerned, engaged or interested directly or indirectly in any capacity whatsoever in any trade or business competing with the business carried on by BE or any of its related entities, which, for the avoidance of doubt, includes, but is not limited to, a Similar Business;
   (b) either on Your own behalf or in any other capacity whatsoever directly or indirectly do or say anything with the intention of and which may lead to any person ceasing to do business with BE or any of its related entities on substantially the same terms as previously or at all; and
   (c) either on Your own behalf or in any other capacity whatsoever directly or indirectly endeavour to entice away from BE or any of its related entities or solicit any person, firm or company who was a Member or Employee of BE or any of its related entities during the 12 month period prior to termination of Your Membership.
   6.2 For the avoidance of doubt, clause 6.1(a) does not restrict any Member from being a member of another Similar Business.
   6.3 For the purposes of this clause 6:
   Restraint Area means:
   (a) the region specified in the BE membership brochure, unless that area is held invalid for any reason by a court of competent jurisdiction;
   (b) in which case, Essendon Victoria 3040 and any other suburb considered part of the North West region of Melbourne. 
   Restraint Period means:
   (a) three years following termination of Membership, unless that period is held invalid for any reason by a court of competent jurisdiction;
   (b) in which case, two years following termination of Membership, unless that period is held invalid for any reason by a court of competent jurisdiction;
   (c) in which case, one year following termination of Membership.
   Similar Business means:
   (a) a business that comprises a private business club for business owners and local professionals;
   (b) a networking organisation that creates networking events and carries on networking activities;;
   
7. Damage
   7.1 You must promptly notify BE of any damage or defect to any fixtures, fittings, plant, equipment, furniture or other articles in the venue hosting BE events, whether or not caused by You.
   7.2 You must pay BE on demand all reasonable costs and expenses for the repair (or replacement) and make-good of any damage caused by You (or any person You host as your guest at BE events) to venues hosting BE events, any fixtures, fittings, plant, equipment, furniture or other articles at such venue.
8. Termination
   8.1 Your Membership to use a Clubhouse and the Agreement will terminate when:
   (a) You terminate the Agreement by providing us with at least 30 days’ notice in writing; or
   (b) BE terminates the Agreement by providing You with 30 days’ notice in writing; or
   (c) BE provides You a notice in writing with immediate effect, due to You not paying the Membership Fee or other money owed to BE as and when the payments fall due in accordance with this Agreement, or You are otherwise in breach of the terms of this Agreement or any of BE’s Policies from time to time.
   8.2 If You terminate this Agreement during the Membership Period in accordance with clause 8.1(a) or BE terminates this Agreement in accordance with clause 8.1(c), BE may, at its sole discretion, but is not obliged to, refund any part of the prepaid unused Membership Fee.
   8.3 If BE terminates this Agreement in accordance with clause 8.1(b), it will provide You with a pro-rata refund of Your prepaid Membership Fee.
9. Release and Indemnity
   9.1 You agree to use the BE membership solely at Your own risk. All conditions, warranties and terms implied by custom, general law or statute which apply to the use of the Clubhouse are excluded to the full extent permitted by law.
   9.2 You acknowledge that some of the facilities or services which are offered or provided to You in addition to the facilities and services provided by BE are supplied by third party suppliers. The provision of those facilities or services will be subject, in each case, to the terms and conditions of those suppliers and any claims relating to the supply of those third-party facilities or services should be made to those suppliers.
   9.3 BE is not responsible or liable for:
   (a) any loss or damage to any of Your belongings in venues hosting BE events;
   (b) any injury or death done or suffered by You or other person claiming through You at venues hosting BE events; or
   (c) any advice, counsel, guidance or solution proposed or provided to You by BE staff or BE members.
   (d) any losses or damages sustained and or suffered by You at any of the functions held at third-party venues on behalf of BE or before and or after such events.
   9.4 You indemnify BE against:
   (a) all losses and liabilities suffered or incurred by BE; and
   (b) all legal costs (on full indemnity basis) and other expenses incurred by BE in connection with a demand, action, arbitration or other proceeding;
   arising directly or indirectly as a result of or in connection with:
   (c) a breach or non-performance of any of Your obligations under the Agreement; or
   (d) Your use of the BE membership, unless such losses, liabilities, demands or costs have been directly contributed to by the negligent acts of BE or any of its employees.
10. Confidentiality
    10.1 You must keep all of the confidential information including, but not limited to:
    (a) any information disclosed or discussed at any event arranged by BE or at any event arranged between BE members;
    (b) any information disclosed to You by a BE member relating to or connected with any BE members’ business, employees, issues or problems, market opportunities, trade secrets, know-how, scientific, technical, product, market or pricing information, and includes any information designated to be confidential or any other information which becomes known by You during Your Membership with BE  and which is confidential;
    (c) any information, including but not limited to, emails and their content received by You from BE or any of its officers, employees, contractors or advisors (Confidential Information).
    10.2 You may only disclose the Confidential Information:
    (a) where required by operation of law but only where You notify BE (if legally permitted to do so) and give BE reasonable opportunity to prevent the disclosure being required; and
    (b) where the information has entered the public domain (other than as a result of a breach of this clause 10).

11. General
11.1 BE collects, stores, uses and discloses Your personal information in accordance with the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth). Your personal information will not be used for any other purpose other than a purpose it was collected for and for BE marketing and product or service development activities. For more details as to how BE deals with Your personal information please refer to our Privacy Policy found on the Website.
11.2 If any provision of the Agreement is illegal, void or unenforceable, that provision will be ineffective and is severed from the Agreement to the extent only of that illegality, voidability or unenforceability. All remaining provisions are to be enforceable.
11.3 BE may assign its rights and interests or novate its rights and obligations under the Agreement.
11.4 The Agreement is the entire agreement between the parties about its subject matter and replaces all previous agreements, understandings, representations and warranties about that subject matter.
11.5 You represent and warrant that You have not relied on any representations or warranties about the subject matter of the Agreement except as expressly provided in the Agreement.
11.6 The Agreement is governed by and You submit to the laws of the State of New South Wales and the non-exclusive jurisdiction of the courts of New South Wales.
11.7 In the Agreement the following rules of interpretation apply unless the contrary intention appears:
(a) an agreement on the part of two or more persons binds them jointly and severally;
(b) the singular includes the plural and vice versa;
(c) words that are gender neutral or gender specific include each gender;
(d) where a word or phrase is given a particular meaning, other parts of speech and grammatical forms of that word or phrase have corresponding meanings; and
(e) the words ‘such as’, ‘including’, ‘particularly’ and similar expressions are not used as, nor are intended to be, interpreted as words of limitation.