Terms & conditions
Updated 5 September 2026
1. Agreement and project scope
These terms are intended to accompany the written quotation for your Life Portrait Films project. The contracting business, its legal name, ABN and contact details must be identified in that quotation. “We”, “us” and “our” mean that business; “you” means the client named in the quotation.
The quotation records the agreed interviews, filming visits, locations, films, photographs, delivery formats, permitted uses, price and schedule. A booking is accepted when you approve the quotation and these terms in writing and pay the required deposit. Any special conditions agreed in writing form part of the agreement. Changes to an accepted booking require written agreement; a later website update does not automatically change your booking.
2. Quotes, fees, expenses and payment
Unless stated otherwise, a quotation is valid for 30 days. A 50% deposit is due after approval and before preparation or filming commences. The balance is payable before release of the approved final files, subject to any rights you have under Australian Consumer Law. Payment methods and due dates appear on your invoice.
The quotation must identify the total payable amount and whether GST is included or applicable. Travel, accommodation, location hire, permits, archive conversion, third-party licences and other additional expenses are included only where listed. Any additional cost or supplier fee that changes your agreed total will be explained and approved in writing before it is incurred.
If you request more interviews, locations, filming time, revisions or deliverables, we will confirm the change and any extra fee in writing. Agreed work is not retrospectively repriced. If you dispute an invoice, tell us promptly so we can resolve it; this does not remove your statutory rights.
3. Your responsibilities and supplied material
Please nominate one contact to coordinate the project and provide photographs, recordings, names, dates, background information and feedback in time for the agreed schedule. Let us know about access restrictions, participant needs or sensitive subjects before filming.
You must have permission to supply material and authorise its use in the agreed project. This includes photographs, home movies, music, writing and other material belonging to someone else. Tell us about any restrictions, and retain your own copies before transferring files. We will discuss any rights or quality issues we identify; not every supplied item will necessarily be used.
If missing information or a requested pause affects the schedule, we will discuss a revised plan. Any fee for additional work or committed third-party costs must be explained and agreed, rather than applied as an automatic penalty.
4. Planning, approvals and changes
We plan the interview approach, filming arrangements and relevant visual material with you. Before filming, we confirm the schedule and content direction. Where stage approvals are needed, the quotation or project plan will identify them and the person authorised to approve.
Please check draft names, dates, captions and factual details carefully. Changes requested after a stage is approved may affect the price or delivery date and will be discussed before proceeding. Approval does not remove your rights if our work fails to meet the agreed service or applicable consumer guarantees.
5. Use of your film and promotional permission
The intended audience and permitted use of the finished film must be set out in the quotation. A family project should expressly cover keeping copies and sharing the completed film with family and friends. Public online posting, broadcasting or commercial use may require additional third-party licences and should be discussed in advance.
Permission to film or to make a private family documentary is separate from permission to use it for our marketing. We will obtain separate, specific written permission before using identifiable client footage, photographs or testimonials in our portfolio, website or social media. Declining promotional use does not prevent you booking a film. Any agreed limits or later withdrawal request should be discussed with us; we will explain what can be removed from channels we control.
6. Copyright, licences and project files
The quotation must identify the agreed ownership and licence arrangements for the finished films and photographs. We retain copyright in original material we create, to the extent we own it, and grant the agreed client-use licence after full payment. Any transfer of copyright or different licence must be recorded in writing.
You retain your rights in material you supply. Music, archival images and other third-party components remain subject to their owners’ rights and licence conditions. A licence to use the finished film does not automatically permit extraction or separate reuse of those components.
Raw footage, editing project files and unused material are not included unless expressly listed in the quotation. These arrangements do not override moral rights or other rights that cannot lawfully be excluded.
7. Delivery, backups and disposal
Final deliverables are supplied in the formats agreed in your quotation, following approval and payment. The listed packages include edited portraits and a personalised USB keepsake; digital delivery will be arranged as agreed.
Download and check the files promptly, and keep at least two independent copies. A USB is a delivery format, not a permanent backup guarantee.
Project media is retained for the period specified in your quotation, which must identify its starting point and the files covered. Confirm these arrangements with us before booking. Longer storage, availability and any storage fee must be agreed in writing. Do not rely on us to provide indefinite storage or recovery. Administrative records and information required by law may need different retention periods; see the Privacy Policy.
8. Editing and revisions
Two rounds of revisions are included unless a different allowance is agreed in the quotation. Please provide one consolidated set of feedback for each round within 14 days of receiving that draft, or agree a different timeframe with us. If you need more time, let us know; silence is not automatic approval.
Included revisions refine the agreed film. Additional rounds, a new creative direction, new footage or a substantial expansion of scope may require a further quote. A revised delivery date will be discussed where needed.
Displayed film lengths are guides. The final duration depends on interview content, the story and the agreed scope; filming days do not describe the whole preparation and editing service.
9. Cancellation, rescheduling and interruptions
Please tell us in writing as soon as you need to cancel or reschedule, particularly within 48 hours of a booked filming session. We will discuss the options in light of the work already completed, costs committed and the circumstances.
Any cancellation amount must be reasonable, explained and consistent with the agreed quotation and applicable law. It may take account of work actually completed and unavoidable, non-recoverable costs, less costs saved or recovered. The deposit is not automatically forfeited in full merely because it is called a deposit.
If illness, weather, access or equipment problems affect filming, we will contact you and discuss rescheduling or another suitable remedy. If the agreed service cannot be supplied, any refund or other remedy will reflect your legal rights and the circumstances. No clause limits your non-excludable consumer rights.
10. Participant consent and sensitive conversations
We will discuss who will appear and how consent will be recorded before filming. You should help ensure that everyone involved understands the project and agrees to participate. Consent for children or a person who needs support must be addressed with the appropriate parent, guardian or authorised representative, while respecting the participant’s wishes and dignity.
Participants may decline questions or request a break. Please identify private topics and people who should not appear so these can be addressed in planning and review. Consent to participate does not itself authorise public promotional use.
11. Locations, permits and licences
We will identify location access, filming permissions and other requirements during planning. The project plan or quotation must say who is responsible for obtaining each permission and paying any related charge. Please do not assume a venue, care facility or public location permits filming without checking.
We will not proceed in a way that knowingly disregards necessary permissions or safety requirements. If access changes or permission is refused, we will discuss an alternative location, schedule and any agreed cost implications.
12. Confidentiality
Each party must keep the other party’s non-public personal or business information confidential and use it only for the project, unless disclosure is authorised or required by law. Access may be given to people who need it to perform the agreed work, subject to appropriate confidentiality arrangements.
This obligation continues after the project ends. It does not cover information lawfully public through no breach, already lawfully known, or independently obtained without a confidentiality restriction. Requests to return or delete material will be considered alongside agreed backups, legitimate record-keeping and legal obligations. The separate Privacy Policy explains handling of personal information.
13. Additional crew and third-party services
Where a project needs other filmmakers, editors, photographers, specialists or suppliers, their involvement will be consistent with the agreed project arrangements. JC remains your point of contact. We remain responsible for delivering our agreed services; using a contractor does not remove obligations we owe you.
Relevant project material may be shared only as needed to carry out that work. Third-party music, images and other licensed material may have use restrictions, which will be explained where relevant. Any extra cost requiring your approval must be agreed before it is incurred.
14. Consumer guarantees and liability
Our services must be provided with due care and skill and meet the requirements of applicable Australian Consumer Law, including requirements concerning disclosed purposes and reasonable time where applicable.
Nothing in these terms excludes, restricts or modifies a consumer guarantee or other right or remedy that cannot lawfully be excluded. If there is a problem, contact us promptly with details so we can investigate and discuss an appropriate remedy.
15. Creative outcomes and service expectations
We will use professional care and judgement to create the agreed film, while recognising that real interviews are unscripted. We cannot promise that a participant will discuss a particular memory, display a particular emotion or that every requested moment can be captured. Old photographs and recordings may have quality limitations that cannot be fully corrected.
Examples illustrate an approach and style rather than guaranteeing identical content or running time. This does not reduce any express promise in your quotation, consumer guarantee or other legal obligation.
16. Disputes, termination and governing law
If either party believes the other has materially breached the agreement, they should give written notice identifying the problem and allow at least 14 days to remedy it where it can be remedied. This does not prevent either party exercising rights that apply sooner under law.
On termination, we will account for payments, agreed work completed, reasonable unavoidable costs, materials and any refunds or deliverables due. Confidentiality, agreed use restrictions and accrued legal rights continue as appropriate.
The agreement is intended to be governed by New South Wales law, subject to applicable consumer protections. Please contact JC on 0415 700 671 to discuss a concern or request the appropriate written contact details. You retain access to relevant regulators, tribunals and courts.