Organizer & Seller Terms & Conditions

1. Introduction and Agreement

These Organizer and Seller Terms and Conditions ("Terms") constitute a legally binding agreement between you ("Organizer", "Seller", "Vendor", "you", or "your") and Tamil Australia (ABN: 64 718 308 226) ("Tamil Australia", "we", "us", or "our") governing your use of the Tamil Australia platform to organize events, collect membership or sponsorship payments, or sell tickets, products, and services.

By registering as an Organizer, Seller, or Vendor, creating a listing, or accepting payments through our platform, you acknowledge that you have read, understood, and agree to be bound by these Terms, including all provisions related to payment processing, chargebacks, disputes, and financial liabilities.

These Terms are governed by the laws of Queensland, Australia, and are subject to the Australian Consumer Law (ACL), the Competition and Consumer Act 2010 (Cth), and applicable payment services regulations.

2. Definitions

"Platform"

The Tamil Australia website, mobile applications, and all related services.

"Organizer", "Seller", or "Vendor"

A person or entity approved to list events, collect community payments, or sell products or services through the Platform. References to an Organizer in these Terms include an approved Seller or Vendor where applicable.

"Event"

Any event, program, or activity listed by an Organizer on the Platform.

"Attendee" or "Customer"

A person who purchases tickets or registers for an Event through the Platform.

"Payment Processing Account"

Your Stripe Connected Account created through our payment provider to process payments and receive payouts. Dashboard access and payment-provider controls depend on the account configuration made available to you.

"Chargeback"

A reversal of a payment initiated by a Customer through their financial institution or card issuer.

"Dispute"

A formal challenge by a Customer to a payment transaction, including chargebacks, refund requests, or fraud claims.

"Service Fee"

The single customer-facing fee charged by Tamil Australia for booking, ticketing, payment, support, security, and platform services. Its base is 2.5% of the paid transaction value plus AUD $0.40 for each paid service unit, with GST added. Admission products use the number of paid passes issued; a membership card or ordinary Event Shop order counts as one unit. Event Shop orders also include a payment-cost allowance within that fee. The fee does not vary by the customer's payment method.

3. Payment Processing

3.1 Payment Account Creation

To receive ticket, membership, sponsorship, product, or service payments, you must create a Stripe Connected Account linked to the Tamil Australia platform. For payments created on Tamil Australia's account, organiser proceeds are transferred to your connected account. Some historical or separately configured payments may have been created directly on your connected account. The recorded payment configuration determines which account the provider initially debits; it does not remove your obligations under these Terms. By creating this account, you agree to:

• Provide accurate, complete, and up-to-date information including legal name, date of birth, address, phone number, and Australian bank account details (BSB and account number)
• Comply with Stripe's Services Agreement, Connected Account Agreement, and other payment-provider terms notified to you
• Verify your identity as required by Australian Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorism Financing (AML/CTF) laws
• Maintain accurate bank account information for receiving payouts
• Provide your Tax File Number (TFN) or Australian Business Number (ABN) if required for tax reporting purposes

3.2 Payment Flow

When a Customer makes an eligible card purchase:

1. The Customer pays the listed ticket, product, membership, sponsorship, or service amount plus the Service Fee shown before payment
2. Our payment provider processes the payment and deducts its applicable transaction charges
3. Tamil Australia retains the Service Fee. From 1 October 2026, it is one uniform platform charge that supports the platform services and payment operations, and it is not calculated or applied as a fee for using a particular card
4. The remaining balance is credited directly to your connected payment account so that your listed base amount is not reduced in an ordinary successful sale
5. Payouts are transferred to your nominated bank account according to your payout schedule

From 1 October 2026, the customer-facing Service Fee for an eligible paid transaction is 2.5% of the transaction value plus AUD $0.40 per paid service unit, with GST added to that combined amount. A family or group product is counted by the number of admission passes it issues, every paid membership counts its member digital card as one unit, and an ordinary Event Shop order counts as one unit. Standalone free nominations, RSVPs, and complimentary-only admissions are fee-free.

The 2.5% value component applies to every eligible paid platform transaction. The AUD $0.40 component applies to each paid admission pass or member digital card actually issued. An ordinary Event Shop order that does not issue admission passes counts as one paid service unit.

Event Shop orders also include a predetermined payment-cost allowance within the single Service Fee. It is calculated from the order value before payment, does not depend on the customer's card or payment method, and is included in the displayed fee-inclusive total.

The Service Fee applies regardless of payment method and is not varied by card brand, card type, or payment method. It is a fee for the bundled platform services described in these Terms, not a card-payment surcharge. You must not add or describe any separate card, Stripe, processing, or recovery surcharge through Tamil Australia. The platform displays the fee-inclusive total before payment and, where a mandatory fee can be calculated at the advertised-price stage, must also display the minimum total price as a single figure or with equal prominence.

3.3 Fee Responsibility

You acknowledge and agree that:

• Service Fee: Tamil Australia sets and retains the customer-facing Service Fee. It may be higher or lower than the payment provider's actual transaction cost because it covers the broader platform services described in these Terms.
• Payment-provider charges: You remain responsible for transaction charges, refunds, disputes, reversals, and corrections attributable to your connected payment account. Customers see one Service Fee at checkout. If Tamil Australia must return any Service Fee to a Customer, or must fund an amount attributable to your transaction, the resulting debit or adjustment may be applied to your connected-account balance and recovered from future eligible sales.
• Chargeback Fees: You are responsible for applicable dispute fees actually charged by the payment provider, net of any related provider credits. No fixed dispute fee or automatic fee refund is promised.
• Currency Conversion: Any currency conversion fees if applicable

3.4 Payout Schedule

Payouts are processed according to the schedule set in your payment processing account, subject to:

• Successful verification of your identity and bank account
• Sufficient positive balance in your payment account
• Maintenance of the Liability Reserve described in Section 4.3
• No pending disputes, chargebacks, or fraud investigations
• Compliance with these Terms and our payment provider's policies

4. Payment Terms and Payout Schedule

4.1 Automatic Payouts

4.2 Payout Processing Timeline

The payout timeline works as follows:

1. Day 0: Customer purchases tickets and payment is processed
2. Settlement: Stripe makes eligible funds available according to its applicable settlement timing
3. Reserve: The configured Liability Reserve remains in your connected payment account
4. Payout: Stripe pays the available amount above the Liability Reserve on the configured schedule
5. Bank processing: Your bank may require additional business days to credit the payout

Note: Settlement timing, payout timing, and bank processing time are separate and can change due to verification, risk review, public holidays, or payment-provider requirements.

4.3 Liability Reserve

A Liability Reserve is a minimum AUD balance retained in your Stripe connected account to help meet refunds, disputes, chargeback fees, payment-processing charges, and other amounts for which you are responsible. The default Liability Reserve is AUD $50. Tamil Australia may configure it between AUD $50 and AUD $250 for each Organizer, Seller, or Vendor based on sales volume, unfulfilled events or orders, refund or dispute history, and other reasonable risk factors.

• The Liability Reserve remains in your connected payment account; it is not a Tamil Australia fee and is not transferred to Tamil Australia
• Automatic payouts include only the available balance above the configured Liability Reserve
• If the reserve is used or the balance falls below it, future sales replenish the reserve before further payouts
• The Liability Reserve does not cap or replace your full liability for refunds, disputes, fees, taxes, or other amounts owed
• The current reserve amount is recorded with your organizer payment account, and Tamil Australia will notify you of material changes

4.4 Closure and Final Reserve Release

Closing or deactivating your organizer account does not immediately release the Liability Reserve. We may keep the connected payment account open during a closure review period, normally up to 180 days from the last relevant payment, while refunds, disputes, chargebacks, or payment-provider adjustments may still arise. After outstanding liabilities are resolved, the reserve is reduced to zero and the remaining available balance is included in the final payout. A longer period may apply where required by law, Stripe, or an unresolved claim.

4.5 Payout Account Information

To receive payouts, you must provide:

• Valid Australian bank account details (BSB + Account Number)
• Account must be in your legal name or registered business name
• Account must be capable of receiving AUD transfers
• You are responsible for keeping bank details up to date

4.6 Payout Holds and Delays

Payouts may be delayed or held if:

• Pending Disputes: If there are active chargebacks or disputes, Stripe may hold funds until resolved
• Negative Balance: If your account has a negative balance from previous chargebacks, incoming funds will first offset the deficit
• Risk Review: Stripe may temporarily hold payouts for risk assessment or fraud investigation
• Verification Issues: If additional identity or business verification is required
• Bank Account Problems: If your bank details are invalid or transfers fail

4.7 Manual Payout Option

While automatic payouts are enabled by default, you can contact Tamil Australia to switch to manual payout mode if you prefer to control when transfers occur. However, we recommend keeping automatic payouts enabled for convenience and consistent cash flow.

4.8 Payout Reporting and Transparency

You can track all payout activity through:

• Tamil Australia Dashboard: View payout history, upcoming payouts, and balances
• Payment Records: Review connected-account transactions and adjustments made available through Tamil Australia
• Email Notifications: Receive confirmation emails when payouts are processed

4.9 Currency and Fees

All transactions and payouts are processed in Australian Dollars (AUD):

• Payout Fees: Any payout, instant-payout, currency-conversion, or bank charges depend on the payment provider's current pricing and your account configuration
• Payment-provider charges: The payment provider deducts its applicable transaction charge at the time of customer payment; rates may vary by payment method and provider pricing
• Customer-facing Fees: Fees disclosed at checkout are retained by Tamil Australia separately from organiser proceeds. A refund, dispute, or correction may create an amount recoverable from you where the Customer must receive that amount. The original payment's fee policy and applicable law govern each payment.
• Net Payouts: The amount transferred to your bank is the available connected-account balance above the Liability Reserve after refunds, disputes, adjustments, and amounts owed have been applied

4.10 Failed Payout Recovery

If a payout fails (e.g., due to invalid bank details):

• Stripe will notify you via email with failure details
• Funds will remain in your Stripe account balance
• You must update your bank account information
• The payout will be automatically retried on the next scheduled payout date
• You can also manually trigger a payout after correcting bank details

4.11 Chargeback Impact on Payouts

See Section 5 (Chargeback and Dispute Liability) for comprehensive chargeback handling information.

5. Chargeback and Dispute Liability

5.1 Organizer Liability for Chargebacks

• Recovery: Tamil Australia may reverse transfers or offset confirmed amounts owed against future organiser settlements. Unsuccessful recovery remains an outstanding amount; it is not recorded as collected.
• Negative Balance: Where supported and authorised, Stripe may debit your linked bank account to cover a negative connected-account balance. Availability and success depend on your account and bank; enabling this setting does not guarantee collection.
• Future Sales: Recovery offsets reduce the organiser settlement, not the customer's invoice or the face value of sales. Statements identify the recovery separately.
• Connected-account liability: The provider's allocation of ultimate negative-balance responsibility does not waive amounts you owe under these Terms or guarantee that Tamil Australia has no exposure.
• Liability Reserve: Available reserve funds may be used before future sales replenish the configured minimum balance
• Service Fee Responsibility: the Service Fee remains applicable regardless of chargeback outcomes and may be recovered or offset from your account balance where required

5.2 Chargeback Process

When a chargeback is filed:

1. Provider Debit: The provider debits the account determined by the payment configuration. Applicable organiser recovery is reconciled separately against confirmed provider transactions.
2. Notification: You receive an email notification with dispute details, reason, and deadline to respond
3. Evidence Submission: Contact Tamil Australia promptly and provide evidence before the provider's deadline shown in your dispute notification. Do not assume a fixed seven-day window. Evidence can include:
   • Event tickets and booking confirmations
   • Attendance records and check-in logs
   • Event photos showing customer attendance
   • Email communications with the customer
   • Terms and conditions the customer agreed to
   • Refund and cancellation policy
4. Payment Provider Review: Our payment provider reviews evidence from both parties and makes a determination
5. Resolution:
   • If you win: Amounts actually recovered from you are reconciled for return. Provider fees are adjusted only when the provider credits them. A successful dispute does not itself confirm that a repayment transfer has completed.
   • If you lose or accept: Applicable unpaid obligations remain due. Your statement separates amounts already recovered from outstanding amounts.

5.3 Common Chargeback Reasons

You may face chargebacks for various reasons, including but not limited to:

• Fraudulent: Customer claims they did not authorize the transaction
• Unrecognized: Customer does not recognize the charge on their statement
• Product Not Received: Customer claims they did not receive the service (event attendance)
• Product Unacceptable: Customer claims the event did not meet expectations
• Duplicate: Customer claims they were charged multiple times
• Cancelled/Postponed Event: Customer claims they should receive a refund for cancelled events

5.4 Chargeback Prevention Responsibilities

You agree to take reasonable steps to prevent chargebacks, including:

• Providing clear and accurate event descriptions, dates, times, and locations
• Displaying your business name clearly so customers recognize charges
• Maintaining detailed records of ticket sales and event attendance
• Responding promptly to customer inquiries and refund requests
• Implementing check-in procedures to verify attendance
• Sending booking confirmations and event reminders to customers
• Honoring your stated refund and cancellation policies
• Notifying customers immediately if an event is cancelled or postponed

6. Negative Balance and Recovery

6.1 Negative Balance Occurrence

Your Stripe Connected Account may have a negative balance when:

• Chargebacks exceed your current account balance
• Refunds are processed when insufficient funds are available
• Chargeback fees are applied to an account with low balance
• Multiple disputes occur simultaneously

6.2 Automatic Recovery

You authorize our payment provider and Tamil Australia to automatically recover negative balances by:

• Withholding amounts from future ticket sales
• Deducting from scheduled payouts
• Retaining funds until the negative balance is cleared

6.3 Persistent Negative Balance

If your account maintains a negative balance for more than 90 days:

• Tamil Australia may suspend your ability to create new events
• Our payment provider may initiate collection procedures according to their terms
• You remain legally liable for the outstanding balance
• Tamil Australia may pursue legal action to recover amounts owed under Queensland law

6.4 Repayment Obligation

You agree to repay any negative balance in full, including:

• The principal chargeback amounts
• Applicable provider dispute fees actually charged, less any related provider credits
• Any collection costs or legal fees incurred
• Interest on overdue amounts at the rate permitted by Queensland law

7. Fraud Prevention and Cyber Risk

7.1 Your Fraud Prevention Obligations

You must implement reasonable security measures to prevent fraud, including:

• Securing your Tamil Australia account with a strong password
• Enabling and maintaining multi-factor authentication where offered or required
• Never sharing your login credentials with unauthorized persons
• Never sharing one-time codes or authenticator codes, and never approving an unexpected authentication prompt
• Monitoring your event dashboards for suspicious activity
• Reporting suspected fraudulent bookings immediately
• Verifying the identity of high-value or bulk ticket purchasers
• Implementing email verification for attendees
• Independently verifying any request to change bank, payout, ownership, or settlement details using a trusted contact channel already on record
• Removing staff access promptly when a person no longer requires it and reviewing role assignments regularly

7.2 Fraudulent Transactions

You acknowledge that you are liable for fraudulent transactions processed through your events, including:

• Stolen credit card purchases
• Identity theft-related bookings
• Synthetic fraud and account takeover incidents

Tamil Australia and Stripe employ fraud detection systems, but you remain ultimately responsible for chargebacks resulting from fraudulent transactions.

7.3 Cyber Security

You agree to:

• Keep your devices and software updated with security patches
• Use secure internet connections when accessing your organizer dashboard
• Notify Tamil Australia immediately if you suspect unauthorized access to your account
• Treat urgent payment requests, changed bank details, unexpected links, and requests for credentials or verification codes as suspicious
• Access Tamil Australia and Stripe through known official addresses rather than links in unexpected messages
• Not use your account for any illegal, fraudulent, or malicious purposes

7.4 Limitation of Tamil Australia Liability for Fraud

To the extent permitted by law, you are responsible for fraudulent transactions, disputes, and chargebacks attributable to your listings, staff access, fulfilment, or customers. Tamil Australia and Stripe may use fraud controls, but these controls do not guarantee that every fraudulent transaction will be prevented. Nothing in this section excludes liability or rights that cannot lawfully be excluded.

8. Indemnification

You agree to indemnify, defend, and hold harmless Tamil Australia (ABN: 64 718 308 226), its proprietor, employees, contractors, and agents from and against any and all claims, damages, losses, liabilities, costs, and expenses (including reasonable legal fees) arising from or relating to:

• Your breach of these Terms or any applicable laws
• Your events, including event cancellations, postponements, or changes
• Disputes, chargebacks, or refund requests from attendees
• Fraudulent transactions processed through your events
• Negative balances in your Stripe Connected Account
• Your failure to deliver events as advertised
• Injuries, damages, or losses suffered by attendees at your events
• Your violation of third-party intellectual property rights
• Your misrepresentation of event details or ticket availability
• Tax liabilities arising from your ticket sales and event revenue

This indemnification obligation survives termination of your account and these Terms.

9. Limitation of Liability

9.1 Tamil Australia Liability Limitations

To the maximum extent permitted by Australian law (including the Australian Consumer Law):

• Tamil Australia is not liable for any chargebacks, disputes, or payment reversals on your events
• Tamil Australia is not responsible for delays or failures in payment processing by our payment provider
• Tamil Australia does not guarantee any specific sales volume, revenue, or attendance for your events
• Tamil Australia is not liable for losses arising from platform downtime, technical issues, or cyber attacks
• Tamil Australia's total liability to you for any claim is limited to the total service fees you have paid in the 12 months prior to the claim

9.2 Consequential Damages

Tamil Australia is not liable for any indirect, incidental, special, consequential, or punitive damages, including:

• Lost profits or revenue
• Loss of business opportunity
• Reputational damage
• Loss of data or information
• Cost of substitute services

9.3 Australian Consumer Law

Nothing in these Terms excludes, restricts, or modifies any consumer guarantees, warranties, or other rights that you may have under the Australian Consumer Law or other applicable laws that cannot be excluded, restricted, or modified by agreement. Where our liability cannot be excluded, our liability is limited to the extent permitted by law to the re-supply of the services or payment of the cost of re-supply.

10. Refund and Cancellation Policies

10.1 Your Refund Policy

You are responsible for setting and clearly communicating your refund and cancellation policy for each event. Tamil Australia recommends:

• Displaying your refund policy prominently on event pages
• Including refund terms in booking confirmation emails
• Honoring refund requests according to your stated policy
• Processing refunds promptly (within 7-14 business days)

10.2 Event Cancellations

If you cancel or postpone an event, you must:

• Notify all ticket holders immediately via email
• Update the event status on the Tamil Australia platform
• Offer full refunds for cancelled events within 7 days. A full refund means the customer receives the amount they paid through Tamil Australia, including ticket price and attendee-facing service fees.
• Offer transfer to new dates or refunds for postponed events

Failure to refund for cancelled events will result in chargebacks that you are liable for, plus chargeback fees.

10.3 Customer Refunds and Organizer Fee Responsibility

Customer refunds for organizer-cancelled events must be calculated from the amount the customer paid through Tamil Australia. You must not reduce a customer's refund because of service fees, chargeback fees, or other payment-provider costs. Those amounts remain organizer-facing costs and may be recovered from, or offset against, your payout balance where applicable.

11. Legal Compliance and Regulatory Requirements

11.1 Tax Obligations

You are solely responsible for:

• Reporting all income from ticket sales to the Australian Taxation Office (ATO)
• Paying GST if you are registered or required to be registered for GST
• Providing your TFN or ABN to Stripe and Tamil Australia as required
• Issuing valid tax invoices to customers if GST-registered
• Maintaining accurate financial records for tax purposes

11.2 Licensing and Permits

You warrant that you have obtained all necessary:

• Event permits and licenses required by Queensland and local councils
• Liquor licenses if serving alcohol
• Music performance licenses (APRA/AMCOS)
• Public liability insurance
• Health and safety certifications
• Venue hire agreements

11.3 Data Protection

You agree to comply with the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth) and Australian Privacy Principles when handling customer, member, vendor, sponsor, and finance data obtained through Tamil Australia, including:

• Collecting personal information only for legitimate event purposes
• Collecting community member information only for legitimate community administration, membership, communication, event, and finance purposes
• Securing customer data against unauthorized access or disclosure
• Not selling or sharing customer data with third parties without consent
• Responding to customer data access and deletion requests

11.4 Community Finance and Invoicing Records

If you use Tamil Australia's community finance tools, you are responsible for the accuracy, authorization, and legal use of all finance records entered for your community, including invoices, sponsorship records, vendor expenses, receipts, income categories, expenditure categories, reports, and audit exports.

• You must only create invoices, payment requests, or expense records for genuine community purposes.
• You must ensure amounts, descriptions, GST/tax treatment, due dates, recipient details, and supporting documents are accurate before sending finance emails or reports.
• You remain responsible for accounting, tax, audit, committee approval, and record-keeping obligations that apply to your association or community.
• You must restrict finance access to authorized people only. Tamil Australia may enforce role-based access and audit logging, but you remain responsible for assigning appropriate roles.
• Tamil Australia provides the software platform and does not act as your accountant, auditor, bookkeeper, tax adviser, or legal adviser.

11.5 Anti-Money Laundering (AML)

You agree to comply with the Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorism Financing Act 2006 (Cth) and assist our payment provider and Tamil Australia with identity verification and transaction monitoring as required.

12. Account Suspension and Termination

12.1 Suspension Rights

Tamil Australia may suspend or terminate your organizer account immediately if:

• Your chargeback rate exceeds 1% of total transactions
• Your Stripe account has a persistent negative balance
• You fail to respond to customer complaints or refund requests
• You violate these Terms or applicable laws
• You provide false or misleading information
• You engage in fraudulent or illegal activities
• Your events pose safety or reputational risks
• Our payment provider suspends or terminates your payment account

12.2 Effects of Termination

Upon termination:

• You cannot create new events or sell tickets
• Existing events may be delisted from the platform
• Outstanding payouts may be withheld pending dispute resolution
• You remain liable for all chargebacks, refunds, and negative balances
• You must fulfill obligations for already-sold tickets

12.3 Voluntary Termination

You may close your account at any time, provided all events are completed, all tickets honored, all refunds processed, all disputes resolved, and your payment account balance is zero or positive.

13. Dispute Resolution and Governing Law

13.1 Governing Law

These Terms are governed by the laws of Queensland, Australia. You agree to submit to the exclusive jurisdiction of the courts of Queensland for any disputes arising from these Terms or your use of the platform.

13.2 Negotiation First

Before initiating legal proceedings, you agree to attempt to resolve disputes through good faith negotiation with Tamil Australia. Contact us at events@tamilaustralia.com.au to initiate dispute resolution.

13.3 Mediation

If negotiation fails, you agree to participate in mediation through a recognized mediation service in Queensland before pursuing litigation.

14. Changes to These Terms

Tamil Australia may update these Terms from time to time to reflect:

• Changes in applicable laws or regulations
• New features or services
• Updates to payment processing or fee structures
• Enhanced security or fraud prevention measures

We will notify you of material changes via email at least 30 days before they take effect. Your continued use of the platform after changes become effective constitutes acceptance of the updated Terms.

15. Contact Information

16. Acceptance of Terms