Putting your Terms of Service on your website

1\ why publish your terms at all a website is the easiest way to meet the first half of the code section 2 4 obligation you have to give clients your terms and confirm they accepted them a page you can link to from a booking confirmation does that at no marginal cost, and it works for the two acceptance methods most practices will rely on — advance notice with acceptance by attendance, and an online registration form publishing also solves a problem that paper does not when you update your terms, the page updates for everyone at once, and you can show what the current version says on any given date three documents, three jobs the website page carries everything that is the same for every client the client file carries the particulars — animals, addresses, contact details, and any limits the client has asked you to apply documents handed over in person carry the commercially sensitive detail and anything specific to that client, such as farm terms and rvm authorisations the example page has been written so that each of these three points to the others a client reading the page is told where their own details are held and how to get the detail that is not published 2\ what to publish and what to hold back the instinct is to hold back anything commercially sensitive that instinct is right about prices and wrong about terms, and the distinction matters more than it first appears the rule publish anything that limits a client's rights or creates an obligation on them hold back anything that is only a number in a price list a term the client never saw is unlikely to have become part of your agreement with them the terms you most want to be able to rely on — the liability limit, the cancellation fee, the forfeited deposit, the interest on an overdue account — are exactly the ones that fail if the client was never given them commercial sensitivity and enforceability pull in opposite directions here, and enforceability should win applying that rule produces a workable split note that in most cases the answer is not to hide the term, but to publish the term and hold back the number \ content \ \ where it goes \ \ why \ emergency and after hours arrangements page — and first on the page code section 5 7 a client looking for this at 11pm should not have to scroll how clients accept your terms page supports acceptance by attendance and by online registration which animals are covered page, pointing to the client record avoids reissuing the agreement whenever a client gains or loses an animal services you provide and do not provide page sets expectations and is not commercially sensitive consent, records, privacy, complaints, termination page all affect the client's rights limitation of liability page cannot be relied on if the client never saw it publishing is the point the fact of a deposit, cancellation fee, or interest charge page it creates an obligation, so the client must be told it exists the amount of the deposit, fee, or interest rate told at the time, or in a fee schedule on request commercial, and it changes but it must be given before the client incurs it fee schedule and product price list separate document or a separate page commercial see section 5 before publishing one credit account terms and criteria in person, on application commercial and client specific wellness plan or loyalty pricing in person or a separate page commercial client and animal particulars client file personal information never on a public page farm terms — authorised people, treatment policies, rvm authorisations, dry cow plan, biosecurity specifics in person, reviewed annually client specific and commercially sensitive the page should say they exist 3\ telling clients how to get what you have not published holding something back only works if the client can find it where the example page leaves detail out, it says so and says how to get it, rather than staying silent two examples from the page fees our fee schedule changes from time to time, so we do not publish it here ask at reception or call us and we will give you current prices for anything you are considering, including the consultation fee that goes with any medicine we supply farm terms because these depend on your property, your stock and your team, they sit in a separate agreement rather than on this page your veterinarian will go through it with you and review it at your annual consultation both do the same three things they say the detail exists, they say why it is not on the page, and they give the client a way to get it a page that simply omits the fee schedule invites the client to assume there is something to hide 4\ making the page work as acceptance a published page on its own is not acceptance it becomes acceptance when you can show the client was given it and then went ahead these four pieces of wording connect the page to the acceptance methods in section 2 1 of the guidance adapt them to your booking system booking confirmation for your booking confirmation email or text your appointment is confirmed for \[date and time] our terms of service are available at \[link] — they cover emergency cover, fees, consent and privacy coming to the appointment means you accept them tell us before you arrive if there is anything you would like to discuss keep the sending record it is the evidence that the client was given the terms, and without it, acceptance by attendance has nothing behind it online registration form for the tick box on your registration form i have read and accept the terms of service at \[link], and the privacy policy at \[link] do not pre tick the box, and record the date and the version accepted against the client file website footer link the terms and the privacy policy from every page of your site, not only from the registration form a client who cannot find the terms afterwards is a client who may argue they never had them at reception for clients who do not use the internet keep printed copies at reception the example page says so, and it should — a page that assumes everyone is online will not work for part of most practice client bases, particularly older clients and some farm clients what goes in the clinical record whichever route the client takes, record the fact of acceptance, the date, the method, the version of the terms accepted, and who confirmed it section 2 1 of the guidance sets this out a page on a website with nothing in the clinical record does not meet section 2 4 5\ what changes when you publish a public web page engages obligations that a document handed to a client does not none of these should stop you publishing, but they shape what the page can say publishing a price list product and price lists for acvm authorised products are generally not treated as advertising, and they may be published digitally, including on a website four conditions apply keep any information associated with a product to what is on the label, or the label itself do not use superlatives or comparison claims those would be advertising include service fees, not only product prices price transparency means the client can see the real cost, and a veterinary consultation is required to complete an rvm authorisation, so the consultation fee is part of the price of the medicine keep the price list clearly distinguishable from an order form or pre order document, so the page reads as a veterinary led consultation rather than a buyer driven transaction antibiotics must not be advertised to the public restricted veterinary medicines containing antibiotics carry a condition of registration that prohibits advertising targeted at end users such as farmers and pet owners if your price list includes antibiotic rvms, that part of the site must be access restricted to veterinarians and people holding the appropriate acvm approvals it cannot sit on an open page you may give label information and safety data sheets to a client for a product you have authorised for their animals that is not advertising where you do advertise an rvm, the code requires you to state that the product is only available under veterinary authorisation, to include the acvm registration number, to avoid doing so where it would jeopardise your risk management role as the authorising veterinarian, and to tell potential buyers to discuss treatment options with their veterinarian promoting your services code section 4 9 applies to the whole page represent your capability and competence accurately do not exaggerate, and do not claim or imply superiority over other veterinarians or discredit other practices the advertising standards authority codes apply as well — nothing misleading or deceptive, whether directly or by omission, ambiguity, or exaggerated comparison in practice, this means a terms of service page should read as information, not marketing the example page contains no claims about the quality of the practice at all, which is deliberate prices you publish under the fair trading act 1986 a published price must not mislead if a figure is indicative, say so if you publish a price you should be willing to honour it, or make the conditions clear on the same page privacy publish your privacy policy alongside the terms and keep it current the page should link to it rather than restate it accessibility some of your clients will read the page on a phone at night, in a hurry, and some will use a screen reader plain language, a readable type size, real headings, and a phone number that can be tapped are worth more than design the example page puts the emergency number first for that reason 6\ keeping the page current show a version number and an effective date on the page the example page shows both in the masthead and repeats them in the footer keep superseded versions if a client accepted version 1 0 you need to be able to produce version 1 0 record against the client file which version each client accepted, and when review annually, and whenever your services, your after hours arrangement, or your fees structure change an out of date after hours number is the most damaging error this page can contain when you change the terms materially, tell existing clients rather than relying on the page having changed 7\ checklist before you publish \ ☐ \ \ check \ ☐ every placeholder field replaced, and the example banner deleted ☐ after hours number, provider, address and hours are correct and current ☐ any species or service you do not cover after hours is stated ☐ the page says how clients accept the terms, and your booking system actually sends the link ☐ version number and effective date shown, and a process exists to retain superseded versions ☐ privacy policy published and linked ☐ limitation of liability reviewed by your legal advisor ☐ every term that creates an obligation on the client appears on the page, even where the amount does not ☐ where detail is held back, the page says how to get it ☐ no antibiotic rvms on any publicly accessible price list ☐ any price list includes service fees and carries no superlatives or comparisons ☐ no claims of superiority over other practices anywhere on the page ☐ printed copies available at reception ☐ page readable on a phone, and the emergency number is tappable the veterinary council of new zealand prepared this example to support code of professional conduct section 2 4 it is a starting point that practices should adapt, and it is not legal advice read it alongside the guidance client service agreements guidance for veterinary businesses https //hub vetcouncil org nz/client service agreements guidance for veterinary businesses working document and the client service agreement example template, both available at hub vetcouncil org nz this document was prepared with the assistance of ai software, specifically a large language model all content has been prompted, reviewed, verified, and approved by vet council staff with appropriate subject matter expertise