1. Acceptance of these terms
These Terms of Service govern your use of Fairgo, a payment escrow and job-coordination platform for Australian residential trades. By creating an account or using the platform, you agree to these terms, our Privacy Policy, and our Refunds Policy.
Fairgo is currently operated as a trading name [ACN pending registration; corporate structure not yet finalised].
2. Eligibility
You must be at least 18 years old and capable of forming a binding contract under Australian law to use Fairgo. Tradies must hold the licences, insurance, and accreditation Fairgo requires for the trade category and job value they operate in (see Section 6).
3. Roles on the platform
- Homeowner: commissions and pays for residential trade work.
- Tradie: creates jobs, performs the work, and receives payment on completion.
- Inspector: an independent, accredited assessor Fairgo assigns to review a disputed job against its agreed completion criteria.
- Admin: Fairgo staff who verify accreditation and resolve disputes.
4. How Fairgo works
- A tradie creates a job with a price, site address, timeline, and itemised completion criteria. Jobs can be priced as a single fixed amount, staged milestones, or Time & Materials (a pre-funded spend cap with locked hourly/call-out rates).
- The homeowner funds the job via PayPal. Funds are held in escrow via PayPal (AFSL 354514), not a Fairgo-operated trust account, until released or refunded.
- Residential work over $20,000 legally requires Home Building Compensation (HBC) cover before payment can be taken; Fairgo hard-gates job creation above this threshold on the tradie holding verified HBC eligibility and the job carrying a certificate number.
- When the tradie marks a job (or milestone) complete, the homeowner reviews the work against the agreed criteria and either approves it or raises a dispute.
- Approval schedules the tradie's payout. It is sent automatically, free of charge, 2 days later, or instantly if the tradie chooses to pay a 1.5% fee for immediate release (see Section 5).
- A dispute triggers an independent inspection (see Section 8) after the homeowner pays the inspection fee. Fairgo actions the outcome, either release to the tradie or refund to the homeowner, based on the inspector's findings.
5. Fees
- Platform fee: 5% of the job amount, deducted from the tradie's payout at release. Homeowners are never charged more than the job price they agreed to.
- Instant-payout fee: an optional 1.5% fee a tradie can pay to receive their payout immediately instead of the standard free 2-day delay.
- Independent inspection fee: a flat $250 AUD, charged to the homeowner when a dispute is raised, refunded if the dispute is upheld (see the Refunds Policy).
6. Tradie obligations
- Provide accurate, current licensing, insurance, and business details (ABN, licence number/class/expiry, public liability insurance, workers compensation where you employ staff, and HBC eligibility where applicable).
- Hold current professional indemnity insurance if accredited as an inspector.
- Perform work in accordance with the job's agreed scope and completion criteria, and in compliance with all applicable laws, licensing requirements, and safety standards.
- Provide a valid PayPal account able to receive payouts.
- Not attempt to solicit payment for a Fairgo-listed job outside the platform.
7. Homeowner obligations
- Be the owner of the property, or authorised by the owner, to commission the work.
- Provide accurate site and job information.
- Fund jobs only through the platform's payment flow.
- Review and approve or dispute completed work within a reasonable time.
- When paying, you confirm your authority to commission the work and agree that your payment is held in escrow until you approve the completed work. This declaration is recorded at the time of payment.
8. Disputes and independent inspection
If a homeowner is not satisfied with completed work, they may raise a dispute instead of approving. Once the independent inspection fee is paid, Fairgo assigns an accredited, independent inspector to assess the work against the job's agreed completion criteria. The inspector submits a report and a release-or-refund recommendation, which Fairgo actions. Fairgo is not a party to the underlying trade contract and does not itself adjudicate quality disputes outside this process.
9. Prohibited conduct
- Providing false or misleading accreditation, licensing, or insurance information.
- Attempting to circumvent escrow by taking payment outside the platform for a Fairgo-listed job.
- Raising fraudulent or bad-faith disputes.
- Using the platform for any unlawful purpose.
Fairgo may suspend or terminate accounts that breach these terms.
10. Limitation of liability
Fairgo provides a payment-escrow and coordination platform. We are not a party to, and do not guarantee the performance of, the underlying trade contract between homeowner and tradie. To the maximum extent permitted by law, Fairgo is not liable for the quality, safety, or legality of trade work performed, except to the extent an independent inspection finding results in a refund or release under Section 8. Nothing in these terms excludes, restricts, or modifies any consumer guarantee under the Australian Consumer Law that cannot lawfully be excluded.
11. Indemnity
You agree to indemnify Fairgo against any claim, loss, or liability arising from your breach of these terms, your use of the platform, or the trade work you perform or commission.
12. Suspension and termination
We may suspend or terminate your account for breach of these terms, suspected fraud, or as required by law. You may close your account at any time; open jobs must be resolved (released, refunded, or otherwise settled) first.
13. Intellectual property
The Fairgo platform, including its branding, design, and software, is owned by Fairgo. You retain ownership of the content you submit (job descriptions, inspection reports, etc.), and grant Fairgo a licence to use it to operate the platform.
14. Privacy
Our collection and use of your personal information is governed by our Privacy Policy.
15. Changes to these terms
We may update these terms from time to time. Material changes will be reflected by updating the “Last updated” date at the top of this page.
16. Governing law
These terms are governed by the law of New South Wales, Australia. Unresolved disputes may be taken to the NSW Civil and Administrative Tribunal (NCAT) or the courts of New South Wales.