Terms of Use

These Terms of Use govern your use of Trail Hiking Australia Learning. By accessing or using this website, creating an account, enrolling in training or purchasing an assessment, you agree to these Terms.

Trail Hiking Australia Learning is operated by Edwards Family Trust trading as Trail Hiking Australia (ABN 56 387 413 788).

Last reviewed: 2 September 2026

Use of the platform

Trail Hiking Australia Learning provides online training, educational content and assessments relating to hiking safety systems.

You agree to use the platform lawfully and for its intended purpose. You must not:

misuse, disrupt or interfere with the platform
attempt to gain unauthorised access to accounts, systems or data
share your account or allow another person to complete training or assessments on your behalf
copy, distribute or republish training or assessment content without permission
impersonate another person or provide false or misleading information
use automated systems to extract, reproduce or interact with platform content without permission

We may suspend or terminate access where these Terms are breached or where use of the platform creates a security, operational or legal risk.

Accounts

You may be required to create a WordPress user account to access training and assessments. A single account may provide access to both free and paid learning products.

You are responsible for:

providing accurate account information
maintaining the confidentiality of your login details
all activity that occurs through your account
notifying us if you become aware of unauthorised account access

You must not share your account with another person. Training progress, assessment results and certificates are associated with the individual account holder.

Training access and enrolment

Access to training may be free, paid, granted manually or granted automatically following registration or payment.

We may update course materials, assessment content and certificate requirements to maintain their accuracy, relevance and alignment with the Hiking Safety Systems Framework.

We may revoke or restrict access where reasonably necessary because of:

account sharing, fraud or payment misuse
unauthorised reproduction or distribution of content
attempted manipulation of training, assessment or certificate systems
conduct that creates a security risk or causes harm to the platform or its users
a serious or repeated breach of these Terms

Where practical and appropriate, we will notify you of the issue and provide a reasonable opportunity to address it before paid access is permanently terminated.

Payments, access and refunds

The HSSF Readiness Assessment is available for the one-off price displayed at the time of purchase. The current price is A$49.

Payment provides ongoing access to the assessment without a recurring fee or scheduled access expiry, subject to these Terms and while the platform continues to operate.

Assessment access is separate from certificate validity. Access does not guarantee that a certificate will be awarded. A Readiness certificate is issued only when the required assessment standard is achieved and remains valid for five years from its date of issue.

Learners may repeat an unsuccessful assessment without an additional payment. There is currently no waiting period or limit on the number of attempts.

Change-of-mind refunds

You may request a change-of-mind refund within seven days of purchase, provided you have not started the HSSF Readiness Assessment.

For the purpose of this policy, the assessment is considered to have started when you submit your first assessment response.

Once the assessment has been started, a voluntary change-of-mind refund is not available. This does not affect any rights or remedies available under the Australian Consumer Law.

A change-of-mind refund will not be provided solely because you:

do not complete the assessment
do not achieve the result required for a Readiness certificate
decide that you no longer wish to participate after starting the assessment

Payment and access problems

If you are charged incorrectly or more than once, or do not receive the access you purchased, contact Darren Edwards at [email protected].

We will investigate the issue and, where appropriate, correct the payment, restore access or provide another suitable remedy.

Approved refunds will be returned through the original payment method. The time taken for the funds to appear will depend on Stripe and your financial institution.

Australian Consumer Law

Nothing in these Terms excludes, restricts or modifies any consumer guarantee, right or remedy that cannot lawfully be excluded under the Australian Consumer Law.

If the service has a major problem, cannot be supplied as described, or a problem cannot be corrected within a reasonable time, you may be entitled to a remedy, including cancellation and a partial or full refund.

Certificates and assessment outcomes

The Hiking Safety Systems Foundations certificate confirms completion of the Foundations course. It is not a professional qualification or certification of practical competence.

The HSSF Readiness certificate records that the learner achieved the required result in the scenario-based Readiness Assessment at the time it was completed. It is intended as a personal development credential.

Neither certificate:

is a regulated or nationally recognised qualification
replaces professional, practical or guided training
guarantees competence in every environment or situation
guarantees safety or a particular outcome during outdoor activities

Certificates may include a unique certificate number and may be made available through a public verification function. Public verification may display the certificate holder’s name, certificate status, issue date and validity date.

Intellectual property

Unless otherwise stated, all content on this platform is owned by or licensed to Trail Hiking Australia. This includes:

training materials and lesson content
the Hiking Safety Systems Framework and associated models
assessment questions, scenarios and scoring structures
text, graphics, certificates and platform structure

You may access and use this content for your personal learning. You must not reproduce, republish, sell, distribute, adapt or use the content for commercial training without prior written permission.

Educational purpose

The content and assessments provided through Trail Hiking Australia Learning are for educational and personal development purposes.

They are not a substitute for:

professional or accredited training
guided instruction
first-aid or emergency-response training
appropriate planning and preparation
practical skills and real-world experience
current advice from land managers, emergency services or other relevant authorities

Outdoor environments and individual circumstances vary. You are responsible for assessing current conditions, your own capability and the suitability of any planned activity.

Limitation of liability

Hiking and outdoor activities involve inherent risks. Conditions can change, information can become outdated, and no educational platform can account for every person, environment or situation.

To the maximum extent permitted by law, Trail Hiking Australia does not accept liability for injury, loss or damage arising from:

how you interpret or apply the platform’s educational content
decisions you make in an outdoor environment
your failure to consider current conditions, official advice or your personal circumstances
reliance on the platform as a substitute for appropriate training, planning or experience

Nothing in this section excludes, restricts or modifies a right, guarantee or remedy that cannot lawfully be excluded under the Australian Consumer Law or other applicable legislation.

Platform availability and changes

We aim to keep the platform available and functional, but uninterrupted or error-free access cannot be guaranteed.

We may:

update or modify the platform and its content
temporarily suspend access for maintenance, security or technical reasons
replace or remove features that are no longer practical or supported

Where a planned change would materially reduce paid access or functionality, we will provide reasonable notice where practical and consider any remedy required under the Australian Consumer Law.

Third-party services

The platform relies on third-party services for functions such as website hosting, content delivery, payments, email delivery, analytics and security.

We are not responsible for temporary outages or performance problems caused by third-party services outside our reasonable control. However, we will take reasonable steps to investigate problems affecting access to a service you have purchased.

Termination

We may suspend or terminate your access if:

you seriously or repeatedly breach these Terms
fraudulent or unauthorised payment activity is detected
you misuse the platform, its content or its certificate systems
your use creates a material security, operational or legal risk

Termination resulting from your breach of these Terms does not automatically entitle you to a refund. This does not affect any rights or remedies that cannot lawfully be excluded.

You may stop using the platform at any time. You may also contact us to ask about closing your account, subject to any legal or operational requirements applying to payment, assessment or certificate records.

Changes to these Terms

We may update these Terms when the platform, its services or applicable legal requirements change.

The current version and its review date will be published on this page. Where practical, we will provide reasonable notice of changes that materially affect paid access or existing user rights.

Changes will not remove rights or remedies that arose before the updated Terms took effect. Continued use of the platform after updated Terms take effect indicates acceptance of those Terms.

Contact

If you have questions about these Terms, your account, a payment or a refund, contact:

Darren Edwards
Trail Hiking Australia
Email: [email protected]