Terms and Conditions & Privacy

Where FE is an agent for its suppliers of photographic tours

FE acts as an agent on behalf of the suppliers of the photographic tours promoted on its website and these tours are governed by the Terms and Conditions of those suppliers. While every effort is made to ensure that travel products are delivered as promoted FE does not guarantee that this will happen as FE is simply a reseller of these products.

Where FE runs its own photographic tours

FE may also run its own photographic tours from time to time. In these instances, then FE as the tour operator is responsible to deliver the tour as promoted.

Offers

All offers and promotions of services sold through FE are subject to availability and all advertised promotions apply solely to new bookings. Offers can be withdrawn at any time and without notice.

Deposits and Payments

At the time of booking FE will require a per person non-refundable deposit on top of the deposit required by the supplier of the tour you are booking. This is to cover FE for their time in the event you decide not to go ahead with the booking. Note that this extra deposit is part of the overall quote for your travel and not additional to it.

At the time of booking FE will also outline the schedule of payments due to secure and finalise your booking. Failure to pay the deposits due to suppliers by the due date may result in your booking being cancelled – suppliers often do this automatically so it is not something FE can stop. While FE can rebook the itinerary for you please note that the original dates or tour requested may not still be available or that the price may have changed.

Failure to meet final payment deadlines can also lead to cancellation of your booking and any refund of the deposit monies you may have paid will be subject to the suppliers Terms and Conditions.

Once you have paid any money towards a booking it is deemed that you have read and understood theses Terms and Conditions.

Card payments will incur extra fees – 2% for Amex or Diners and 1.25% for Visa or Mastercard.

If a supplier fails to provide the product purchased your remedy lies against the supplier and not against FE except where FE is the operator of the tour.

International travel arrangements are generally paid to the supplier in their local or nominated currency. Where prices are quoted to you in Australian Dollars then these are based on the exchange rate on the day but note that there can be fluctuations in the final price due based on movements in the foreign exchange rates. The quoted price in Australian Dollars will be honoured were you have paid the full amount at the time of receiving the quote. Suppliers can also impose extra charges prior to your making the final payment and FE is not liable if such changes occur. Rates quoted are correct at the time of booking and are subject to change with or without notice.

FE is registered for GST and this tax applies to all domestic travel booked as part of your itinerary.

Our Terms & Conditions are also available as a document.

All monies received from you will be placed into a Client account until dispersed to the suppliers of your travel arrangements.

Confirmations and Documentation

Once you have booked your travel itinerary FE will send you a written confirmation but note that bookings are not deemed to be finalised until all monies have been paid. Final documentation will not be issued by travel suppliers until they have received full payment for their part of your itinerary. Also note that each supplier will have their own terms on deposits and final payments and their own overall Terms and Conditions which govern their part of your itinerary.

On receipt of your travel documents you must check that they correctly reflect the booking you made so that any amendments can be made in good time and avoid any disruption to your travels. Equally you must provide passenger names exactly as they appear in your passports – you may be refused boarding by a cruise line or airline if the name on your booking is different to the one in your passport. Also be aware of any changes to your circumstances – such as having a new baby that needs to be registered on your passport or to have their own passport.

All passengers departing Australia must be in possession of a valid passport with a minimum of 6 month’s validity beyond your return date to Australia. FE requires a copy of your passport prior to making final bookings and you must advise us if you are travelling on a non-Australian passport as this can affect your visa requirements to visit the countries in your itinerary and can also affect your right to return to Australia.

Please check your itinerary carefully before booking it as any changes to an itinerary will incur a fee of $60 per person by FE for their time to make these changes plus the supplier may also charge change fees. These will be advised before any change is made. Where the change is as a result of the travel supplier’s actions you may be able to cancel or rebook without penalty but note that cruise lines and airlines both reserve the right to vary their schedules so your rights to cancel and /or rebook are subject to the suppliers Terms and Conditions.

Equally in the event you need to cancel a booking then any refunds due to you will be subject to the supplier’s terms and conditions.

Note that any packages specifically put together by FE to attend key religious festivals such as the Hajj (ie not bought via a third party) are guaranteed by FE.

Visas

Many countries require visitors to have obtained a Visa for entry prior to arrival and it is your responsibility to ensure that you have valid passports, visas and entry permits. Any costs associated

with not having correct documentation is solely your responsibility. FE can source information on Visa requirements for you from a third party advisory service but we take no responsibility on the accuracy of their information. Note if you are travelling to the USA they have a compulsory Visa Waiver program and you need to apply online at https://esta.cbp.dhs.gov Be aware that not all people will be eligible to participate in the Visa Waiver scheme in which case you would need to apply for entry clearance from the US Embassy prior to your arrival into the USA.

Health and Safety and Insurance

Check with your Doctor about any requirements for vaccinations. Check with DFAT via their www.smarttraveller.gov.au site for any travel advisories that may impact your itinerary

NB – Our photo tour partners all insist that you have your own comprehensive travel insurance organised. This insurance should cover all aspects of the travel purchased as well as providing medical coverage while overseas including repatriation to Australia. Proof of purchase of your Travel Insurance policy needs to be lodged with FE prior to final payments being made.

Liability

Except where FE runs its own tours, FE cannot accept any responsibility for any act, omission or default (negligent or otherwise) of any travel service provider in connection with your holiday over whom FE has no direct or exclusive control and we shall not be liable for any injury, loss or damage including consequential damage arising out of or connected to your travel booking. We act as an agent for travel suppliers and have no responsibility for the provision of those services nor do we warrant regarding the standard of the services to be provided. Your recourse is against the specific travel provider and not against FE.

Privacy

FE respects your privacy and all details collected by you will be used solely for the travel being booked and for the purposes of obtaining feedback from you or for advising you of special offers from time to time. If you do not wish to receive such notifications simply advise FE. For more information on our Privacy Policy refer to our website – www.focusedexpeditions.com

Schedule of Fees

– FE will collect a non-refundable deposit per person in addition to any deposits required by the travel providers. This will be $150 per person for International travel and $100 per person for domestic travel. Note this deposit is not an addition to the quoted cost of your itinerary.

– Credit card service fees will be charged – 2% for Amex/Diners and 1.5% for Visa/Mastercard

– Booking fees maybe charged as determined by FE, these will be advised before you proceed with a booking.

– Amendments to bookings will attract a charge of $60 per person per change.

– Arranging Visas has a fee of $75 per visa in addition to any fees charged by the relevant consulate or embassy and any costs for postage or couriers to deliver the documentation.

– No cash refunds will be given

– Cheque payments can only be accepted more than 10 days before final payments are due.

– Where FE has to provide documentation to support an insurance claim and the insurance was not bought through FE then a $100 fee will apply.

Privacy Policy

At Focused Expeditions Pty Ltd ABN 12 608 700 698, we are committed to protecting your privacy in accordance with the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth) (Privacy Act) and the Australian Privacy Principles (APPs).

This Privacy Policy applies to personal information collected by us and explains how we collect, use, disclose and handle it as well as your rights to access and correct your personal information and make a complaint for any breach of the APPs.

What is Personal Information?

The Privacy Act defines personal information to mean:

“information or an opinion about an identified individual, or an individual who is reasonably identifiable, whether the information or opinion is true or not and whether recorded in a material form or not.”

What is Sensitive Information?

“Sensitive information” is a subset of personal information and means:

“information or opinion about an individual’s racial or ethnic origin, political opinions, membership of a political organisation, religious beliefs or affiliations, philosophical beliefs, membership of a professional or trade association, membership of a trade union, sexual orientation or practices, criminal record, health information about an individual, genetic information, biometric information or templates.”

What kinds of personal information do we collect and hold?

The kinds of personal information we collect and hold vary depending on the services we are providing, but generally can include:

  • Your contact information such as full name (first and last), e-mail address, current postal address, delivery address (if different to postal address) and phone numbers;
  • Details relating to your employment (if applicable) or your previous employment;
  • Your date of birth
  • Purchase history;
  • Other information specific to our products or services such as your opinions, statements and endorsements collected personally or via surveys and questionnaires, including but not limited to your views on the products and services offered by Focused Expeditions Pty Ltd; and
  • If you are requesting products or services from us, we will collect any relevant payment or billing information, (including but not limited to bank account details, direct debit, credit card details, billing address, premium funding and installment information.

The type of sensitive information we may collect generally includes:

  • health information; and
  • membership of a professional or trade association.

How do we collect and hold personal information?

We only collect personal information by lawful and fair means and where it is reasonably necessary for, or directly related to, one or more of our functions or activities.

Unless it is unreasonable or impracticable for us to do so, or as provided otherwise under this Privacy Policy, we will collect your information directly from you or your agents.

If we collect details about you from someone else, we will, take reasonable steps to make you aware of the collection in accordance with the APPs.

We may obtain personal information indirectly and who it is from can depend on the circumstances. We will usually obtain it from another customer if they engage with us or who we enter into business alliances with.

We attempt to limit the collection and use of sensitive information from you unless we are required to do so in order to carry out the services provided to you. However, we do not collect sensitive information without your consent.

We hold the personal information we collect within our own data storage devices or with a third party provider of data storage. We discuss the security of your personal information below.

If you are not satisfied with our response, you also have a right to have your complaint reviewed by  Office of the Australian Information Commissioner. (OAIC)

OAIC provides fair and independent financial services complaint resolution that is free to consumers.  OAIC will be able to consider complaints relating to a breach of obligations of the Privacy Act or Consumer Data Framework, providing the complaint falls within OAIC’s jurisdiction. We are bound by OAIC’s determinations once accepted by the complainant. You can contact OAIC by:

Online: www.oaic.gov.au

Email: info@oaic.org.au

Phone: 1300 363 992

Mail: Office of the Australian Information Commissioner GPO Box 5218 Sydney NSW 2001

If you would like further details of our Privacy Complaints Handling Procedure, please contact our Privacy Officer using the contact details listed above.

We recommend that you retain this information for future reference.

How to contact us and opt out rights.

If you wish to gain access to your personal information, want us to correct or update it, have a complaint about a breach of your privacy, wish to withhold your consent (opt out) of providing consent to any of the uses of your information including receiving offers of products or services from us, or have any other query relating to our Privacy Policy, contact our Privacy Officer during business hours on:

Privacy Officer

Focused Expeditions Pty Ltd

144 South Tce Adelaide 5000

Telephone: 0427406530

Email: info@focusedexpeditions.com

We welcome your questions and comments about privacy.

This Privacy Policy is current from 1 September 2020. In the event that this Privacy Policy or any part thereof is amended or modified in the future, the revised version will be available by contacting our office or on our website.