ACEL Professional Website & Community Platform Terms and Conditions of Use

Last updated: 14 April 2026

These Terms and Conditions ("Terms") form a contract between you and the Australian Council for Educational Leaders (ACEL) ("ACEL", "we", "us", "our"). By accessing, browsing, registering for, subscribing to, or using any part of our website, member portal, or community platform ("Our Website"), you agree to be bound by these Terms. If you do not agree, you must stop using Our Website immediately.

1. Definitions

Content: means any textual, visual or aural content encountered as part of your experience on Our Website, including text, images, sounds, videos, animations and any content you Post.

Community Areas: means forums, discussion boards, comment sections, member groups, messaging functions, and any other areas where members can Post or interact.

Intellectual Property: means intellectual property owned by ACEL (registered or unregistered), including trademarks, designs, copyrights, software, domain names, discoveries, creations and inventions, and all rights derived from them.

Our Website: means any website or service designed for electronic access by mobile or fixed devices which is owned or operated by ACEL and includes all web pages controlled by ACEL.

Post: means to place on or into Our Website any Content or material of any sort by any means, including comments, replies, uploads, links, or messages.

Services: means all services available through Our Website, whether free or paid, including membership access and Community Areas.

Visitor: means any person who visits or uses Our Website, whether or not registered or subscribed.

2. Interpretation

In these Terms, unless the context requires otherwise: (a) references to a person include an individual and any legal entity; (b) headings are for convenience only and do not affect interpretation; (c) "may not" means "must not"; (d) references to law include any replacement or substantially similar law; and (e) these Terms are made only in English.

3. Basis of Contract and Changes to These Terms

We provide the Services described on Our Website subject to these Terms. We may change these Terms or the way we provide the Services at any time. Changes take effect when posted on Our Website. Your continued use of Our Website after changes are posted constitutes acceptance of the updated Terms.

4. Your Account and Personal Information

If you create an account or access member-only areas, you agree to provide accurate, current and complete information and to update it when it changes. You are responsible for all activity conducted through your account and for keeping your password confidential. You must notify us immediately if you suspect unauthorised use of your account.

5. Membership and Access

Some Services are available only to members or subscribers. Membership fees, benefits, renewal arrangements and any additional terms are set out on Our Website and may change from time to time. We may suspend or terminate membership access where necessary to protect ACEL, other members, or the integrity of the platform.

6. How We Handle Your Content

Our Privacy Policy explains how we handle personal information and is incorporated into these Terms by reference. If you Post Content in Community Areas, it becomes available to other members of the ACEL community. Even where access is behind registration, Content may effectively become public because other members can view, copy, or share it. You should avoid Posting unnecessary confidential information.

You grant ACEL a worldwide, non-exclusive, royalty-free licence to host, reproduce, display, adapt, edit, translate, publish and distribute Content you Post for the purposes of operating, promoting, improving, and protecting Our Website and Services. You warrant you have authority to grant this licence.

Posting Content does not change your ownership of copyright. However, you are personally responsible for any breach of law, defamation, misuse of education data, or infringement of intellectual property that arises from your Content.

7. Community Standards and Professional Conduct

ACEL exists to support and elevate educational leadership and the education profession. By participating in Community Areas you agree to contribute in a manner consistent with ACEL's mission and values.

You must not Post Content that is reasonably likely to: (a) undermine confidence in the education profession through unsubstantiated or misleading claims; (b) disparage or denigrate schools, teachers, leaders, students, communities, or education systems; (c) misuse, misrepresent, or cherry-pick education data (including school performance data) to shame, ridicule, or unfairly target schools, staff, or communities; or (d) encourage hostility or contempt toward educators or schooling.

Constructive critique and evidence-informed discussion are welcome. However, posts must be respectful, accurate, and aimed at professional learning and improvement.

8. Community Rules and Etiquette

Thank you for being part of our community. To ensure the best possible experience for all members, we have established these guidelines for participation. Please take a moment to acquaint yourself with these important guidelines.

The Rules

• Respect others. Focus on the content of posts and not on the people making them. Please extend the benefit of the doubt to newer guests and members; there's no such thing as a stupid question.

• Respect the purpose of the community. Use the community to share successes, challenges, constructive feedback, questions, and goals instead of products or services that you provide. If you've found a product or service helpful, please share your experience with the group in a respectful way.

• Use caution when discussing products. Information posted on the discussion groups and in the libraries is available for all to see, and comments are subject to libel, slander, and antitrust laws.

• All defamatory, abusive, profane, threatening, offensive, or illegal materials are strictly prohibited. Do not post anything that you would not want the world to see or that you would not want anyone to know came from you.

• Respect intellectual property. Post content that you have personally created or have permission to use and have properly attributed to the content creator.

• When posting items in our collaborative environment, please indicate if the item is not available for reuse. It's also advisable to contact the owner of any material if you would like to reuse it.

• Post your message or documents only to the most appropriate communities. This helps ensure all messages receive the best response by eliminating "noise."

Discussion Group Etiquette

• State concisely and clearly the topic of your comments in the subject line. This allows members to respond more appropriately to your posting and makes it easier for members to search the archives by subject.

• Send messages such as "thanks for the information" or "me, too" to individuals, not to the entire list.

• Do not send administrative messages, such as "remove me from the list," to the group. Instead, use the web interface to change your settings or to remove yourself from a list.

9. Restrictions on What You May Post

You agree you will not use Our Website to Post Content or undertake any activity which is or may be unlawful, obscene, offensive, threatening, violent, malicious, defamatory, discriminatory, or otherwise harmful.

Without limitation, you must not Post Content that: (a) makes unverified allegations about individuals, schools, organisations, or groups; (b) contains hate speech, bullying, harassment, intimidation, or targeted abuse; (c) misrepresents your identity, age, credentials, or affiliation; (d) requests or collects passwords or personal information without permission; (e) is used to sell goods or services or for unauthorised commercial purposes; (f) includes material you do not have the right to use (including copyrighted works); (g) contains misleading, inaccurate, or false information; (h) posts excessive or repeated off-topic messages; or (i) sends age-inappropriate communications to anyone under 18.

10. Anti-Trust and Competition Law Compliance

Messages should not be posted if they encourage or facilitate members to arrive at any agreement that either expressly or impliedly leads to price fixing, a boycott of another's business, or other conduct intended to illegally restrict free trade.

Messages that encourage or facilitate an agreement about the following subjects are inappropriate: prices, discounts, or terms or conditions of sale; salaries; profits, profit margins, or cost data; market shares, sales territories, or markets; allocation of customers or territories; or selection, rejection, or termination of customers or suppliers.

11. Moderation, Quarantining and Removal of Content

We do not undertake to moderate or check every item Posted. However, we protect ACEL, our members, and our staff vigorously. ACEL may, at any time and at its sole discretion, pre-moderate or post-moderate Content, edit it, quarantine it (temporarily hide it from view), restrict access to it, remove it, or close discussions.

Moderation may occur without notice and without providing reasons. Moderation decisions are final. If we believe Content breaches the law, we may cooperate with law enforcement or other proper authorities.

ACEL does not actively monitor the site for inappropriate postings and does not on its own undertake editorial control of postings. However, in the event that any inappropriate posting is brought to the attention of ACEL we will take all appropriate action.

12. Complaints and Reporting

If you are concerned by Content, you may submit a complaint using the process provided on Our Website or by email. We may remove Content as soon as reasonably able and investigate to the extent we decide. We may reinstate the Content or not.

If a complaint is frivolous or vexatious, you agree to reimburse ACEL for reasonable investigation and legal costs incurred.

13. Security of Our Website

You must not interfere with Our Website or attempt unauthorised access. You agree you will not modify, copy, damage, reverse engineer, scrape, or disrupt any portion of Our Website or any software used within it.

You must not share your login credentials with any third party. We may take legal action and suspend or terminate accounts for security breaches.

14. Storage of Data

We may set limits on message storage or retention. We are not liable for deletion, failure to store, or failure to deliver messages or Content. We maintain reasonable backups for our own purposes but do not warrant that your data will be saved.

15. Suspension and Termination

This agreement may terminate on expiry of membership or if you close your account. You may terminate at any time by following the process on Our Website. ACEL may suspend or terminate access immediately, with or without notice, for any reason, including breach of these Terms or where we consider your conduct poses legal, reputational, operational, or safety risks.

On termination: (a) your right to use the Services ceases immediately; (b) we have no obligation to forward messages; (c) refunds (if any) are handled in accordance with membership terms on Our Website and may be withheld where termination results from breach.

ACEL reserves the right to terminate access to any user who does not abide by these guidelines.

16. Intellectual Property

ACEL owns all Intellectual Property in Our Website and Services. You must not do anything that reduces the value of our Intellectual Property or challenges our ownership. You may not copy, modify, reproduce, or commercially exploit ACEL content except as permitted by these Terms or by written consent.

17. Disclaimers and Limitation of Liability

This site is provided as a service for the members of the Australian Council for Educational Leaders. ACEL is not responsible for the opinions and information posted on this site by others. We disclaim all warranties with regard to information posted on this site, whether posted by ACEL or any third party; this disclaimer includes all implied warranties of merchantability and fitness. In no event shall ACEL be liable for any special, indirect, or consequential damages or any damages whatsoever resulting from loss of use, data, or profits, arising out of or in connection with the use or performance of any information posted on this site.

Our Website and Services are provided "as is". To the extent permitted by law, ACEL excludes all implied conditions, warranties, and terms. We do not warrant that Our Website will be uninterrupted or error-free. We do not claim expert knowledge in any subject and disclaim liability for reliance on information from Our Website.

To the maximum extent permitted by law, ACEL is not liable for indirect or consequential loss, loss of profits, business, goodwill, or data. If ACEL is liable to you in any circumstances, our liability is limited to the amount you paid to ACEL in the preceding 12 months for the relevant Services, and in any event will not exceed AUD $1,000 (except where the law does not allow such limitation).

18. Indemnity

You agree to indemnify ACEL, including its directors, board members, officers, employees, moderators, volunteers, subcontractors, and agents, against all costs, claims, and expenses arising directly or indirectly from: (a) your breach of these Terms; (b) your unlawful or defamatory Content; (c) your misuse or misrepresentation of education data; (d) any infringement of intellectual property rights; or (e) any claim arising from your use of the Services.

By posting material, the posting party warrants and represents that he or she owns the copyright with respect to such material or has received permission from the copyright owner. In addition, the posting party grants ACEL and users of this site the nonexclusive right and license to display, copy, publish, distribute, transmit, print, and use such information or other material.

19. Disclosure and Cooperation with Authorities

You agree ACEL may disclose information about you (including IP address, account history, and Content) to judicial or proper legal authorities who make a written request, or where necessary to protect ACEL, our staff, moderators, members, or the public.

20. Privacy Policy

Any personal information you provide to us including and similar to your name, address, telephone number and email address will not be released, sold, or rented to any entities or individuals outside of our organisation except as noted below.

With Whom Do We Share Personal Information

Our Service Providers
We may share your personal information with companies (including our affiliates) that perform services on our behalf, for example, companies that help process credit card payments. Our service providers are required by contract to protect the confidentiality of the personal information we share with them and to use it only to provide specific services on our behalf.

Business Transfers
Your personal information may be transferred to another entity (either an affiliated entity or an unrelated third party) in connection with a merger, reorganisation, dissolution or similar corporate event. If such a transfer were ever to occur, the acquiring entity's use of your personal information will still be subject to this Privacy Policy.

Government and Legal Disclosures
We may disclose the personal information we collect through this Site, when we, in good faith, believe disclosure is appropriate to comply with the law (or a court order or subpoena); to prevent or investigate a possible crime, such as fraud or identity theft; to enforce our Terms and Conditions or other agreements that govern your use of this Site; or to protect the rights, property or safety of our company, our users, or others.

External Sites
We are not responsible for the content of external internet sites. You are advised to read the privacy policy of external sites before disclosing any personal information.

Cookies
A "cookie" is a small data text file that is placed in your browser and allows us to recognise you each time you visit this site (personalisation, etc). Cookies themselves do not contain any personal information, and we do not use cookies to collect personal information. Cookies may also be used by 3rd party content providers such as news-feeds.

Remember The Risks Whenever You Use The Internet
While we do our best to protect your personal information, we cannot guarantee the security of any information that you transmit to us and you are solely responsible for maintaining the secrecy of any passwords or other account information. In addition other Internet sites or services that may be accessible through our site have separate data and privacy practices independent of us, and therefore we disclaim any responsibility or liability for their policies or actions. Please contact those vendors and others directly if you have any questions about their privacy policies.

21. Dispute Resolution

If a dispute arises, the parties agree to attempt to resolve it in good faith through mediation before commencing arbitration or litigation, where allowed by law.

22. Miscellaneous

If any provision is held invalid or unenforceable, it will be read down to the minimum extent necessary and the remaining provisions will continue in effect. No delay in enforcing a right is a waiver. Obligations intended to continue after termination will continue.

23. Governing Law

These Terms are governed by the laws of the State or Territory specified on Our Website. You agree that disputes will be litigated only in that jurisdiction.

24. Contact

If you become aware of a breach of these Terms or have concerns about Content, please contact ACEL via the contact details listed on Our Website or use the Contact Us link on this site. For any other information please contact us using the Contact Us page.