Life After Labour – Terms & Conditions

Life After Labour provides professional newborn and family support services, which may include:

• Newborn care and overnight maternity support
• Night nanny services
• Daytime newborn and postpartum support
• 24-hour and live-in newborn care
• Multiple-baby support
• Infant and child sleep consultations
• In-home sleep support
• Remote consultations and follow-up support
• Feeding, settling, routine and newborn-care guidance
• Travel and destination newborn care
• Other services agreed in writing with the Client

The particular services, dates, hours, location and fees applicable to your booking will be confirmed separately in writing.

Life After Labour provides practical newborn care, education, support and sleep guidance based on professional experience, training and current evidence.

Our services do not replace medical care or advice from a GP, paediatrician, midwife, child and family health nurse, lactation consultant or other appropriately qualified healthcare professional.

Where we believe a baby or parent requires medical assessment or specialist assistance, we may recommend that the Client seek appropriate professional advice before services continue.

Clients agree to:

• provide accurate and complete information relevant to the care of their baby or child;
• disclose known medical conditions, medications, allergies, feeding difficulties or other relevant health information;
• advise us promptly of any significant change in the baby’s or child’s health;
• provide a reasonably safe working environment;
• provide the equipment and supplies reasonably required to care for their baby;
• advise us of relevant household requirements, security arrangements and emergency contacts; and
• disclose infectious illness within the household before a scheduled service.

For overnight or extended care, a suitable and comfortable place to rest must be provided during periods when the baby is sleeping. Where awake overnight care has been specifically booked and agreed, a comfortable place to sit must be provided for the duration of the shift.

Life After Labour follows recognised safe-sleep principles and encourages families to follow current Australian safe-sleep recommendations.

Where a Client requests a sleeping arrangement or practice that we reasonably consider unsafe, we reserve the right to decline to implement that practice.

Parents and legal guardians retain ultimate responsibility for decisions regarding their child’s care.

A booking is considered confirmed once:

• the dates, hours and rate have been agreed in writing; and
• any required deposit has been received.

Written confirmation may include email, electronic booking confirmation or another written communication agreed between the parties.

Dates cannot be guaranteed until any required deposit has been received.

For bookings extending for more than seven consecutive days or nights, a 25% booking deposit is required to secure the booking.

The deposit is calculated on the estimated total value of the confirmed booking.

The deposit:

• reserves the agreed dates exclusively for the Client;
• forms part of the total price of the booking;
• will ordinarily be held throughout the engagement; and
• will be credited against the final invoice for the booking.

The booking is not secured until the deposit has been received.

By accepting an extended booking, Life After Labour reserves the agreed period specifically for the Client. This may require Life After Labour to decline other enquiries, contracts and work that overlap with all or part of the confirmed booking period.

We understand that circumstances involving pregnancy, birth and newborn babies can change unexpectedly. At the same time, confirmed bookings reserve professional availability that may prevent Life After Labour from accepting other clients.

For this reason, the following cancellation policy applies.

Individual Shifts, Consultations and Bookings of Seven Days or Less

Where the Client cancels:

• More than 72 hours before the scheduled service: no cancellation fee.
• Between 72 and 48 hours before the scheduled service: 25% of the booked service fee.
• Between 48 and 24 hours before the scheduled service: 50% of the booked service fee.
• Less than 24 hours before the scheduled service: 100% of the booked service fee.
• No-show or cancellation after the scheduled commencement time: 100% of the booked service fee.

Extended Bookings – Cancellation Before Services Commence

Extended bookings involve reserving significant blocks of availability and may require Life After Labour to decline other work for the duration of the booking.

If an extended booking is cancelled before services commence:

• More than 28 days before commencement: the deposit will be refunded less reasonable administrative costs and any non-refundable expenses already incurred specifically for the booking.
• 14–28 days before commencement: the 25% booking deposit will be retained as the cancellation fee.
• 7–13 days before commencement: 50% of the value of the first four weeks of the confirmed booking, or the remaining booking if shorter, will be payable.
• Less than 7 days before commencement: 75% of the value of the first four weeks of the confirmed booking, or the remaining booking if shorter, will be payable.

Any deposit already paid will be credited towards the applicable cancellation amount and is not an additional charge.

Early Termination After an Extended Booking Has Commenced

Extended bookings require Life After Labour to reserve substantial periods of availability specifically for the Client. In accepting an extended booking, Life After Labour may decline other enquiries and contracts that overlap with the confirmed booking period. Due to the specialist nature of newborn, overnight and maternity care, it may not be possible to replace a cancelled extended booking at short notice.

Once an extended booking has commenced, the Client is committing to the full agreed booking period and contracted booking fee.

If the Client chooses to cancel, terminate, substantially reduce or otherwise discontinue the booking before the agreed end date, the remaining balance of the full contracted booking fee will remain payable, whether or not the Client chooses to use the remaining booked services.

Any deposit already paid will be applied towards the total contracted booking fee and will not be charged in addition to it.

Exceptional Circumstances

Where Life After Labour agrees that genuinely exceptional circumstances prevent the Client from continuing the booking, the cancellation amount may be reduced to 50% of the total value of the original confirmed booking.

Any amounts already paid, including the 25% booking deposit and fees for services already provided, will be credited towards that amount.

Exceptional circumstances will be considered individually and may include serious or unforeseen circumstances that make continuation of the booking impracticable.

A change of mind, change in personal preference, change in household arrangements, decision that services are no longer required, reduction in the number of nights or hours required, or engaging an alternative provider will not ordinarily constitute exceptional circumstances.

Misconduct or Failure to Provide Services

The above early termination charges will not apply where the Client is entitled to terminate the agreement because of serious misconduct by Life After Labour, a material failure to provide the agreed services, or where the Client otherwise has a right to cancel or obtain a remedy under Australian Consumer Law.

Nothing in this clause limits any rights or remedies that cannot lawfully be excluded.

Once an ongoing booking has commenced, the agreed shifts, nights, days and hours form part of the confirmed booking.

A reduction in the number of booked nights, days, shifts or hours may constitute a partial cancellation of the booking.

Where an extended booking has already commenced, a substantial reduction in the agreed booking may be treated as early termination or partial termination under Section 7.

Additional shifts or hours are subject to availability and will be charged at the agreed applicable rate.

Where possible, we will try to accommodate reasonable requests to reschedule.

Rescheduling is subject to availability and cannot be guaranteed.

Where sufficient notice is provided, we may choose to transfer an amount paid to alternative dates rather than applying a cancellation fee.

Any decision by Life After Labour to waive, reduce or vary a cancellation fee in exceptional circumstances is discretionary and does not constitute a waiver of these Terms or establish a precedent for future bookings.

We recognise that babies do not always arrive according to schedule.

Where a booking is dependent upon a baby’s expected birth date, commencement dates may be identified as approximate and adjusted by mutual agreement where reasonably possible.

We will make reasonable efforts to accommodate changes resulting from an earlier or later birth. However, availability outside the originally reserved booking period cannot be guaranteed.

Where possible, specific arrangements concerning expected due dates, inductions, planned caesareans, premature births or surrogacy arrangements should be recorded in the Booking Confirmation.

Clients must advise Life After Labour as soon as reasonably possible if the baby, child or another household member develops a significant infectious illness.

Depending on the circumstances, services may proceed, be modified or be rescheduled.

Life After Labour may decline to attend or may leave a booking where continuing to provide services would create an unreasonable health or safety risk.

Where cancellation is genuinely required because of significant illness or hospitalisation, the circumstances may be considered under the exceptional circumstances provisions of these Terms where applicable.

Sleep consultations and sleep plans are educational and advisory services.

Clients remain responsible for deciding whether to implement recommendations.

Clients must disclose relevant medical conditions and should seek medical advice where there are concerns about their child’s health, development, feeding, growth or suitability for sleep training.

Individual results cannot be guaranteed. A child’s response to sleep strategies may be affected by age, temperament, development, illness, feeding, environment, parental consistency and other factors outside our control.

Any personalised sleep plan, written recommendation or educational resource supplied by Life After Labour is prepared for the individual Client and their child and must not be copied, published, sold or distributed to third parties without permission.

Fees will be communicated before the booking is confirmed.

Unless otherwise agreed:

• invoices are payable by the due date stated on the invoice;
• additional hours requested or worked will be invoiced at the applicable agreed rate;
• reasonable pre-approved expenses incurred on behalf of the Client will be reimbursed by the Client; and
• travel, accommodation or other costs associated with interstate or international engagements will be agreed separately.

Failure to pay an invoice by its due date may result in suspension of future services until the account is brought up to date.

For interstate or international bookings, the Client may be responsible for agreed travel-related costs including flights, accommodation, ground transport, visas or entry requirements and other reasonable expenses.

Any non-refundable travel expenses incurred specifically for a confirmed booking remain payable if the Client cancels, except where otherwise required by law.

Specific travel arrangements should be documented in the relevant Booking Confirmation.

Information provided by families is treated confidentially and used for the purpose of providing services, communicating with the Client and meeting legitimate business, insurance and legal requirements.

We will not publish identifying photographs, personal information or details about a family for promotional purposes without appropriate consent.

Clients are also asked to respect the privacy and personal information of Life After Labour and any practitioner providing services.

Clients must advise us before making audio or video recordings specifically intended to record consultations, conversations or interactions with Life After Labour.

Photographs, recordings, written plans, messages and other materials supplied by Life After Labour may not be reproduced or used commercially without permission.

Life After Labour reserves the right to immediately suspend or cease services where there is a reasonable concern regarding:

• personal safety;
• threatening, abusive or inappropriate behaviour;
• harassment;
• illegal activity;
• serious undisclosed health or safety risks; or
• a working environment that cannot reasonably be made safe.

Any payment consequences will be determined having regard to the circumstances and applicable Australian law.

Neither party will be treated as having breached these Terms where services cannot reasonably proceed because of circumstances outside their reasonable control, including natural disasters, government restrictions, serious illness, hospitalisation, significant transport disruption or similar events.

Where this occurs, both parties will make reasonable efforts to reschedule the affected services.

Where rescheduling is not reasonably possible, payments and refunds will be determined having regard to services already provided, expenses already reasonably incurred and applicable 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.

Where Australian Consumer Law gives the Client a right to cancel a service or receive a refund or other remedy, those rights prevail over any inconsistent provision of these Terms.

These Terms are governed by the laws of New South Wales, Australia, and the parties submit to the jurisdiction of the courts and tribunals of New South Wales.

By confirming a booking, paying a required deposit or invoice, or proceeding with services after receiving these Terms, the Client confirms that they have read, understood and accepted these Terms & Conditions.