Terms of Service

These Terms of Service ("Terms") govern your access to and use of the website, patient platform and healthcare services provided by The Botanist Health Pty Ltd (ABN 93 686 795 620, ACN 686 795 620) ("The Botanist", "we", "us" or "our").

By accessing our website, creating an account, booking a consultation or using our services, you agree to these Terms. Please read them carefully before using The Botanist.

1. About The Botanist

The Botanist is an Australian telehealth service that connects patients with Australian-registered healthcare practitioners. Our services may include alternative treatment consultations, general telehealth consultations, sexual health consultations, medical certificates, prescriptions where clinically appropriate, referrals and pathology requests, follow-up consultations, treatment reviews, patient support, and access to our online patient platform. The availability and scope of individual services may change from time to time. Healthcare services are provided by appropriately qualified and registered healthcare practitioners.

2. These Terms Do Not Replace Medical Advice

Information available on The Botanist website, patient platform, emails, educational materials, FAQs or other general communications is provided for general information only. It is not a substitute for medical advice, diagnosis or treatment from a qualified healthcare professional. Medical advice specific to you is provided only as part of an appropriate clinical interaction with a healthcare practitioner. You should not disregard professional medical advice or delay seeking medical care because of information available through our website or platform.

3. Not an Emergency Service

The Botanist is not an emergency medical service and should not be used for medical emergencies. If you believe you are experiencing a medical emergency, serious adverse reaction or life-threatening condition, call 000 or attend your nearest emergency department. For non-emergency health advice outside your consultation, you may also contact Healthdirect on 1800 022 222. Do not wait for a response from The Botanist where urgent medical attention may be required.

4. Telehealth

Our consultations are generally provided remotely by telephone, video or another approved telehealth method. Telehealth has limitations and may not be appropriate for every medical condition or every patient. During or before a consultation, a practitioner may determine that an in-person examination is required, further medical information is required, pathology or other investigations are required, another healthcare provider should be involved, the consultation should be postponed, or telehealth is not clinically appropriate for your circumstances. Where this occurs, the practitioner may recommend that you attend a GP, specialist, hospital, pathology provider or another healthcare service. A practitioner is not required to provide treatment through telehealth where they believe doing so would be inappropriate or unsafe.

5. Clinical Independence

Clinical decisions are made independently by the healthcare practitioner responsible for your care. The Botanist does not require or direct practitioners to prescribe a particular medicine, issue a medical certificate, make a particular diagnosis or recommend a particular treatment. Practitioners are required to exercise their professional judgement and comply with their legal, ethical and professional obligations. Commercial considerations must not override clinical judgement. This means your practitioner may decide that the treatment or service you requested is not appropriate for you.

6. No Guaranteed Prescription or Treatment

Booking and paying for a consultation gives you access to a clinical assessment. It does not guarantee a prescription, a particular medication, a particular dosage, access to an alternative treatment, a medical certificate, a referral, a pathology request, a particular diagnosis, or any particular treatment outcome. Any treatment, prescription, certificate, referral or other clinical decision will only be provided where the treating practitioner considers it clinically appropriate and legally permissible. A consultation fee remains payable where a genuine clinical consultation has been provided, even if the practitioner determines that no prescription, certificate or treatment should be provided. Nothing in this section limits your rights under the Australian Consumer Law.

7. Prescription Medicines

Where a practitioner determines that medication is clinically appropriate, they may issue a prescription in accordance with applicable Australian laws, professional standards and prescribing requirements. Some medicines may be subject to additional Commonwealth, State or Territory requirements. Depending on the medicine and your circumstances, your practitioner may need to review your medical history, verify your identity, review current or previous medications, check prescription monitoring systems, obtain additional clinical information, consider other treating practitioners, obtain or rely on regulatory approvals, request follow-up consultations, or decline to prescribe. You acknowledge that the final decision about whether to prescribe a medicine rests with the treating practitioner. Where a therapeutic good is not included on the Australian Register of Therapeutic Goods, access may also be subject to applicable Therapeutic Goods Administration pathways and requirements.

8. Your Responsibilities When Using Prescription Medicines

You must use any medication prescribed through The Botanist only in accordance with the instructions provided by your practitioner, pharmacist and the medicine's applicable directions. You must not provide your prescribed medication to another person, sell or transfer prescribed medication, alter or falsify a prescription, attempt to obtain duplicate prescriptions improperly, deliberately withhold information about other medications or prescribers, or use medication in a way that is inconsistent with your practitioner's instructions. You are responsible for complying with applicable laws concerning possession, use, storage, travel, driving and workplace requirements relating to your medication. Being legally prescribed a medicine does not necessarily mean that every activity involving that medicine, including driving, is lawful. If you are uncertain about the effects of a medication or your legal obligations, speak with your practitioner or pharmacist before using it.

9. Pharmacies and Dispensing

The Botanist may facilitate the transmission of prescriptions or information to a pharmacy selected by you or available through our platform. Unless expressly stated otherwise, the pharmacy is a separate healthcare provider and is responsible for dispensing medication. The dispensing pharmacist retains independent professional responsibility for determining whether a prescription can lawfully and appropriately be dispensed. Medication prices, dispensing fees, availability, delivery times and stock levels may be determined by the relevant pharmacy and may be separate from The Botanist's consultation fees. We cannot guarantee that a particular pharmacy will have a medicine in stock, that a pharmacy will dispense a prescription, that a particular brand or product will be available, that a particular price will apply, or that delivery will occur within a particular period.

10. Medical Certificates

Medical certificates are issued only where a practitioner considers that issuing one is clinically appropriate. Booking a medical certificate consultation does not guarantee that a certificate will be issued. A practitioner may request additional information or determine that an in-person assessment is required. The Botanist does not guarantee that a particular employer, educational institution, insurer or other third party will accept a certificate.

11. Referrals, Pathology and Other Clinical Documents

Practitioners may issue referrals, pathology requests or other clinical documents where clinically appropriate. The receiving healthcare provider remains responsible for determining whether they can accept and act upon that document. Fees charged by pathology providers, specialists, pharmacies or other external healthcare providers are separate from The Botanist's consultation fees unless expressly stated otherwise.

12. Providing Accurate Information

Safe healthcare depends on accurate information. You agree to provide complete and truthful information about matters relevant to your care, including where requested your identity, date of birth, current location, symptoms, medical history, allergies, current and previous medications, previous treatments, existing medical conditions, pregnancy or breastfeeding status where relevant, other healthcare practitioners involved in your care, and any other information reasonably requested by your practitioner. You must tell your practitioner if information previously provided has changed. The Botanist and its practitioners are entitled to rely on information you provide when delivering healthcare services. Providing false, incomplete or misleading health information may make it unsafe for a practitioner to provide treatment.

13. Identity Verification

We may require you to verify your identity before accessing certain services, prescriptions, health records or other features of the platform. You must not create an account using another person's identity or allow another person to impersonate you during a consultation. Additional identity verification may be required for particular healthcare services or medicines.

14. Accounts

You are responsible for maintaining the confidentiality and security of your account. You must provide accurate registration information, maintain control of your login credentials, use reasonable measures to protect your account, notify us if you believe your account has been compromised, and not allow another person to use your account to obtain healthcare in their name. We may temporarily restrict access to an account where reasonably necessary to protect patient safety, privacy, security or the integrity of the platform.

15. Age and Capacity

Unless we expressly provide otherwise for a particular service, you must be at least 18 years old and have capacity to consent to healthcare services to create and independently use a patient account. Where services are made available to a person under 18, additional consent, identity and clinical requirements may apply, including involvement of a parent or legal guardian where required. A practitioner may decline to provide a particular service where appropriate consent cannot be established.

16. Consultation Environment

You should participate in a telehealth consultation from a location where you can communicate safely and privately with your practitioner. You should tell your practitioner if another person is present during your consultation. You must not record a consultation without the knowledge and consent of everyone participating and otherwise complying with applicable law. You are responsible for having reasonable access to a suitable telephone, internet connection or other technology required for your consultation.

17. Fees

Current consultation fees are displayed on our website or during the booking process. All prices are in Australian dollars unless otherwise stated. Fees may vary depending on the service selected and may change from time to time. The price displayed when you confirm your booking will ordinarily be the price applicable to that consultation. Any taxes, including GST, will be handled as required by Australian law. Fees charged by external providers, including pharmacies, pathology providers, specialists and other healthcare services, are not included unless expressly stated.

18. Payment

Payment may be required when booking your consultation. By providing payment details, you authorise us or our payment provider to process the applicable charge. You warrant that you are authorised to use the payment method provided. If a payment is declined or subsequently reversed, we may require payment before providing further non-urgent services.

19. Cancellations, Rescheduling and Missed Appointments

You may cancel or reschedule an appointment in accordance with the cancellation arrangements shown during the booking process or otherwise communicated to you. Where you fail to attend a scheduled appointment or cancel with insufficient notice, some or all of the consultation fee may be retained where this was disclosed to you before booking. If The Botanist or your practitioner needs to cancel a consultation, we will ordinarily offer to reschedule the consultation or provide an appropriate refund where the consultation cannot be provided. If a consultation has already been substantially or fully provided, you will not ordinarily be entitled to a refund solely because you were not prescribed medication, the practitioner recommended a different treatment than the one you expected, a medical certificate was not issued, or you were found unsuitable for a particular treatment. Your rights under the Australian Consumer Law continue to apply.

20. 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. Our services come with guarantees that cannot be excluded under the Australian Consumer Law. Where the Australian Consumer Law entitles you to a remedy, these Terms do not limit that entitlement.

21. Privacy and Health Information

The Botanist handles personal and health information in accordance with applicable Australian privacy and health information laws and our Privacy Policy. Healthcare requires the collection and use of sensitive health information. Depending on your care, information may need to be made available to or exchanged with your treating practitioner, other authorised healthcare practitioners, pharmacies, pathology providers, specialists, hospitals, technology providers involved in delivering the service, relevant government health systems, prescription monitoring systems, or other parties where authorised or required by law. More information about how we collect, use, store and disclose personal and health information is contained in our Privacy Policy. By using our services, you acknowledge that health information will be handled as reasonably necessary to provide healthcare and operate our services, subject to applicable privacy laws and consent requirements.

22. Health Records

Clinical records may be created and maintained in connection with consultations provided through The Botanist. These records may include consultation notes, medical history, prescriptions, pathology information, referrals, treatment plans, correspondence, medical certificates, and other clinically relevant information. Records must be retained and managed in accordance with applicable legal, professional and clinical obligations. Your ability to access or request correction of your personal information is governed by applicable law and our Privacy Policy.

23. Communications

By creating an account or booking a service, you agree that we may send service-related communications reasonably necessary to manage your healthcare or account. These may include appointment confirmations, reminders, practitioner communications, prescription notifications, patient portal notifications, security alerts, payment information, and important changes affecting our services. Marketing communications are handled separately and, where required, will be sent only in accordance with applicable marketing and privacy laws.

24. Third-Party Services

The Botanist may use or integrate with third-party services to provide functionality such as payments, telehealth, electronic prescribing, patient records, identity verification, pathology, pharmacy services, notifications, and technical infrastructure. Some third-party services may have their own terms and privacy policies. While we take reasonable steps when selecting service providers, we are not responsible for matters outside our reasonable control, including failures or interruptions caused solely by independent third-party services. Nothing in this section excludes any responsibility we have under applicable law.

25. Website and Platform Availability

We aim to keep our website and patient platform available and secure, but we do not guarantee uninterrupted or error-free operation. Services may occasionally be unavailable because of maintenance, technical faults, telecommunications failures, cybersecurity incidents, third-party outages, or circumstances beyond our reasonable control. Where a technical problem materially affects a scheduled clinical consultation, we or the practitioner may attempt to continue the consultation using another appropriate method or reschedule it.

26. Acceptable Use

You must not use The Botanist website or platform unlawfully, fraudulently, to impersonate another person, to obtain healthcare or medication through deception, to interfere with the security of the platform, to access another patient's information, to distribute malicious software, to scrape or systematically extract protected information, to threaten or abuse practitioners, staff or other users, or in any way that could compromise patient safety or the lawful operation of our healthcare service.

27. Suspension or Termination

We may restrict, suspend or terminate access to our platform where reasonably necessary because of unlawful activity, fraud or suspected fraud, misuse of prescriptions, serious or repeated breaches of these Terms, abusive or threatening conduct, cybersecurity or privacy risks, misuse of another person's identity, or risks to patient, practitioner or staff safety. Where appropriate, clinical continuity and patient safety will be considered before access to healthcare services is terminated. Termination of access to the platform does not alter a healthcare practitioner's professional obligations concerning patient records, clinical handover or continuity of care where those obligations apply.

28. Intellectual Property

Unless otherwise stated, the content and materials available through The Botanist website and platform, including our branding, text, graphics, software, designs and educational materials, are owned by or licensed to The Botanist. You may use these materials for your personal, non-commercial use. You must not reproduce, commercially exploit, modify or distribute our intellectual property without our permission except where permitted by law. Your personal health records and rights concerning your personal information are not affected by this section.

29. Links to Other Websites

Our website or platform may contain links to third-party websites. Links are provided for convenience and do not necessarily constitute endorsement of the third party or its products or services. We are not responsible for the content, security or privacy practices of third-party websites outside our control.

30. Limitation of Liability

To the maximum extent permitted by law, The Botanist is not liable for loss arising solely from information you provide that is materially inaccurate, incomplete or misleading, your failure to follow clinical advice or medication directions, misuse of prescribed medication, services independently provided by third-party pharmacies or other healthcare providers, events outside our reasonable control, or use of the website contrary to these Terms. Nothing in these Terms excludes or limits liability where it would be unlawful to do so, including rights and remedies that cannot be excluded under the Australian Consumer Law. Nothing in these Terms limits the independent professional responsibilities or legal obligations of a treating healthcare practitioner.

31. Changes to Our Services

We may change, add, suspend or discontinue features or services available through The Botanist. Where a change materially affects a service you have already purchased, we will take reasonable steps to ensure the service is provided as agreed or an appropriate alternative or remedy is offered.

32. Changes to These Terms

We may update these Terms from time to time to reflect changes in our services, technology, clinical practices, regulatory requirements, or applicable laws. The latest version will be published on our website with the date it was last updated. Material changes will apply prospectively unless applicable law requires otherwise. Your continued use of The Botanist after updated Terms take effect constitutes acceptance of those updated Terms.

33. Complaints and Feedback

If you have a concern about The Botanist's service, we encourage you to contact us using the contact details published on our website so that we can investigate it. Clinical complaints may also be subject to applicable healthcare complaints processes and professional regulatory requirements. Privacy complaints will be handled in accordance with our Privacy Policy and applicable privacy law. Nothing in these Terms prevents you from contacting an appropriate regulator, consumer protection authority or healthcare complaints body.

34. Severability

If any provision of these Terms is found to be invalid, unlawful or unenforceable, that provision will be read down or removed to the minimum extent necessary. The remaining provisions will continue to apply.

35. Governing Law

These Terms are governed by the laws of New South Wales, Australia, together with applicable Commonwealth laws. You and The Botanist submit to the jurisdiction of the courts and tribunals having jurisdiction in New South Wales, subject to any rights you may have under applicable consumer legislation.

36. Contact

These Terms are issued by The Botanist Health Pty Ltd ABN 93 686 795 620, ACN 686 795 620, Australia. For questions, complaints or other enquiries, please contact The Botanist using the contact details published on our website at botanist.healthcare.