Terms of Use

    Introduction

  1. 1) The Case Management System (CMS) is an online digital service run by Court Services Victoria (CSV) (‘we’, ‘us’, ‘our’), in support of the Magistrates’ Court of Victoria (MCV), the Children’s Court of Victoria (ChCV) and the Victims of Crime Assistance Tribunal (the Tribunal) (collectively, the Courts and Tribunal).
  2. 2) Our services (‘CMS’, ‘CMS Portal’, ‘eCourt’) enable users (‘you’, ‘your’) to electronically collect, store and process information and documentation for or related to court matters with the Courts and Tribunal.

    Acceptance of Agreement

  3. 3) By using the CMS, you indicate that you have read, understood and accepted these CMS Terms of Use (the Agreement), and you agree that you are bound by all the terms and conditions contained herein. You must accept this Agreement as a condition of your registration to CMS. You also agree that you have read the Privacy Statement applicable to the CMS Portal.
  4. 4) If you are a representative of an organisation, then you agree to the terms of the Agreement in your own right and on behalf of the organisation you represent. If you are an individual then the terms of the Agreement apply to you in your own right.
  5. 5) If you do not accept the terms and conditions of the Agreement, you must immediately stop using the CMS.

    Changes to the Agreement

  6. 6) Using reasonable discretion, we may revise all or any part of the Agreement from time to time.
  7. 7) In addition to these revisions, we may also, in our sole discretion, vary the functionality or operation of the CMS.
  8. 8) Revisions will not be retroactive and may be made to better reflect:
    1. a. Legislative changes;
    2. b. New regulatory requirements; and/or
    3. c. Improvements or enhancements made to our services.
  9. 9) By continuing to access or use our services after these revisions are communicated to you (which may be through the CMS Portal, by email or other electronic communication), you are taken to have read, understood and agreed to be bound by the revised terms of all or part of the Agreement from the date on which you first access or use our service after we have communicated the revisions to the Agreement to you.
  10. 10) The onus is on you to review revisions to the Agreement we send to you. There may be serious consequences for breaching the terms of the Agreement, including civil and criminal liability in some cases.
  11. 11) If you do not accept the revised terms of the Agreement, you must immediately stop using the CMS.

    Disclaimer

  12. 12) Except as provided by law, the services and the CMS are provided "as is" and without any warranties, express or implied, including, without limitation, as to their fitness for a particular purpose.
  13. 13) You acknowledge that the internet is subject to inherent security risks, and we do not take responsibility for abnormal operation, data loss, privacy breaches or other loss or damage resulting from cyber-attack, hacker attack, viruses, malware, trojan horses, worms, time bombs or other internet security risks. However, we will provide reasonable technical support if required. Technical Support for the CMS Portal is provided by emailing cms.support@courts.vic.gov.au.
  14. 14) The use of our services, including your use of the CMS, by you is at your own risk.
  15. 15) We do not warrant, guarantee or make any representation that:
    1. a. access to or use of the CMS by you or any user will be secure, continuous or timely;
    2. b. the CMS Portal or the servers that make the site available on the internet are free from software viruses;
    3. c. the functionality contained in the CMS Portal will operate uninterrupted or error-free; or
    4. d. errors and defects in the CMS Portal will be able to be corrected.
  16. 16) To the maximum extent permitted by law, we will not be liable to you for any special, consequential, incidental, direct or indirect damages, whether based on breach of contract, tort (including negligence), strict liability, product liability or otherwise, in connection with your use of our services. Such damages include, but are not limited to, damages for loss or denial of opportunity, loss of business revenue or profits, business interruption, loss of data, loss of use, corruption of systems or loss of documentation.
  17. 17) To the maximum extent permitted by law, you are responsible for all actions, liabilities, claims (including third party claims), loss, damages, proceedings, expenses (including, but not limited to, legal costs) suffered or incurred by us, or by any of the judges, magistrates, officers, judicial registrars or registrars, of the Courts and Tribunal, or by our employees, consultants, licensors, suppliers or agents, arising from, or which are directly or indirectly related to:
    1. a. your use of the CMS or other services made available by us to you;
    2. b. any breach or non-observance by you of the terms of the Agreement;
    3. c. a disclosure of confidential information; or
    4. d. a breach of the privacy obligations in the Agreement or any applicable privacy laws.
  18. 18) Our services may be accessed throughout Australia and overseas. We make no representation that the content of our services complies with the laws (including intellectual property laws) of any jurisdiction outside Victoria. If you access our services from outside Australia, you do so at your own risk and are responsible for ensuring compliance with all laws of the jurisdiction in which you are located.

    Compliance with Laws

  19. 19) You agree to use our services in compliance with all applicable laws, regulations and court rules of the State of Victoria, and any applicable court orders, and you are solely responsible for ensuring that your use conforms to such laws, regulations, rules and court orders.
  20. 20) You acknowledge and agree that you are responsible for complying with any applicable confidentiality or non-disclosure obligations and relevant laws relating to the collection, use and disclosure of information.
  21. 21) Information and documents in the CMS Portal, and downloaded from the CMS Portal, remain subject to prohibitions on publication. These include (and are not limited to) s 534 of the Children, Youth and Families Act 2005 (Vic), ss 166-169 of the Family Violence Protection Act 2008, ss 123-125A of the Personal Safety Intervention Orders Act 2010 (Vic), ss 3-4 of the Judicial Proceedings Reports Act 1958 and suppression orders made under the Open Courts Act 2013 (Vic). You must comply with all statutory provisions/applicable court orders when accessing and using any relevant materials.

    Intellectual Property Rights

  22. 22) The CMS and all of its data, contents, features and functionality (including but not limited to all information, software, text, displays, images, video, audio and the design, selection and arrangement thereof) are owned by us, the State of Victoria, our licensors or other providers of such material, and are consequently protected by relevant copyright laws.
  23. 23) You are granted a non-transferable, revocable licence to access our services in order to communicate with the Courts and Tribunal in accordance with these terms and conditions.
  24. 24) You shall not, under any circumstances, use our services in a manner that infringes upon the rights of another CMS Portal user, or any other individual, or third party, including, without limitation, rights of publicity, intellectual property rights, data protection and other privacy rights.
  25. 25) Any submission or upload to our services of any information, document or other material constitutes an agreement by you to warrant to us that you have the right to use and submit such information.
  26. 26) You are responsible for any loss or damage that arises from a claim concerning your use of any information, document or material accessed by you through the CMS and/or any other CMS related information, document or material which infringes any third party intellectual property or other rights.
  27. 27) The use of software, including bots, scraper tools and the like with a view to monitor, make unsolicited copies or inappropriately access the CMS Portal or its contents is strictly prohibited.

    CMS Copyright

  28. 28) You acknowledge and agree that, other than as specifically permitted by this Agreement, you obtain no rights with respect to:
    1. a. any images, photographs of branding on the CMS, including:
      1. i. the Victorian Coat of Arms;
      2. ii. the Victorian Government logo;
      3. iii. the Magistrates’ Court of Victoria logo;
      4. iv. the Children’s Court of Victoria logo;
      5. v. the Victims of Crime Assistance Tribunal logo; or
      6. vi. the Court Services Victoria logo; or
    2. b. content supplied by third parties, whose permission may be required if you wish to use that material.

    Downloadable Documents

  29. 29) We make available downloadable documents, on the conditions set out below. If you do not agree with these conditions, you should not download the material.
  30. 30) The following conditions apply to downloadable documents:
    1. a. downloadable material available on our services is provided on the basis that, upon downloading, you will conduct such virus scanning and other checks as may be necessary to ensure that the downloaded material will not in any way corrupt your data, software or systems or those of any other person;
    2. b. you acknowledge and agree that we will not be liable to you for any loss or damage, including consequential loss or damage however caused, whether by negligence or otherwise, that arises in any way from the use of the downloaded material; and
    3. c. If you provide the downloaded material to another party, then you should bring to the attention of that other party these conditions and only provide the downloaded material on the same conditions as those on which the original downloaded material was provided to you by us via the CMS.

    CMS Portal User Registration

  31. 31) Individuals, employees and officers of law firms, members of legal teams, sole practitioners and other employees and officers of organisations and agencies may use the CMS Portal in accordance with the terms of the Agreement.
  32. 32) You acknowledge and agree that you will be allocated a user type and your access to the CMS will be provided, and may be limited, accordingly.
  33. 33) You acknowledge and agree that we may request verification of your identity at any time in connection with your access to any part of the CMS Portal.
  34. 34) You consent to us using Victorian Legal Services Board data relating to:
    1. a. you, including your practitioner number, for the purpose of verifying your identity as a registered practitioner; and
    2. b. your organisation, including your organisation’s Solicitor code, and contact information (including address, phone number and fax number) to populate this information in documents generated through the CMS Portal.
  35. 35) You consent to us using the email address you have provided so you can receive eNotifications from the Court (such as a Hearing Notice) and for this information to be populated in documents generated through the CMS Portal.
  36. 36) The CMS Portal user account categories are:
    1. a. Portal System Administrators;
    2. b. organisational administrator(s); and
    3. c. CMS Portal user (who belongs to an organisation and who is not an organisational administrator or self-represented party).
  37. 37) A CMS Portal user is expected to have existing practices around appropriate levels of security assurance for their own CMS Portal user enrolment and management.
  38. 38) CMS Portal users are ultimately responsible for their own CMS Portal user account management.
  39. 39) CMS Portal users must not impersonate any person or entity for the purpose of misleading others when accessing or using the CMS Portal.
  40. 40) Only an organisational administrator can assign a CMS Portal user on behalf of any given organisation.

    Organisational Administrator

  41. 41) In addition to all other clauses of this Agreement, clauses 41) to 49) apply to you if you are an organisational administrator for an organisation.
  42. 42) By appointing yourself as an organisational administrator, you represent that you have the authority to bind your organisation, and that your acts and/or omissions will be taken as acts and/or omissions of your organisation.
  43. 43) As a CMS organisational administrator, it is essential that you understand your responsibilities when using the CMS Portal.
  44. 44) By using the CMS Portal, you accept responsibility for:
    1. a. only using the CMS Portal for authorised and lawful purposes;
    2. b. adding a user directly into the CMS Portal;
    3. c. taking all necessary steps to verify the identity of the person when adding a user directly into the CMS Portal;
    4. d. requesting that we add a user on behalf of your organisation;
    5. e. suspending users;
    6. f. reinstating users;
    7. g. setting user passwords;
    8. h. updating the personal details of a CMS Portal user; and
    9. i. if required, arranging police checks for users of the CMS Portal belonging to your organisation as set out in clause 45.
  45. 45) As an organisational administrator, we require you to have taken the necessary steps to verify the identity of the persons you wish to be enrolled, which may include, without limitation, a police check.
  46. 46) As an organisational administrator, you consent (both as an individual and on behalf of your organisation) to the information contained herein, or otherwise made available through the CMS Portal or by other means, being given by means of electronic communication for the purposes of the Electronic Transactions (Victoria) Act 2000 (Vic) or any other relevant legislation.
  47. 47) Information collected in the course of fulfilling your responsibilities as an organisational administrator must remain confidential and any account information, including but not limited to, logins and passwords, cannot be reproduced, transmitted or stored in a way that violates the terms of the Agreement or any privacy laws.
  48. 48) We will conduct and assist with any investigations in relation to privacy breaches and, depending on the extent of the breach, consider any remedies available to us at law, contract or tort.
  49. 49) In following the steps contained herein, you, as an organisational administrator (both as an individual and on behalf of your organisation), to the fullest extent permitted by applicable law, indemnify Court Services Victoria and any stakeholders or affiliates from any liability as it pertains to the mismanagement of CMS user enrolment accounts.

    CMS Portal User

  50. 50) In addition to all other clauses of this Agreement except clauses 41) to 49), the following applies to all CMS Portal users.
  51. 51) As a CMS Portal user, it is important that you understand your responsibilities when using the CMS Portal.
  52. 52) You are responsible for:
    1. a. ensuring all activities occurring under your CMS Portal account are lawful and for authorised purposes;
    2. b. ensuring that you comply with all laws when using the CMS portal;
    3. c. ensuring the security and confidentiality of your account credentials, including passwords, is maintained and they are not disclosed or provided to any other person;
    4. d. refusing access to your CMS Portal user account by another user or individual;
    5. e. ensuring you do not access another user’s CMS Portal account, with or without their consent;
    6. f. keeping the information you provide current, complete and accurate;
    7. g. if your personal information, including your email address, changes, signing into your CMS Portal account and updating your details as soon as possible;
    8. h. reading and actioning your CMS Portal notifications in a timely manner;
    9. i. logging off from your CMS Portal account and protected areas of the CMS Portal; and
    10. j. promptly reporting any suspicious or unauthorised conduct concerning your account.
  53. 53) We will not be responsible for any information inaccurately sent, or not received, as a result of personal information not being updated in the CMS Portal.
  54. 54) If you have reason to believe that your personal information is at risk (either by direct or indirect breach), please contact us immediately at cms.support@courts.vic.gov.au.
  55. 55) As a CMS Portal user, if your CMS Portal account is breached and reasonable steps and precautions have not been taken by you to keep your personal information safe, you indemnify us from any consequence or legal liability.
  56. 56) A breach in your CMS Portal user responsibilities will result in your account access being suspended.

    Eligibility, suspension or termination

  57. 57) A CMS Portal user account is not an automatic right.
  58. 58) To have a CMS Portal user account, you must be a ‘natural person’.
  59. 59) Being a ‘natural person’ means you are an individual human being, not a corporate entity, a robot, a software program and the like.
  60. 60) To have a CMS Portal user account, it must be assigned to you by the organisational administrator of your organisation.
  61. 61) We may suspend or terminate your CMS Portal user account, at any time, without notice, for any of the following reasons:
    1. a. your breach of the Agreement;
    2. b. your breach of any applicable law, policy or subordinate legislative instrument;
    3. c. your use of our services in a manner that would cause us legal liability;
    4. d. your use of our services in a way that infringes upon a natural person’s rights or prevents them from using our services;
    5. e. we determine, in our sole discretion, that you or a user from your organisation does not intend to, or is unable to, comply with the terms of the Agreement; or
    6. f. your CMS Portal user account is inactive for a period of six months or more.
  62. 62) In the event your CMS Portal user account is suspended or terminated, the onus is on you to make alternative arrangements for the submission of documents to the Courts or Tribunal or any other purposes for which you would otherwise use our services.
  63. 63) If your access to the CMS Portal is suspended or terminated, all restrictions on you and all disclaimers, exclusions and limitations of liability set out in the Agreement will survive such suspension or termination.
  64. 64) If you consider that your access to the CMS Portal has been suspended or terminated incorrectly, please contact us by sending us an email at cms.support@courts.vic.gov.au.
  65. 65) If you want to terminate your legal agreement with us, you may do so by providing us with written notice, which may be given by email to cms.support@courts.vic.gov.au. We will endeavour to action the termination of your access to the CMS Portal within 14 days.

    Payments

  66. 66) When using our services, in the event a lodgement fee is required, you will not be able to process that document until the fee is paid.
  67. 67) We use third-party payment providers to process payments through the CMS Portal.
  68. 68) We do not make any representations, warranties or guarantees in relation to payments processed through the CMS Portal.

    Applicable law

  69. 69) By accessing our services, you accept that any disputes are to be determined by the courts having jurisdiction in the State of Victoria pursuant to the laws of the State of Victoria (except any principle of conflict of laws inconsistent with this requirement).


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