Service Terms
Last updated: 28 July 2026
About These Terms
These Service Terms apply when you engage Somewhere by Design to provide personalised travel research, recommendations, itinerary design or related planning support.
Somewhere by Design is an Australian travel-planning business based in Victoria, Australia.
In these Terms, “Somewhere by Design”, “we”, “us” and “our” refer to Somewhere by Design. “You” and “your” refer to the person engaging our services.
Please read these Terms before accepting a proposal or making payment.
Our Services
Somewhere by Design provides personalised travel-planning services for independent travellers.
Depending on the agreed scope, our services may include:
Destination and route research
Accommodation recommendations
Transport guidance and comparisons
Day-by-day itinerary design
Activity, dining and experience recommendations
Budget guidance
Booking priorities and supplier links
Maps, checklists or other supporting information
One round of consolidated feedback
Optional booking-support sessions where separately agreed
The exact scope, deliverables, fee and expected delivery timeframe will be stated in your proposal.
We Are Not a Travel Agent
Somewhere by Design provides travel research, recommendations and itinerary design. We do not ordinarily act as a travel agent, booking intermediary or tour operator.
Unless expressly agreed otherwise in writing:
You make and manage all bookings directly with the relevant suppliers
You pay suppliers directly
We do not hold money on your behalf for travel bookings
We do not issue airline tickets, accommodation reservations or other travel products
We do not manage supplier cancellations, changes, refunds or credits
Your booking contract is between you and the relevant supplier
Our planning fee pays for our research, professional time and itinerary-design service. It does not include the cost of flights, accommodation, transport, activities, meals, insurance or other travel expenses.
Eligibility and Group Authority
You must be at least 18 years old to engage our services.
If you provide information or make decisions on behalf of other travellers, you confirm that you have their permission to do so.
One planning fee covers one shared journey for travellers following the same itinerary. Separate routes, dates or subgroup arrangements may require an additional itinerary and revised quote.
Proposals and Formation of the Agreement
Submitting an enquiry does not guarantee acceptance, require payment or commit you to proceeding.
After reviewing your enquiry, we may provide a written proposal setting out:
The agreed planning scope
Included deliverables
The service fee
Any optional services
The expected delivery timeframe
Payment requirements
Any journey-specific conditions
An agreement is formed when you accept the proposal in the manner stated and complete any required payment.
If there is an inconsistency between these Terms and an accepted proposal, the proposal will apply to the extent of the inconsistency for that particular engagement.
We may decline an enquiry before accepting payment if we do not believe we can provide the required standard of planning.
Prices and Payment
All prices are stated in Australian dollars unless otherwise specified.
The price shown in your accepted proposal is the amount payable for the agreed scope. Any founding-traveller price, promotional offer or other discount applies only where confirmed in the proposal.
Unless the proposal states otherwise, full payment is required before planning work begins.
Payment confirms your engagement but does not include payments to travel suppliers.
Additional work will not be charged without first explaining the proposed work and obtaining your agreement to any additional fee.
Commencement and Delivery Timeframes
Planning begins after:
You have accepted the proposal
Required payment has been received
We have received the information reasonably required to begin the work
The expected delivery timeframe will be confirmed before payment. Any general timeframe displayed on our website is indicative until confirmed in your proposal.
Delivery timeframes may be affected by:
Delayed or incomplete information
Changes to your destinations, dates, duration or route
Delayed responses or decisions
Additional research requirements
Revision requests
Circumstances outside our reasonable control
If a delay occurs, we will explain the effect on the expected delivery date and provide an updated timeframe where reasonably possible.
Your Responsibilities
You agree to:
Provide accurate, complete and timely information
Explain relevant preferences, priorities, restrictions and budget requirements
Review questions, recommendations and draft materials within a reasonable period
Notify us promptly if your circumstances or requirements change
Check names, dates, destinations and other important details before making a booking
Make booking and payment decisions directly with suppliers
Read and accept each supplier’s own terms before booking
We are entitled to rely on information you provide when designing your journey.
If information is delayed or incomplete, we may pause the project and revise the delivery timeframe. If a project remains inactive for an extended period, we may contact you to agree on a revised schedule or close the engagement after providing reasonable notice.
Revisions and Feedback
The Signature Journey includes one round of consolidated feedback within the agreed scope.
You should review the draft and submit your requested changes together wherever reasonably possible.
The included revision may cover reasonable adjustments such as:
Refining recommendations
Reordering activities
Correcting preferences or details
Making minor itinerary changes within the agreed route and scope
The included revision is not a complete redesign.
Major changes—including changes to destinations, travel dates, journey duration, route, traveller groups or the fundamental planning brief—may require additional research, a revised delivery timeframe and an additional fee.
We will explain any additional scope and provide a revised quote before undertaking chargeable work.
Changes Requested After Delivery
Supplier prices, availability, schedules and operating conditions may change after an itinerary is delivered.
Updates required because of supplier changes, delayed bookings, changed travel plans or new client instructions are not automatically included after the agreed service has been completed.
Additional itinerary updates or support may be available for a separate fee. We will provide a quote before beginning that work.
Optional Booking Support
Optional paid booking support may be offered where appropriate and agreed in writing.
Booking support may include explaining booking priorities, answering questions or guiding you while you complete reservations.
Even where booking support is provided:
You remain responsible for making each booking
You must verify all traveller names, dates, inclusions and conditions
You enter payment details directly with the supplier
The booking contract remains between you and the supplier
You are responsible for retaining confirmations and managing the booking afterward
You should not send us complete payment-card details, passwords or other unnecessary account credentials.
Supplier Information and Availability
Recommendations are based on information reasonably available when the research is completed.
Travel products and services are supplied by independent third parties, including airlines, accommodation providers, transport operators, activity providers and restaurants.
Supplier prices, availability, schedules, inclusions, policies and operating conditions can change without notice.
We do not control third-party suppliers and cannot guarantee:
That a recommended option will remain available
That a quoted or observed price will remain unchanged
A supplier’s performance, service quality or financial stability
That a supplier will not alter or cancel a service
That a destination, attraction or service will operate as originally expected
We will use reasonable care when researching and presenting recommendations. You should verify current information and supplier conditions before making payment.
Nothing in this section removes our responsibility to provide our own services with due care and skill.
Supplier Changes, Cancellations and Refunds
Because you book directly, requests involving a supplier booking—including changes, cancellations, refunds, credits and complaints—must ordinarily be managed between you and that supplier under its terms.
We may offer additional planning assistance if a supplier change affects your itinerary, but this may require a separate quote.
We are not responsible for loss caused solely by the acts, omissions, insolvency or service failure of an independent supplier that is outside our reasonable control.
Passports, Visas, Health and Travel Requirements
You are responsible for checking and complying with all requirements relevant to your journey, including:
Passport validity
Visas and entry permits
Transit requirements
Vaccination or health requirements
Travel advisories
Customs and biosecurity rules
Driver-licensing requirements
Insurance requirements
Laws and regulations applying at your destination
Any general information we provide about these matters is for planning assistance only and is not legal, immigration, medical or professional advice.
Requirements can change. You should verify them through official government, embassy, consulate, health and supplier sources before booking and again before departure.
Travel Insurance
We strongly recommend obtaining suitable travel insurance as soon as you begin making non-refundable bookings.
Depending on your circumstances, appropriate cover may include:
Trip cancellation or interruption
Medical treatment and evacuation
Personal accident
Lost, stolen or damaged property
Travel delays
Rental-vehicle excess
Activities planned during the journey
Relevant pre-existing medical conditions
Somewhere by Design does not provide insurance advice or insurance products and is not responsible for uninsured losses or an insurer’s decision about a claim.
Affiliate Links and Commercial Relationships
Some recommendations or planning materials may contain affiliate or referral links.
If you use one of these links, Somewhere by Design may receive a commission or other benefit from the supplier without increasing the price you pay.
Where applicable, commercial relationships will be disclosed appropriately. The presence of an affiliate arrangement does not guarantee that a supplier or product will be suitable for every traveller.
You remain responsible for reviewing the supplier’s offer, price and conditions before booking.
Cancelling Before Work Begins
You may cancel your engagement by contacting us in writing.
If you cancel before planning work begins, we will refund the amount paid, less any payment-processing fee that has actually been incurred, cannot reasonably be recovered and may lawfully be deducted.
Cancelling After Work Begins
If you cancel after planning work has begun but before final delivery, we will calculate a reasonable amount for:
Work already completed
Time already spent on the engagement
Any non-recoverable costs reasonably incurred for your project
We will provide a refund of the remaining balance, if any, together with an explanation of how it was calculated.
If the completed work is usable, we may provide the work completed up to the cancellation date.
After the agreed service has been fully delivered, a refund is not ordinarily available for a change of mind. This does not affect any rights you have under the Australian Consumer Law.
Cancellation or Delay by Somewhere by Design
We may need to pause, reschedule or cancel an engagement because of illness, emergency, technical failure or another circumstance outside our reasonable control.
If this occurs, we will notify you as soon as reasonably possible and attempt to agree on a revised delivery arrangement.
If we cannot complete the agreed service, you may choose to receive:
A refund for the portion of the service not provided; or
Work completed up to that point together with an appropriate refund for the remaining portion
We may also suspend or end an engagement if you materially breach these Terms, do not provide information required to continue, behave abusively or request unlawful or unethical assistance.
Where appropriate, we will provide reasonable notice and account for payments against work already completed and reasonable non-recoverable costs.
Consumer Guarantees
Our services come with rights and guarantees that may apply under the Australian Consumer Law, including guarantees that services will be provided with due care and skill, be reasonably fit for an agreed purpose and be delivered within the agreed time or, where no time is agreed, within a reasonable time.
Nothing in these Terms excludes, restricts or modifies a consumer guarantee, right or remedy that cannot lawfully be excluded.
If our service does not comply with an applicable consumer guarantee, the remedy available will depend on the circumstances and the seriousness of the failure.
Limitation of Liability
To the extent permitted by law, Somewhere by Design is not responsible for loss caused by:
Inaccurate or incomplete information supplied by you
Your failure to verify booking details or current travel requirements
Your decision not to follow a recommendation
Supplier price or availability changes
Supplier cancellations, delays, insolvency or service failures
Weather, natural events, industrial action, civil unrest, government action or other events outside our reasonable control
Changes made to an itinerary or booking without our involvement
To the extent permitted by law, we are not liable for indirect or consequential loss that was not reasonably foreseeable when the agreement was formed.
Where the Australian Consumer Law permits liability for a non-major service failure to be limited, our liability may be limited to supplying the affected service again or paying the reasonable cost of having it supplied again.
These limitations do not apply where liability cannot legally be excluded or limited.
Intellectual Property
Somewhere by Design retains ownership of its:
Planning methods and research processes
Templates and document designs
Written frameworks
Branding and website content
Reusable destination knowledge and business materials
After full payment, you may use the itinerary and client-specific materials supplied to you for your personal, non-commercial travel purposes. You may share them with the other travellers participating in the same journey.
You must not, without our prior written consent:
Sell or commercially distribute the materials
Present the materials as your own professional work
Reproduce them for another travel-planning business
Remove ownership notices and publish the materials as a commercial product
You retain ownership of original photographs, documents and other materials you provide to us. You give us permission to use those materials only as reasonably required to provide the agreed service.
We will not publish your itinerary, testimonial, photographs or identifying information for marketing purposes without your permission.
Privacy
Personal information is handled in accordance with our Privacy Policy.
Please only provide information about another traveller where you have their permission to do so.
Our Privacy Policy is available at:
Complaints and Dispute Resolution
If you are dissatisfied with our service, please contact us as soon as possible and provide enough information for us to understand the concern.
We will review the matter in good faith and aim to reach a fair resolution.
Contact:
Email:somewherebydesign@outlook.com
If a dispute cannot be resolved directly, either party may pursue any rights or remedies available under applicable law.
Changes to These Terms
We may update these Terms when our services, business practices or legal obligations change.
The current version will be published on our website with the date it was last updated.
Changes will apply to future engagements. The Terms applying to an existing engagement will not be changed retrospectively unless:
The change is required by law; or
You and Somewhere by Design agree to the change
Governing Law
These Terms are governed by the laws of Victoria, Australia.
The parties submit to the non-exclusive jurisdiction of the courts and tribunals of Victoria and any courts entitled to hear appeals from them.
Contact Us
If you have questions about these Terms, contact:
Somewhere by Design
Email:somewherebydesign@outlook.com