Certification Services Terms

These terms apply to certification, credential and reputation services supplied by Trusted Firms Global to a firm under a proposal, engagement letter or order that refers to them, or under a Client Culture engagement that includes a credential component.

1. The agreement

1.1 These Certification Services Terms (“Terms”) apply to services supplied by TFG Certification Pty Ltd, ABN 16 695 393 429, trading as Trusted Firms Global (“Trusted Firms”, “we”) to a firm (“the Firm”, “you”). Individual credentials are issued to advisers of the Firm at its request; the Firm is responsible for its advisers’ compliance with the Credential and Mark Use Terms.

1.2 The agreement consists of, in descending order of precedence: (a) the Engagement Letter; (b) these Terms; (c) the Credential and Mark Use Terms; (d) the Trusted Firms Privacy Policy. Where certification is a component of a Client Culture engagement, the Client Culture Client Services Terms govern the measurement services and these Terms govern the certification.

1.3 Measurement partner. Client feedback is collected and held by Client Culture Pty Ltd, our measurement partner and a member of the same corporate group. Trusted Firms assesses results against the published standards; it does not collect responses itself. The Firm authorises Client Culture to provide Trusted Firms with the results, response counts and consented comments needed to assess, issue and display credentials.

2. What we certify, and how

2.1 Standards. Certification is assessed against the standards published at trustedfirms.global/standards on the assessment date, which set for each tier the survey basis, minimum response rate, minimum number of responses, minimum score and, for the highest tier, the process standards.

2.2 Survey basis. The population surveyed for a credential is the Firm’s complete invoiced client population for the assessment period, as supplied by the Firm to Client Culture. Response rate is measured against that population. A credential is not assessed on a sample chosen by the Firm.

2.3 Assessment period and validity. Credentials are assessed on the twelve months to the assessment date and are valid for twelve months from issue. Renewal is a fresh assessment on the then-current standards.

2.4 Outcome. If the standards are met, we issue the credential, its verification page and its marks. If they are not met, we tell the Firm which standard was not met and by how much; no credential is issued and no public statement is made. Certification outcomes are determined solely by the measured results and the process standards; fees have no bearing on them.

2.5 Changes to standards. We may change the standards with at least 90 days’ notice on the Site. A change applies to assessments after the notice period; it does not withdraw a credential already issued.

3. Publication

3.1 For each credential we publish a verification page showing the Holder, tier, identifier, issue and expiry dates, the response count with its date and basis, and, where the Firm has engaged the reviews service, consented client reviews. A score is published at the Verified and Gold tiers, where the completeness of the client population has been verified; at the Standard tier no score is published, as the standards page explains.

3.2 Accuracy. Figures on the Site are computed from the verified response record held by Client Culture, never from a separately maintained copy, and are refreshed on the schedule stated on the page. An error is corrected in place with the correction visible. The Firm may notify us of a suspected error at any time and we respond within five business days.

3.3 Reviews are published only with the author’s consent, obtained through the Client Culture consent workflow, exactly as written and at the attribution level consented to. Withdrawal of consent removes the review on next load.

3.4 On expiry, withdrawal or termination, the verification page shows the credential as expired or withdrawn; reviews pages are taken down; served marks and widgets stop rendering.

4. Reputation services

4.1 Where the Engagement Letter includes them, we supply: reviews pages for the Firm and named advisers; widgets and served marks for the Firm’s licensed domains; and AI search visibility assessments – a non-branded baseline and periodic re-measures across named AI engines using a frozen question set, reported with dates, engine versions and method.

4.2 An AI search assessment reports where the Firm appears in engine answers on the dates run. It is not a guarantee of future visibility, and results vary with engine changes outside our control. We state method and limits on every report.

4.3 Licensed domains. Widgets and served marks render only on hostnames the Firm has nominated and we have licensed. The Firm may add or remove hostnames on notice.

5. Firm obligations

5.1 The Firm supplies, through Client Culture, an accurate and complete client list for the survey basis, and warrants the accuracy of the adviser and firm details shown on verification pages.

5.2 The Firm and its advisers comply with the Credential and Mark Use Terms, including the integrity obligations, and ensure staff and agencies acting for them do the same.

5.3 The Firm tells us promptly of any change that affects a credential: a merger or change of name, an adviser leaving, a regulatory finding or a complaint about the accuracy of published material.

6. Withdrawal, suspension and disputes

6.1 We may suspend or withdraw a credential in the circumstances set out in the Credential and Mark Use Terms, and where a re-assessment shows the standard is no longer met following a change under 5.3. Before withdrawal we give the Firm the reasons and seven days to respond, except where immediate action is needed to prevent public misrepresentation.

6.2 The Firm may ask for a review of an assessment or withdrawal decision within 30 days by writing to contact@trustedfirms.global with the grounds. The review is conducted by a person not involved in the original decision and answered in writing within 20 business days. The published standards are not open to review; their application is.

6.3 Withdrawal is recorded on the verification page. Fees are not refunded on withdrawal for cause.

7. Fees, term and termination

7.1 Fees are as stated in the Engagement Letter, exclusive of GST, invoiced annually in advance unless stated otherwise, payable within 30 days, and increase on each anniversary by the percentage stated or, if none, 3.5%. Where certification is a component of a Client Culture engagement, fees may be invoiced by Client Culture on our behalf until the Engagement Letter provides otherwise.

7.2 The agreement continues until terminated. Either party may terminate on three months’ written notice after any minimum term; either may terminate immediately for material breach not remedied within 30 days, or insolvency.

7.3 On termination, current credentials remain valid to their expiry unless withdrawn for cause, but are not renewed; reviews pages, widgets and served marks cease at the end of the notice period; the Firm removes static marks within 14 days.

8. Data and privacy

8.1 Trusted Firms holds only what publication requires: the Firm’s and advisers’ names and details, results and counts, and consented reviews with their consent records. Client contact details and unconsented responses remain with Client Culture and are not transferred to Trusted Firms.

8.2 We handle personal information in accordance with the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth), our Privacy Policy and, where they apply, the UK GDPR or the GDPR. Reviewers may contact us directly to withdraw consent.

9. Intellectual property

9.1 We own the Trusted Firms name and marks, the standards and methodology, the verification pages and their design. The Firm receives a licence to display its marks and quote its results under the Credential and Mark Use Terms for the life of the credential. Reviews remain the words of their authors.

10. Liability

10.1 Nothing in these terms excludes any right or guarantee under consumer protection law that cannot be excluded, including the Australian Consumer Law and, where they apply, the UK Consumer Rights Act 2015 or the consumer law of the relevant EU member state. Where the law permits, our liability for breach of a guarantee is limited to supplying the services again or paying the cost of having them supplied again.

10.2 Subject to 10.1, each party’s total liability under the agreement is limited to the fees paid in the twelve months before the event giving rise to the claim, and neither party is liable for indirect or consequential loss. These limits do not apply to breach of confidentiality, wilful misconduct, or the Firm’s obligation to pay fees.

10.3 A credential records measured client feedback against published standards on a date. It is not a warranty of the Firm’s services, and we are not liable to the Firm or to any third party for reliance on it as such.

11. General

11.1 Force majeure, assignment, notices, entire agreement, severability and relationship as in the Client Culture Client Services Terms, clause 13, which apply to this agreement as if Trusted Firms were the supplier named there.

11.2 We may update these Terms with 30 days’ notice by email and publication at trustedfirms.global/terms. A change does not shorten a current credential or increase fees during a minimum term without agreement.

11.3 Unless the Engagement Letter specifies another governing law and jurisdiction, the agreement is governed by the law of Victoria, Australia, and the parties submit to the courts of Victoria.