terms and conditions

Terms and conditions of use

Last updated 8 November 2023


Websites

This website is maintained by or on behalf of H.E.S.T. Australia Ltd ABN 66 006 818 695 AFSL 235249, the Trustee of HESTA ABN 64 971 749 321.

These terms and conditions of use apply to HESTA's main website, Employer Online and Member Online (Websites). These Websites may be accessed by clicking on the following links:

HESTA website - http://www.hesta.com.au

The main website is made available to provide general information about HESTA's products and services. You can find out more about HESTA on this website including information about the fund, our latest news, contact details and other disclosures we make.

Employer Online - https://www.hesta.com.au/eol

Employer Online is made available to help employers manage their super obligations. If you are accessing the Employer Online website on behalf of your employer, you must be authorised to do so and, by accessing and using the Employer Online website, you agree to these terms and conditions on your employer's behalf.

HESTA partners with Westpac Banking Corporation ABN 33 007 457 141 (“Westpac”) who operates a superannuation clearing house, known as QuickSuper, that delivers payment and contribution data to any superannuation fund. The Clearing House service is provided to Employers by Westpac at the request of HESTA. Westpac terms and conditions apply to the Clearing House service which you will be asked to accept when you access the service. To arrange your set-up with QuickSuper, complete the online application here: https://clearinghouse.hesta.com.au/ApplicationIntroductionView

Member Online - https://my.hesta.com.au/login

Member Online is a service for members provided to assist in the management of their superannuation account at no charge. Member Online is provided and operated by HESTA with the assistance of third party providers. Member Online provides you with the capability to manage your superannuation through logging into your account.


Terms and conditions of use

Information available on our Websites may contain HESTA's interpretation of the law and should not be relied upon as advice. It is of a general nature and does not take into account your objectives, financial situation or needs so you should look at your own financial position and requirements before making a decision about HESTA products. You may wish to consult an adviser when doing this. Please note that investments can go up and down. Past performance is not a reliable indicator of future performance.

The returns shown are net of indirect costs and taxes. Product ratings are only one factor to be considered when making a decision. See hesta.com.au/ratings for more information. Consider a HESTA Product Disclosure Statement or the HESTA Income Stream Product Disclosure Statement before making a decision about HESTA products - for copies call 1800 813 327 and consider any relevant risks, for more information visit hesta.com.au/understandingrisk.

By accessing, browsing and/or using our Websites you acknowledge that you have read, understood, and you agree to be bound by, these terms and conditions of use. If you do not agree to these terms and conditions of use, you should immediately discontinue using this website.

HESTA reserves its right to modify or update these terms and conditions of use from time to time, or otherwise alter any material appearing on the Websites. As such, we recommend that you review these terms periodically to ensure that you are aware of any changes made and that you have read and understood the latest version.

 

Privacy

Information you provide to HESTA or its administrator via the Websites will be collected and managed in accordance with the HESTA Privacy Policy. Where you provide us with personal information about another person, it is your responsibility to notify that person about the disclosure of their personal information to us.

To register for our Online Member services or Employer Online services you will need to submit personal information such as your name, phone number and email address. This personal information will be collected and managed in accordance with the HESTA Privacy Policy.

HESTA, as part of our Online Member services, may send your information to the Australian Tax Office via our administrator for the purposes of consolidating lost super held with the Australian Tax Office and superannuation held with other funds.

 

Sole responsibility for the content of data transmitted

You are responsible for activities that occur as a result of your access to the Websites and use of the Member Online and Employer Online services where applicable. We exercise no direct supervision of data content transmitted via the Websites. The responsibility for user access and subsequent transmissions and consequences lie with either you or the sender of the transmission. We are not responsible for any errors in content submitted by you to or submitted by a third party, either authorised or unauthorised to the Websites, except as otherwise provided under the Australian Consumer Law as set out in the Competition and Consumer Act 2010 (Cth) or the Australian Securities and Investments Commission Act 2001 (Cth) as applicable (Consumer Law) or to the extent that loss or damage is caused by any fraud, negligence or wilful misconduct by HESTA (or HESTA's agents, employees, officers or contractors).

 

Web security

We are committed to providing reasonable controls to protect the Websites against foreseeable hazards such as (but not limited to) unauthorised access, software contamination, computer hacking, destruction, misuse, modifications, and improper disclosure. However, no computer system or information can ever be fully protected and you agree to accept the risk of transmitting information via the Websites. By using the Websites you acknowledge that we are not liable in these circumstances, except to the extent that loss or damage is caused by any fraud, negligence or wilful misconduct by HESTA (or HESTA's agents, employees, officers or contractors).

 

Access

For our Member Online and Employer Online services we will issue to you a confidential user I.D and confidential password when you register for these services, that will permit you to access and use the respective services.

Your user I.D. and password must be kept secure at all times, and must not be disclosed to any other party. If someone else is able to use your user I.D. and password to access Member Online or Employer Online, then any action or request made by the user will be taken to be authorised by you unless you have notified us that your account details have been compromised.

To further strengthen your log in security, HESTA recommends you set up two factor authentication on your account which will require you to enter in a confidential code sent to your registered mobile number in a text message in order to access these services.

You must not attempt to access any superannuation account details or other information that does not relate to you.

You must notify us immediately if you believe there has been any unauthorised use of your user I.D. or password, and must immediately change your password if so requested by us. If you do not do so, you acknowledge and agree that you will be solely responsible for any actions or request made using your account in those circumstances.

Any information transmitted by you using the Websites will be assumed to be accurate, complete and up-to-date.

You acknowledge that your use of the Websites may be interrupted or your access to the Websites may be varied, suspended or cancelled at HESTA's discretion (acting reasonably) at any time and without notice, but where practicable, we will give you reasonable notice, in circumstances where:

  • HESTA suspends use of the Websites for scheduled or unscheduled maintenance;
  • HESTA reasonably suspects there is risk of fraud, privacy or information security breach;
  • HESTA reasonably considers it necessary to manage financial, legal or other material risks to HESTA, you or other members of HESTA; or
  • factors (including technological, legal and operational factors) outside of HESTA's reasonable control impede access and use of the Websites.

Where your use or access of the Websites has been interrupted, varied, suspended or cancelled in these circumstances, HESTA agrees to restore your use or access within 10 business days of HESTA being reasonably satisfied that the reason for the interruption, variation, suspension or cancellation no longer applies. If you would like your access to the services interrupted, varied, suspended or cancelled at any time, please contact us over the phone by calling 1800 813 327, or in writing by email to hesta@hesta.com.au or by post to HESTA, Locked Bag 5136, Parramatta NSW 2124.

You agree that HESTA will not be liable for any interruption, variation, suspension, or cancellation, except to the extent that loss or damage is caused by any fraud, negligence or wilful misconduct by HESTA (or HESTA's agents, employees officers or contractors).

HESTA will use reasonable efforts to provide access to the Websites to beneficiaries of HESTA to enable key functions on a 24-hour basis.

 

Warranties and limitation of liability

Nothing contained in these terms and conditions of use excludes, restricts or modifies, or has the effect of excluding, restricting or modifying our liability for a breach of a statutory warranty or condition implied by law, including under Consumer Law.

To the extent permitted by Consumer Law or any other applicable law:

  • we are not liable to you for any cost, loss, damage or liability arising from our supply or failure to supply or delay in supplying the Member Online or Employer Online services, including but not limited to content, loss of data, loss of savings or any other direct, indirect, special or consequential loss or damage, which is connected with or arises out of your use of the Member Online or Employer Online services;
  • we are not liable for any cost, loss, damage or liability suffered by you (or any third party receiver of information on the Websites) resulting from accessing, browsing or using the Websites or their content, including liability related to exposure to any viruses which may infect a user's computer or other dangerous components relating to the Websites,

except to the extent that any such cost, loss, damage or liability is caused by any fraud, negligence or wilful misconduct by HESTA (or HESTA's agents, employees, officers or contractors).

 

Indemnities

This section applies in respect of your use and access of our Employer Online website only.


Indemnity applicable to your use of the Employer Online website

You acknowledge that we and our administrator and their respective directors, officers, employees and agents (Indemnified Parties) will not be held liable for and you agree to fully indemnify and hold harmless the Indemnified Parties for any loss, cost, expense or damage (including but not limited to reasonable legal costs and whether or not arising from your failure to meet your superannuation guarantee or award obligations, but excluding consequential loss) (collectively Loss), that the Indemnified Parties reasonably incur or suffer, arising directly or indirectly out of, in connection with or in consequence of, your use of (or inability to use) the Employer Online website, and any unauthorized access or use, computer hacking, software contamination, interruption, variation, suspension or cancellation of the Employer Online website which is directly or indirectly related to your use of the Employer Online website, except to the extent that the Loss is caused by any fraud, negligence or wilful misconduct by the Indemnified Parties.


Indemnity applicable to your payment of contributions

You acknowledge that from time to time there may be certain issues, outside the control of the Indemnified Parties, which affect the processing of contributions via the Electronic Funds Transfer (EFT) system. You therefore agree that you will not make any claim against any of the Indemnified Parties or a financial institution offering banking facilities to the Indemnified Parties (Bank) for loss suffered as a result of difficulties with or limitations of the banking system as it affects the provision of the Employer Online service or the payment of contributions.

You further agree to indemnify and hold harmless the Indemnified Parties against any Loss reasonably incurred or suffered by the Indemnified Parties arising directly or indirectly from your use of any one or more of the superannuation contribution payment methods available to you, except to the extent that the Loss is caused by any fraud, negligence or wilful misconduct by the Indemnified Parties.

Without limiting the generality of the above, you agree to indemnify and hold harmless the Indemnified Parties for any Loss incurred or to be incurred by them or any one or more of them and arising out of:

a. the Bank returning or refusing an EFT transaction;

b. your use, attempted use or misuse of a superannuation contribution payment method made available to you by the Indemnified Parties;

c. your use of non-encoded deposit forms to make a superannuation contribution payment;

d. making a superannuation contribution payment in the form of currency;

e. the inability of the Bank to control response times of other banks with regard to special answer;

f. any reasonable delay (including without limitation any delay caused by circumstances beyond the control of the Bank) in relation to the collection and processing of superannuation contribution payments made by you;

g. the Bank not having the protection of section 100 of the Cheques Act 1986;

h. the Bank collecting any cheque or other instrument from you or your financial institution where:

i. the cheque or instrument is or has been or is alleged to be or have been irregular, forged, stolen, altered in an unauthorised way; or

ii. the Bank may otherwise be liable in conversion or otherwise to the drawer or purported drawer, payee, holder or previous holder of the cheque or instrument or receiving value on account of any contribution credited to our account where there is or has been or is alleged to be or have been any irregularity, fraud or lack of authority in respect of the instruction on which the superannuation contribution payment was initiated;

i. a circumstance beyond the control of the Indemnified Parties which causes a breakdown in communication between the Indemnified Parties and the Bank in relation to the processing of superannuation contribution payments made by you; and

j. the Bank being able to make claim against the Indemnified Parties in relation to your acts or omissions.

This section does not affect any legal or contractual claim you may have against your own financial institution.

 

Links

For your convenience and assistance, the Websites may contain links to other websites (Third Party Websites). These links are provided for convenience only and do not represent any endorsement or approval by HESTA of the information, products or services displayed or offered on the Third Party Websites.

The HESTA Privacy Policy contains our guidelines in relation to links to Third Party Websites.

The terms and conditions that apply to Third Party Websites may be different from those set out here and they will govern the use of information you obtain from those Third Party Websites. We are not liable for any loss, cost, expense or damage suffered by you or any other entity as a result of your use of such links and any information accessed from those links except to the extent that loss or damage is caused by any fraud, negligence or wilful misconduct by HESTA (or HESTA's agents, employees officers or contractors).


Third party services

Third-party services are provided by parties other than HESTA and may be subject to terms and conditions imposed by those other parties. HESTA does not recommend, endorse or accept any responsibility for the products and services offered by third parties or any liability for any loss or damage incurred as a result of services provided by third parties, except to the extent required by Consumer Law or to the extent that damage or loss is caused by any fraud, negligence or wilful misconduct by HESTA (or HESTA's agents, employees officers or contractors). You should exercise your own judgement about the products and services being offered. HESTA does not receive any benefit or commission as a result of you using such third party products and services.

 

Copyright and intellectual property

Unless otherwise specified, all copyright and intellectual property rights in the Websites and content of the Websites are the property of HESTA. You may use the information on our Websites for your own use consistent with the nature of the services being provided, including those available on our Member Online and Employer Online websites. However you must not copy, reproduce, distribute, publish, sell or modify the information in any way without our prior written consent. This does not apply to the extent that you are required to copy or reproduce information:

  • to comply with any law, regulation or legally binding order of any court, government, semi-government authority or administrative or judicial body;
  • to comply with any binding request or demand of any regulatory agency or authority; and
  • in any proceedings arising out of or in connection with these terms and conditions of use to the extent necessary to protect your lawful interests.

 

Currency & Jurisdiction

The content of the Websites have been prepared for residents of Australia and as a result all currency references are shown in Australian dollars unless otherwise specified.

HESTA does not accept any liability arising from your accessing the Websites outside Australia, except to the extent that loss or damage is caused by any fraud, negligence or wilful misconduct by HESTA (or HESTA's agents, employees, officers or contractors).

The Websites and these terms and conditions of use are governed by, and are to be interpreted in accordance with, the laws of Victoria, Australia.

 

Prohibited use

You may not use the information on our Websites or any of our products or services for any purpose that contravenes local, State, Commonwealth or international laws or regulations.

 

We may terminate your access to the website and/or notify the authorities

If we reasonably believe that your use of the Websites, Member Online or Employer Online services contravenes any applicable law or that you have not complied with these terms and conditions of use or that users other than yourself have accessed your account we may:

  • warn you by e-mail;
  • suspend your access to the Websites with or without notice (but, where practicable, we will give you reasonable notice), or
  • notify and provide relevant information to law enforcement agencies or other regulatory agencies and authorities, as is required by law or reasonably necessary or appropriate in the circumstances to manage material risks to HESTA, you or other members of HESTA.

 

HESTA mobile application terms and conditions of use

The mobile application (“App”) is provided by H.E.S.T. Australia Ltd ABN 66 006 818 695 AFSL No. 235249 (“Trustee”), trustee of HESTA ABN 64 971 749 321 (“HESTA”).

By accessing and using the App you acknowledge that you have read and understood, and you agree to be bound by, these terms and conditions of use. If you do not agree to these terms and conditions of use, you should immediately discontinue using the App and uninstall it from your device.

HESTA reserves its right to modify or update these terms and conditions of use from time to time, or otherwise alter any material appearing on the App. We recommend that you review these terms periodically to ensure that you are aware of any changes made and that you have read and understood the latest version.


Eligibility

In order to register and use the App you will need:

(a) an eligible mobile device that is enabled for cellular or wireless internet connections and which has the App installed;

(b) to be a member of HESTA; and

(c) a registered user of HESTA Member Online (“HESTA MOL”).
 

Functionality

The App allows users to access information about their HESTA account(s).

From time to time, HESTA may notify users of further minimum device or operating system version requirements for the App.

The App may contain links to HESTA MOL. If you click on a link which directs you to HESTA MOL, the website terms and conditions will apply.

For your convenience and assistance, the App may contain links to other websites (“Third Party Websites”). These links are provided for convenience only and do not represent any endorsement or approval by HESTA of the information, products or services displayed or offered on the Third Party Websites

The HESTA Privacy Policy contains our guidelines in relation to links to Third Party Websites.

The terms and conditions that apply to Third Party Websites may be different from those set out here and they will govern the use of information you obtain from those Third Party Websites. We are not liable for any loss, cost, expense or damage suffered by you or any other entity as a result of your use of such links and any information accessed from those links, except to the extent that loss or damage is caused by any fraud, negligence or wilful misconduct by HESTA (or HESTA's agents, employees, officers or contractors).


Your obligations

You agree you will:

(a) promptly update, and keep updated, the operating system and security software for your mobile device when released by the manufacturer of the mobile device or software provider and you are aware that a failure to do so may impact your ability to access the App;

(b) ensure that your PIN, Username and Password are kept confidential and not disclosed to any other person;

(c) not leave your mobile device unattended and logged into the App;

(d) take all necessary steps to stop unauthorised use of the App on your mobile device;

(e) not permit any other person to store their Biometric Identifier on your mobile device;

(f) notify HESTA immediately if you believe that your PIN, Username or Password may have been compromised, lost or misplaced;

(g) provide HESTA with all reasonable assistance required in investigating any unauthorised use;

(h) not act fraudulently or maliciously in relation to the App including copy, modify, adversely effect, reverse engineer, hack into or insert malicious code into the App; and

(i) not use the App for any purpose that contravenes local, State, Commonwealth or international laws or regulations.


Notifications

Push notifications (Notifications) are messages sent by the App to your device, without you having to open the App. Where available, you can opt to turn on notifications in the App, control which notifications you receive (subject to eligibility and availability) and turn off notifications. You can control how your notifications appear in your device 'Settings'.

Your App notifications preferences are separate to your other HESTA communication preferences and marketing preferences.

Notifications are for your information only. Technical interruptions may occur and notifications may fail or arrive late. HESTA cannot guarantee the accuracy or timeliness of notifications and you should not rely on them for any purpose.


Privacy

Information you provide to HESTA via the App will be collected and managed in accordance with the HESTA Privacy Policy. Where you provide us with personal information about another person, it is your responsibility to notify that person about the disclosure of their personal information to us.


Access

Your PIN or Username and Password will enable anyone who correctly uses them to access your HESTA account information and carry out any action for which designated user rights have been provided to you. If someone else is able to use the App using your allocated PIN, Username and Password or using Biometric authentication, then any action or request made by the user will be taken to be authorised by you unless you have notified us that your account details have been compromised.

You must not attempt to access any superannuation account details or other information that does not relate to you.

You must notify us immediately if you believe there has been any unauthorised use of your allocated PIN, Username and Password or using Biometric authentication, and must immediately change your PIN and password if so requested by us. If you do not do so, you acknowledge and agree that you will be solely responsible for any actions or request made using your account in those circumstances.

Any information transmitted by you using the Websites will be assumed to be accurate, complete and up-to-date.

You acknowledge that your use of the App may be interrupted, or your access to the App may be varied, suspended or cancelled at HESTA's discretion (acting reasonably) at any time and without notice, but where practicable, we will give you reasonable notice, in circumstances where:

  • HESTA suspends use of the App for scheduled or unscheduled maintenance;
  • HESTA blocks the use of a superseded version of the App and requires that you upgrade to the latest version in order to continue using it;
  • HESTA blocks the installation or use of the App in certain countries to manage data and security risks;
  • HESTA reasonably suspects there is risk of fraud, privacy or information security breach;
  • HESTA reasonably considers it necessary to manage financial, legal or other material risks to HESTA, you or other members of HESTA; or
  • factors (including technological, legal and operational factors) outside of HESTA's reasonable control impede access and use of the App.

Where your use or access of the App has been interrupted, varied, suspended or cancelled in these circumstances, HESTA agrees to restore your use or access within 10 business days of HESTA being reasonably satisfied that the reason for the interruption, variation, suspension or cancellation no longer applies. If you would like your access to the services interrupted, varied, suspended or cancelled at any time, please contact us over the phone by calling 1800 813 327, or in writing by email to hesta@hesta.com.au or by post to HESTA, Locked Bag 5136, Parramatta NSW 2124.

You agree that HESTA will not be liable for any interruption, variation, suspension, blocking or cancellation of the App, except to the extent that loss or damage is caused by any fraud, negligence or wilful misconduct by HESTA (or HESTA's agents, employees officers or contractors).


Biometric authentication for mobile devices

If you have a compatible mobile device, you may choose to enable biometric authentication to log on to the App using a biometric identifier registered on your mobile device instead of your PIN or member number and password. A biometric identifier includes a fingerprint or facial data by which a mobile device manufacturer allows a user to authenticate their identity to unlocking their mobile device (“Biometric Identifier”). HESTA does not collect or store your biometric data, it is stored on your mobile device.

Important: If another person has stored their Biometric Identifier on the mobile device you use to access the App in breach of these terms and conditions, you acknowledge that they will be able to access your accounts including to view and conduct certain actions on the App and you will be responsible for these actions as having been authorised by you and conducted with your knowledge and consent.


We may terminate your access to the App and/or notify the authorities

If we reasonably believe that your use of the App contravenes any applicable law or that you have not complied with these terms and conditions of use or that users other than yourself have accessed your account we may:

(a) warn you by e-mail;

(b) suspend your access to the App with or without notice (but, where practicable we will give you reasonable notice); or

(c) notify and provide relevant information to law enforcement agencies or other regulatory agencies and authorities, as required by law or reasonably necessary or appropriate in the circumstances to manage material risks to HESTA, you or other members of HESTA.


Copyright and trade marks

The App contains copyright material, brand names and other trade marks that are protected by law. You should assume that all names and logos are trade marks of HESTA or third parties, and that all content on the App is subject to copyright. Except as expressly authorised, the use of any material on the App (including reproduction, modification, distribution, republication, display or communication of any kind) is strictly prohibited.


Warranties and liability

Nothing contained in these terms and conditions of use excludes, restricts or modifies, or has the effect of excluding, restricting or modifying our liability for a breach of a statutory warranty or condition implied by law, including under Consumer Law.

To the extent permitted by Consumer Law or any other applicable law:

(a) we are not liable to you for any cost, loss, damage or liability arising from our supply or failure to supply or delay in supplying the App, including but not limited to content, loss of data, loss of savings or any other direct, indirect, special or consequential loss or damage which is connected with or arises out of your use of the App;

(b) we are not liable for any cost, loss, damage or liability suffered by you resulting from accessing, browsing or using the App or its content, including liability related to exposure to any viruses which may infect a user's mobile device or other dangerous components relating to the App;

(c) we will not be liable for any authorised transaction where another person’s Biometric Identifier has been used to access your account details; and

except to the extent that any such cost, loss, damage or liability is caused by any fraud, negligence or wilful misconduct by HESTA (or HESTA's agents, employees, officers or contractors).


Currency & Jurisdiction

The App has been prepared for residents of Australia and as a result all currency references are shown in Australian dollars unless otherwise specified.

HESTA does not accept any liability arising from your accessing the App outside Australia, except to the extent that loss or damage is caused by any fraud, negligence or wilful misconduct by HESTA (or HESTA's agents, employees, officers or contractors).

The App and these terms and conditions of use are governed by, and are to be interpreted in accordance with, the laws of Victoria, Australia.

As functionality is added to the App we will need to update these terms and conditions of use.

 

 

Last updated 8 November 2023.