1. Payment

• You are required to pay for your experience in full for your booking to be confirmed. The amount to be paid will be clearly stipulated in AUD (Australian Dollars) as a per person price, unless otherwise stated. Once the experience has been paid, the booking is confirmed.
• By paying in full for a scheduled cultural experience this constitutes a booking and initiates the agreement between you and us.
• Credit Card Bookings: wawa biik will collect your credit card number, credit card billing address, card expiration date and the customer verification code every time a payment is applied. For detailed information on how we handle your personal information, please view our Privacy Policy.

2. The agreement  

• All scheduled cultural experience bookings are made with wawa biik – a subsidiary of the Taungurung Land and Waters Council (ABN 47 145 916 168) – referred to here as us/we.
• By booking a scheduled experience with us you have agreed to be bound by the terms and conditions set out in these Standard Booking Conditions.

• A cultural experience is any service provided by wawa biik on Taungurung Country.

3. Booking confirmation invoice

• If we accept your booking, we will issue you with a Confirmed Order.  A contract will exist between you and us from the date we issue the Confirmation Order. Please refer to your booking confirmation order for details of the cultural experience inclusions, the departure date, the price, and any additional information regarding the experience.
• It is your responsibility to check this confirmation order for accuracy.
• If you wish to cancel or amend your booking, our amendment and cancellation conditions apply as set out below (Cancellation by You).

4. Departure date:

• The departure date for the cultural experience is confirmed on the booking confirmation tax invoice.

5. Private Group Booking:

• A private group booking is covered by these Standard Booking Conditions but is also subject to the Special Group Booking Conditions outlined under Clause 12.

6. Privacy Policy

• You are responsible for providing accurate information about your payment details and personal details at the time of booking. Necessary details vary per experience; they include but are not limited to full name, address, phone number, email address, any pre-existing medical conditions or dietary requirements, and an emergency contact number.
• Any personal information that we collect about you will be handled in accordance with our privacy policy and may be used for any purpose associated with the operation of our scheduled cultural experiences.
• In making this booking you consent to this information being passed on to the relevant persons such as our third-party suppliers and Cultural Tour Guides to enable us to operate the experience.
• It is your responsibility to read our Privacy Policy before making your booking.

7. Prices

• Our experience prices are listed on our website in AUD (Australian Dollars) and are inclusive of GST
• Our experiences are each priced separately and are shown as per person Adult or Concession prices for the specified departure date. Certain departure dates will incur a higher price based on the day of departure and seasonality.
• The price inclusions are clearly listed on our website – please check this before booking.
• A concession price is applicable for holders of:
• Student Concession Card
• Services Australia Health Care Card, except the Foster Child Health Care Card (FO or FST) and Carer Allowance Health Care Card (CD)
• Department of Veterans Affairs (DVA) Health Care Card – Gold Card
• Services Australia Pensioner Concession Card
• DVA Pensioner Concession Card
• Services Australia Commonwealth Seniors Health Card
• DVA Commonwealth Seniors Health Card
• all experiences are based on per person adult prices.

You will need to provide details of the card, including card number and expiry at time of booking.

BOOKING AMENDMENTS

8. Name changes:

• If you notice a misspelling of your name in the booking confirmation invoice, please contact us immediately so we can amend it. Wawa Biik does not charge for such name changes.
• If the name change is to a completely different person on the booking, we can amend the booking name but require the requested change in writing and we must receive the personal details of the new person and any other required information.

9. Date changes by you

• Any amendment by you to the date of departure is only permitted if your current confirmed booking is more than 30 days prior to departure. If you wish to transfer to an alternate departure date for the same cultural experience, the re-booking will be subject to availability and will be priced based on the new date.

10. Date changes by us

• If we cancel the experience due to unforeseen circumstances, you may transfer your funds to an alternate date or alternate experience subject to availability at the time of re-booking, or be issued a full refund.

11. Other changes

• If you wish to completely change your booking from one wawa biik experience to another, this is considered a cancellation and the amount transferred can only be permitted subject to our cancellation terms.

PRIVATE GROUP BOOKINGS

12. Special Group Booking Conditions

If a group of 11 people or more would like to book an experience exclusively for that group, they must book a private group experience, not a scheduled departure. Our private group bookings cater to groups of no more than 16 people and are subject to the following Special Group Booking Conditions and Group cancellation Conditions.

13. Special Group Booking Conditions

The following conditions apply to group bookings:

CANCELLATIONS

13. Cancellation by you on a wawa biik scheduled departure

If you cancel your booking on a wawa biik scheduled cultural experience the following cancellation terms will apply:

A cancellation will only be effective when we receive written confirmation from you of the cancellation. If you cancel your booking:

• 31 days or more days prior to departure, no fee will be charged
• between 30 and 21 days prior to departure, we charge a cancellation fee of 20% of the total booking cost
• between 20-14 days prior to departure, we charge a cancellation fee of 50% of the total booking cost
• 13-7 days prior to departure, we charge a cancellation fee of 80% of the total booking cost.
• Less than 7 days prior to departure, we charge a cancellation fee of 100%.
• For a no show on day of departure, 100% cancellation fees are charged.

If you do not arrive for your tour on time and miss the departure after it has commenced, we are not obliged to make any refunds.

In the event that you cancel your booking within 7 days of the experience due to contracting COVID or another illness or injury, we can transfer all monies paid to a credit voucher to be used within 12 months or issue a full refund only upon presentation of a medical certificate signed by an Australian Registered Health Practitioner, otherwise full cancellation fees will be charged.

14. Cancellation by you on a wawa biik private group experience

A cancellation will only be effective when we receive written confirmation from the nominated liaison notifying us of the cancellation. If you cancel your booking:

• 31 days or more days prior to departure, no fee will be charged
• between 30 and 21 days prior to departure, we charge a cancellation fee of 20% of the total booking cost
• between 20-14 days prior to departure, we charge a cancellation fee of 50% of the total booking cost
• 13 days or less prior to departure, we charge a cancellation fee of 100% of the total booking cost.
• For a no show on day of departure, 100% cancellation fees are charged.

15. Cancellation by us

(a) Minimum numbers

If we do not reach minimum numbers on an experience, we may cancel the experience. In this instance we would notify you one week prior to travel and you can transfer amounts paid to an alternate departure date or receive a full refund.

(a) Duty of Care

We have a duty of care to all customers on our cultural experiences. Therefore, if you arrive on the day of departure displaying symptoms of COVID or any other contagious illness – we will not permit you on the experience.  Please note our guides will have final authority on this matter. No refund will be issued in this instance. We advise you to call us the day prior if you are unwell to cancel your booking, so that we can issue you with a credit voucher.

(b)  Staff shortages

In the event that our Cultural Tour Guides fall ill prior to the experience it may be necessary to cancel the experience. In this instance, we would provide a full refund.

In the event of any cancellation, there will be no claim for damages by either party against the other and we are not responsible for any incidental expenses that you may have incurred as a result of your booking, including but not limited to accommodation, flights, or travel insurance.

(c) Inclement weather

Our experiences are outdoors and some adverse weather is to be expected. We encourage you adapt to the weather conditions by bringing appropriate clothing and gear. However, there are some instances where inclement or adverse weather conditions would pose a significant safety risk or discomfort and therefore result in us cancelling the tour, such as (but not limited to):

• Strong winds above 30km per hour
• Electrical storms
• Heavy rainfall /flood events
• Extreme heat above 35 degrees Celsius
• Fire danger or total fire ban day

If we cancel an experience due to these extreme weather events, we will issue a full refund for all monies paid or reschedule you to another tour date.

16. Important Note regarding credit

There may be circumstances in which we issue you with a credit. For instance, we may offer you the choice of a credit voucher instead of a cash refund when you are entitled to a full or partial refund. Unless specified otherwise in the Important Information on your booking confirmation, any credit issued under these Booking Conditions:

• Is valid for 12 months from date of issue;
• may be applied towards any other available cultural experience offered by wawa biik;
• Is transferrable to another person

HEALTH AND SAFETY

17. Minimum age

We have a minimum age of 8 years old for most of our experiences (except our wawa Euroa Wayilak family tour), unless stated otherwise on the website. All children must be accompanied by a legal guardian, or in lieu of a legal guardian, by an escort over the age of 18, appointed by their legal guardian. The legal guardian or their designee will be responsible for the child during the experience.  Please note that children’s prices are only applicable to children 8-14 years old. The date of birth of the child must be provided at time of booking.

  18.   Maximum age

We do not specify maximum age for our cultural experiences, but we remind you that our experiences can be physically demanding and passengers must ensure that they are suitably fit to allow full participation.

Please refer to the Important information provided on your booking confirmation and the itinerary that relates to your cultural experience.

19. Health/mobility

Some of our tours are accessible to people in a wheelchair and those with limited mobility – please refer to our ‘Accessibility guidelines’ on the website to find detailed information about the accessibility of each experience. The information contained in our Accessibility Guidelines is accurate to the best of our knowledge and updated every 6 months.

• Wheelchair and mobility measures

We welcome people in a wheelchair on our wawa tabilk tabilk and wawa Euroa experiences on a request basis only.  If you are in a wheelchair, you must advise us at the time of booking please so we can check availability and ensure we can cater to your access needs.  Due to limitations onboard the bus and the boat, we can accept only one person in a wheelchair per experience. Your booking will be tentative until we confirm availability for your chosen departure date.

People with mobility aids such as crutches or walking frames are welcome on our wawa tabilk tabilk, wawa Euroa and wawa nagambie experiences but must notify us at time of booking and read our accessibility guidelines before confirming their booking. This is to ensure we can cater to your access needs.

All customers are required to travel unaided by our wawa biik guides and staff.

   Medical conditions

If you have a medical condition or require medication while on a wawa biik experience, it must be declared on your booking form so that our wawa biik guides and staff can provide adequate first aid if required. All customers are responsible for bringing their own medications and wawa biik is not responsible for providing medication should it be required.

21.  Safety onboard the bus

When onboard the bus, you must comply with our bus safety regulations that include:

• Wearing a seatbelt at all times
• No standing while the vehicle is in motion
• Do not bring hot food or drinks onboard the bus
• Follow the instructions of the bus driver at all times

BEHAVIOUR ON TOUR

22. Authority on tour  

Our cultural experiences are managed by a wawa biik cultural tour guide. Caring for our cultural sites is an important part of caring for Country, and the decision of the cultural tour guide is final on all matters:

• relating to your behaviour on tour, cultural practice, culturally sensitive sites, or photography; or
• likely to affect the safety or well-being of any traveller or staff member participating in the experience.

If you fail to comply with a decision made by the cultural tour guide or interfere with the well-being or mobility of the group, you may be directed to leave the experience immediately, with no right of refund. We may also refuse you to book on future bookings. You must at all times comply with the law, the safety requirements and our cultural protocols.

23. Unacceptable behaviour

Any person deemed to be behaving inappropriately on a wawa biik cultural experience will be asked to leave immediately. wawa biik is not responsible for any out-of-pocket expenses incurred by the person ejected from a wawa biik experience.

Inappropriate behaviour includes:

• People under the influence of alcohol or drugs
• Racism towards guides or passengers
• Verbal or physical abuse
• Inappropriate or offensive language or behaviour
• Photography or videography of people, places, or sites without consent
• Damaging, disturbing or removing objects from the natural environment

24. Photography and videography by you

Videography is not permitted on wawa biik cultural experiences.  Photography is not permitted at culturally sensitive areas (as directed by your guide) but is permitted at other areas directed by your guide. Please ask permission of the guide and other passengers before taking photos that clearly show their idenity. Any permission granted is for personal use only and not for use in media, distribution online or commercial opportunities. You must seek written permission by wawa biik or Taungurung Land and Waters Council for the commercial or public use of photos and cultural knowledge to prevent any legal ramifications.

25. Photography and videography by us

We may take optional group photos of you and the group to share with you post tour. By consenting to the photo, you are also consenting to us sharing the image via our marketing channels and grant us permission to use such images for publicity and promotional purposes.

We may have a wawa biik photographer taking photos for marketing purposes. We will seek your permission before taking your photo and will issue a photo consent form that discloses where and how we will use this photo. You are not obliged to sign this photo consent and may opt out of your image being taken.

26. Acceptance of risk

You acknowledge that the nature of the experience may be adventurous and participation involves a degree of personal risk. You will be visiting areas of remoteness in our natural environment with hazards and physical challenges greater than those present in our daily lives. To the fullest extent permitted by law, we accept no liability in relation to these risks.

You agree that we will not be responsible for any loss or damage to personal belongings or luggage whilst on our experience.

You acknowledge that we do not operate or own any third-party suppliers of services or property, such as the venues and walking tracks, accommodation and local restaurants; therefore, we do not take responsibility whatsoever for injury or loss of any type arising in any matter.

You acknowledge the importance of following the wawa biik cultural tour guide’s directions and safety instructions at all times. We will not be held liable if any breach of the wawa biik cultural tour guide’s directions or instructions leads to personal injury or damage or loss to property.

INDIGENOUS CULTURAL AND INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY (ICIP)

27. Respecting cultural knowledge shared on tour

You acknowledge that information shared with you during the wawa biik cultural experience may incorporate ICIP which belongs to the Traditional Owners and Custodians of that ICIP, the Taungurung people.

This ICIP includes cultural knowledge relating to knowledge of Country, (including plant life, animals, waterways), cultural practices, language words, family histories, or lived and personal experiences that may be shared with you during the tour orally or through written materials.

You agree that ownership of any such ICIP will remain at all times with the Traditional Owners and Custodians of that ICIP, who have the cultural authority to share culture.

You are not permitted to commercialise any plant, bushfood or medicinal knowledge, cultural practices or otherwise appropriate ICIP.

You acknowledge that your purchase and/or participation in the wawa biik cultural experience does not grant or transfer any ICIP right in the same to you. You acknowledge that by relaying or re-producing any ICIP shared, you may impart the cultural knowledge incorrectly, cause offence and remove the ICIP from its cultural context.

You agree to at all times:

• respect the ICIP rights of the Traditional Owners and Custodians of that ICIP;
• comply with the relevant cultural protocols;
• refrain from publishing, commercialising or sharing the cultural knowledge, experience and perspectives described in any way other than for personal use;
• not use the ICIP for any purpose without the prior written consent of the Traditional Owners and Custodians of that ICIP.

28. Deceased cultural mourning protocol

You are warned that the wawa biik cultural tour and tour materials may refer to the names, images, spoken words and performances, of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people who have passed away. In any access or use of such content, you agree to:

• comply with the relevant cultural mourning protocols; and
• consult with and seek permission from the deceased persons family members and/or the local community prior to any public display.

APPLICABLE LAW

The laws of Victoria, Australia govern these Standard Booking Conditions to the fullest extent allowable. Any disputes in connection with an experience or these Standard Booking Conditions must be initiated in the courts of Victoria, Australia

FEEDBACK

We welcome feedback from all of our customers. Feedback on cultural experiences can be given to your tour guide and provided via a survey issued to you post the experience. If wish to provide further feedback after your experience, please contact us by email on hello@wawabiik.com.au or by telephone on 03 5415 5713.

Definitions and Interpretation

The following definitions apply to these Standard Booking Conditions:

‘Indigenous Cultural and Intellectual Property (ICIP)’ means Australian Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples’ rights to their heritage. Heritage comprises all objects, sites and knowledge including language, the nature or use of which has been transmitted or continues to be transmitted from generation to generation, and which is regarded as pertaining to a particular Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander group or its territory.

In these Standard Booking Conditions, except to the extent that the context otherwise requires words denoting the singular include the plural and vice versa; words denoting individuals or persons include bodies corporate and trusts and vice versa; and a reference to a document or agreement includes a reference to that document or agreement as changed, novated or replaced from time to time.