Tour Terms And Conditions For Local Operators

Yes, your tour business should have written terms and conditions before customers book. They should clearly explain cancellations, refunds, weather changes, safety rules, itinerary changes and what happens if a customer or supplier causes a problem.

The slightly more nuanced part is that your terms can't simply say whatever is most convenient for your business. In Australia, tour booking terms sit alongside the Australian Consumer Law, work health and safety duties, insurance requirements, permits and sometimes state-based rules for transport, boating, parks or adventure activities.

The good news is that well-drafted terms can still give you a lot of practical protection. They set expectations early, reduce awkward customer conversations and help your team make consistent decisions when weather turns, buses break down or a guest ignores safety instructions.

For tour terms and conditions in Australia, the goal isn't to bury customers in legal wording. It's to make the deal clear before they pay.

What Should Tour Terms And Conditions Cover?

Your tour terms and conditions should cover the full customer journey, from booking to completion of the tour. If a customer is paying online, over the phone or through an agent, your booking terms and conditions should be visible before they commit.

For a local operator, your terms will usually need to cover:

• Bookings and payment: how customers book, when payment is due, whether deposits are refundable and when a booking is confirmed.
• Customer cancellations: notice periods, cancellation fees, no-shows and whether credits or transfers are available.
• Operator cancellations: what happens if you need to cancel because of weather, safety, supplier failure, minimum numbers or events outside your control.
• Itinerary changes: your right to adjust times, routes, stops, guides, vessels, vehicles or included activities where needed.
• Participant requirements: age, fitness, medical conditions, pregnancy, weight limits, licences, swimming ability or experience levels.
• Safety rules: instructions customers must follow, equipment use, alcohol or drug restrictions and when you can remove someone from a tour.
• Refunds and credits: how you assess refunds, when a credit might be offered and how this interacts with consumer law rights.
• Liability and waivers: risk acknowledgements and limits on liability where the law allows them.
• Privacy: how you collect and use customer information, emergency contacts, medical details and photos or videos.
• Third-party suppliers: how airlines, accommodation providers, restaurants, attractions, transport providers or equipment suppliers fit into the booking.

Say you run a kayaking tour business in Cairns. Your terms might need to cover tide or wind changes, whether customers must be able to swim, what happens if a marine park permit affects access, and whether you can change from one launch point to another.

A generic online template may not deal with these details. Tour documents work best when they match how your business actually runs tours day to day.

Can You Charge Cancellation Fees For Tour Bookings?

Yes, you can usually charge cancellation fees for tour bookings, as long as the terms are clear, fair and don't take away rights customers have under the Australian Consumer Law.

Cancellation fees are common in tourism because you often commit resources before the tour date. You may have rostered guides, booked vehicles, paid suppliers, turned away other customers or bought food and equipment.

A practical cancellation clause in your business terms and conditions often sets out different outcomes depending on how much notice the customer gives. For example:

• cancellations more than 7 days before the tour may receive a refund less an administration fee
• cancellations 2 to 7 days before the tour may receive a partial refund or booking credit
• cancellations within 48 hours may be non-refundable
• no-shows may lose the full booking amount

There's no single cancellation period that works for every tour operator. A walking tour with low upfront costs will look different from a multi-day regional tour where accommodation, transport and permits are locked in weeks ahead.

Your cancellation fees should be commercially sensible. If a fee is out of proportion to the loss your business is likely to suffer, it may be challenged as unfair or unreasonable.

Deposits And Final Payments

If you take deposits, your terms should say whether the deposit is refundable, when the balance is due and what happens if the customer doesn't pay on time.

For higher-value tours, you may also want a clause allowing you to cancel the booking if final payment isn't received by a stated date. Without that, you may be stuck holding spots open while trying to chase payment.

Credits Instead Of Refunds

Credits can be useful, especially where bad weather or illness affects plans. Your terms should explain how long the credit lasts, whether it can be transferred and whether price differences apply when rebooking.

Be careful with blanket statements like no refunds under any circumstances. That kind of wording can clash with the Australian Consumer Law if your business fails to provide the service or there's a major problem with the tour.

What Happens If Bad Weather Or Safety Issues Affect A Tour?

If bad weather or safety issues affect a tour, your terms should let you postpone, change or cancel the tour where needed to keep people safe. The outcome for the customer will depend on the reason for the change and what your terms say.

Weather is one of the biggest risks for local operators. A forecast might change overnight, a road might close, a river level might rise or a fire warning might make a route unsafe.

Your terms should give your business clear options, such as:

• changing the departure time
• changing the route or destination
• substituting a similar activity
• moving the booking to another date
• offering a credit for a future tour
• cancelling the tour and assessing whether a refund is required

It also helps to explain that safety decisions are made by your guides, skippers, drivers or management team, not by customer preference. If conditions are unsafe, you don't want a customer arguing that the tour should go ahead because they have travelled a long way.

For example, imagine Jess runs a whale watching tour in regional NSW. On the morning of a tour, the harbour authority issues a warning and sea conditions are unsafe. Jess's terms allow her to cancel for safety reasons, offer customers a choice of rescheduling or receiving a credit, and consider refunds where a suitable alternative isn't available.

That's much easier to manage than trying to invent a policy while 30 customers are standing at the dock.

Minimum Numbers

If your tours only run when minimum numbers are met, say so clearly before customers book. Your terms should state when you'll decide whether the tour is going ahead and what customers will receive if you cancel due to low numbers.

Many operators offer a reschedule, credit or refund in that situation. Whatever approach you take, make sure it's not hidden in fine print after payment.

Can You Change The Itinerary Or Use Substitute Suppliers?

Yes, you can usually change an itinerary or use substitute suppliers, but your terms should explain when you can do this and what level of change is reasonable.

Tourism businesses rely on moving parts. A restaurant may close unexpectedly, a bus company may have mechanical issues, an attraction may be unavailable or a national park access road may shut.

Your terms can reserve the right to make changes where needed, including changes to:

• departure or return times
• routes and stops
• vehicles, vessels or aircraft
• accommodation or meal providers
• guides or instructors
• included activities
• the order of the itinerary

The key is to avoid giving yourself an unlimited right to provide something completely different while keeping the customer's money. A small change, like swapping the order of two stops, is usually easier to justify than removing the main attraction customers booked for.

If a major feature becomes unavailable, your terms should say what you'll do. That might be a substitute experience, a partial refund, a credit or the option to cancel, depending on the circumstances.

Working With Agents And Online Travel Platforms

If customers book through an agent or online travel platform, make sure your own terms line up with the platform's terms. Mismatched policies can cause refund disputes and unhappy reviews.

You may also need a separate supplier agreement with your booking agents that covers commission, customer communications, refund handling, cancellations and who is responsible if incorrect information is given to the customer.

Do You Need An Adventure Tour Waiver?

Yes, if your tour involves physical risk, you should strongly consider using an adventure tour waiver, but you shouldn't treat it as a complete shield from liability.

Adventure activities can include hiking, rafting, kayaking, snorkelling, climbing, cycling, horse riding, four-wheel drive tours, ziplining and similar experiences. Even low-risk activities can involve hazards if they take place outdoors or around water, wildlife, heights, traffic or machinery.

A waiver or risk acknowledgement can help show that customers were told about the nature of the activity and agreed to follow safety instructions. It may include:

• a clear description of the activity and its risks
• confirmation that the customer is physically able to participate
• medical disclosure requirements
• requirements to follow guide instructions
• rules about alcohol, drugs and behaviour
• permission to remove a participant who creates safety risks
• a release and limitation of liability to the extent permitted by law

Under the Australian Consumer Law, certain liability for recreational services can be limited in some circumstances, including for death or personal injury, but not for reckless conduct. State and territory civil liability laws can also affect how waivers work.

This is an area where wording matters. A liability waiver that's too broad, unclear or inconsistent with consumer law may not give you the protection you expected.

Children And School Groups

If children participate in your tours, you need extra care. Parent or guardian consents are useful, but the law around waivers for minors can be more limited and can vary depending on the activity and location.

You should also think about supervision ratios, working with children checks where relevant, emergency contacts, medical information and who can sign documents for the child.

How Do The Australian Consumer Law And Unfair Contract Terms Apply?

The Australian Consumer Law applies to most tour bookings with Australian customers, so your terms must not mislead customers or remove their statutory rights.

The ACL includes consumer guarantees for services. In simple terms, your tour services must be provided with due care and skill, be fit for any purpose made known to you, and be provided within a reasonable time where no time is set.

If there's a major failure, customers may be entitled to cancel and receive a refund for the unused part of the service. If the failure is minor, you may have the chance to fix it within a reasonable time.

Your terms shouldn't say or imply that:

• customers never have refund rights
• your business is never responsible for anything that goes wrong
• you can change the tour however you like without any customer remedy
• customers lose all rights if they complain after the tour
• you can keep all money paid even where your business cancels and provides nothing in return

Unfair contract term laws are also relevant, especially because tour terms are often standard form contracts. Since the reforms that started on 9 November 2023, unfair terms in standard form consumer and small business contracts can attract penalties, not just be declared void.

For small business contracts, the rules can apply where at least one party has fewer than 100 employees or annual turnover under $10 million. For consumer tour bookings, the rules are often directly relevant because customers usually have little or no ability to negotiate your standard booking terms.

A term is more likely to be unfair if it creates a significant imbalance, isn't reasonably necessary to protect your legitimate interests and would cause detriment if relied on. Clear, balanced drafting matters.

What Other Legal Documents Should A Tour Operator Have?

Your booking terms are the main customer-facing document, but most tour businesses need a few supporting documents as well.

Depending on your business, you may need:

• Privacy Policy: especially if you collect contact details, medical information, emergency contacts, photos, location data or marketing preferences.
• Website Terms Of Use: if customers browse, make enquiries or access content through your website.
• Supplier Agreements: for transport providers, guides, accommodation, restaurants, attractions, equipment hire or booking agents.
• Employment Contracts Or Contractor Agreements: for guides, drivers, instructors, admin staff and seasonal workers.
• Safety Policies And Procedures: including incident reporting, emergency response plans and activity-specific procedures.
• Photo And Video Consent: if you use customer images in marketing or social media.

You should also check whether you need any licences, permits or approvals for your activities. This can include national park permits, marine park permissions, commercial passenger vehicle requirements, boat licences, food or alcohol approvals, council permits and landholder permissions.

These rules can be state-based and activity-specific, so the right answer depends on where you operate and what you offer.

Practical Checklist Before You Publish Your Booking Terms

Before you publish your booking terms, check that they're easy for customers to find and practical for your team to apply.

A useful final check is to ask:

• Can customers see the terms before they pay?
• Do the cancellation rules match the real costs and risks in your business?
• Do you explain weather, safety and minimum number cancellations clearly?
• Do your refund and credit rules line up with the Australian Consumer Law?
• Are itinerary change rights balanced and specific?
• Do you have a separate waiver for higher-risk activities?
• Do your staff know what to say when customers ask about refunds?
• Do your booking platform, agents and website all show the same policies?
• Have you checked permits, licences and insurance for each activity?

It can also help to keep records of customer acceptance. For online bookings, this usually means a checkbox confirming that the customer has read and accepted the terms before payment. For phone bookings, your confirmation email can attach or link to the terms and state that the booking is subject to them.

If a dispute comes up later, being able to show what the customer accepted can make a big difference.

Key Takeaways

• Your tour terms should clearly cover bookings, cancellations, weather changes, safety rules, refunds, itinerary changes and supplier issues.
• You can charge cancellation fees, but they should be clear, fair and commercially reasonable.
• Australian Consumer Law rights still apply, so avoid blanket no-refund wording.
• Adventure waivers are useful for riskier activities, but they need careful wording and won't protect reckless conduct.
• Unfair contract term laws can apply to standard tour booking terms, especially for consumer bookings.
• Your terms should match how your tour business actually operates, including your locations, suppliers, permits and safety processes.

If you'd like help with your tour booking terms, cancellation and refund clauses, adventure waivers and customer safety documents, you can reach us at 1800 730 617 or team@sprintlaw.com.au for a free, no-obligations chat.