1. The User agrees to be bound by the General Conditions
1.1 By applying for registration, accessing, or using Connect Horowhenua, the User agrees:
(a) to be bound by and to comply with these General Conditions; and
(b) to use Connect Horowhenua in a lawful, ethical, and responsible manner and to follow any instructions provided by us for the use of Connect Horowhenua.
1.2 The User must ensure that they clearly understand and accept these General Conditions before proceeding to register for, access, or use Connect Horowhenua.
2. Definitions
In these General Conditions:
Authorised User or User means a person who is authorised by us, by means of a unique username and password, to access and use Connect Horowhenua.
General Conditions means these terms and conditions for the registration for, access, and use of Connect Horowhenua.
Material means any document, information, records, data, online graphics, Internet pages, audio, video or communication available on, submitted to or obtained from Connect Horowhenua.
Connect Horowhenua means the Council’s portal for community engagement and e-services.
User means any person using Connect Horowhenua.
3. How to register on Connect Horowhenua
3.1 To register on Connect Horowhenua as an Authorised User, a person must:
(a) acknowledge that they have read and agree to be bound by these General Conditions; and
(b) register their details at the Connect Horowhenua portal at www.ecouncil.horowhenua.govt.nz/eservice/ and
(i) provide all details requested;
(ii) provide only accurate, current, and complete information; and
(iii) select and use a unique username and password to enable personalised and secure interactions on Connect Horowhenua.
3.2 When an organisation which is an Authorised User requires more than one person to access Connect Horowhenua, each person must register as an Authorised User and have their own unique username and confidential password.
3.3 The Council reserves the right to refuse any application for registration on Connect Horowhenua at its full discretion without having to give reasons for that refusal.
4. The responsibilities of an Authorised User
4.1 An Authorised User must:
(a) keep their username and password secure and protected;
(b) change their password on a regular basis in order to maintain password security;
(c) update their personal information on Connect Horowhenua if anything changes;
(d) notify the Council using the “Contact Us” link or call us on +64 6 366 0999 if:
(i) they become aware of the loss, theft, or unauthorised use of their username or confidential password; or
(ii) they suspect a breach of the security of their information.
4.2 An Authorised User is responsible for all activities and transactions that occur under the User’s password and account, and for maintaining an audit trail and the provision of a secure access framework.
4.3 Where Material is available on Connect Horowhenua for a specified purpose, an Authorised User may only copy, receive and use the Material from Connect Horowhenua for that purpose.
4.4 An Authorised User agrees:
(a) to be bound by any transaction or electronic communication which includes their username and password without any further inquiry on the part of the Council; and
(b) to accept the Transactional Log as conclusive evidence of any instructions and financial interactions made by the User on Connect Horowhenua.
4.5 Connect Horowhenua may at times be unavailable. It is a User’s sole responsibility to ensure that they use alternative means of undertaking urgent or time sensitive transactions and obtaining information.
5. What Authorised Users must not do
An Authorised User must not:
(a) create more than one user account on Connect Horowhenua;
(b) share the User’s user account or disclose the User’s username or confidential password;
(c) re-publish or quote Material from Connect Horowhenua to seek to discredit the Council, our officers, employees, contractors, customers or other stakeholders; or
(d) use any Material for resale or profit.
6. The Council may rely on information provided by an Authorised User
The Council may:
(a) rely on the information provided to it by an Authorised User, until the Council is given notice of any change in the User’s information or details; and
(b) act upon any transaction or instruction received through Connect Horowhenua which includes a username and password on the assumption that it originates from an Authorised User and is a valid transaction or instruction which cannot be reversed.
7. Collection of statistical information
7.1 The Council may record all transactions executed by any User on Connect Horowhenua on the transaction log. Statistical information is collected to allow the Council to improve Connect Horowhenua based on an understanding of how Users make use of the portal.
7.2 Personal and statistical information is only recorded in accordance with the Privacy Act 1993.
8. Privacy Statement
We collect personal information from you, including information about your:
- name
- contact information
- location
- interactions with us
- interests.
We collect your personal information in order to:
- allow you as our customer to interact with Horowhenua District Council online and allow us to respond to you based on the information provided.
- allow us to communicate or notify you about any of your interests and what is happening in these areas.
Providing some information is optional. If you choose not to enter this information, we may be unable to allow you to complete registration with us or contact you about your interests.
You have the right to ask for a copy of any personal information we hold about you, and to ask for it to be corrected if you think it is wrong. If you’d like to ask for a copy of your information, or to have it corrected, please contact us at enquiries@horowhenua.govt.nz or (+64) 6 366 0999, or Private Bag 4002, Levin 5540.
9. Revoking access
9.1 The Council may in its sole discretion:
(a) refuse, suspend or terminate access to and use of Connect Horowhenua by any User; and
(b) cancel and block the account of an Authorised User.
9.2 Inappropriate or unreasonable use of Connect Horowhenua, deliberate or reckless disruption to Connect Horowhenua, or breaches of privacy, confidentiality, these general conditions or copyright obligations by a User may result in the Council restricting a User’s access to Connect Horowhenua.
10. Availability of Connect Horowhenua and its functions
10.1 The general functions of Connect Horowhenua may not be available at all times, and specific functions within Connect Horowhenua may have restrictions on availability due to operational, privacy or security constraints.
10.2 The Council may, at its sole discretion, suspend the availability of all or any function or part of Connect Horowhenua at any time.
10.3 The Council may from time to time, upgrade, replace, change, or retire any function available on Connect Horowhenua. The Council will endeavour to provide Authorised Users with advance notice of any significant changes.
10.4 The Council accepts no liability for:
(a) the use of, or the non-availability or inability to use, Connect Horowhenua or any of the functions on Connect Horowhenua;
(b) any inability to perform or complete an instruction or transaction by a particular time or at all;
(c) any transmission malfunction that results due to technical or software (including virus) problems on your device;
(d) the accuracy of the information on Connect Horowhenua. Even though the information in Connect Horowhenua is provided in good faith and with reasonable care, some of this information may become inaccurate or out of date due to changes;
(e) content provided through links to external Internet sites that have been provided through Connect Horowhenua. A User must make their assessment regarding any material obtained from another website; or
(f) unauthorised access to, or alteration of, a User’s transmissions or data.
11. Online Payment Terms
11.1 You warrant that:
- You are aged 18 or over
- You have the appropriate authority to validly accept the Online Payment Terms and are able to and will meet your obligations in relation to these Terms.
- The credit card or debit card used in connection with the Services is issued in your name.
- You will pay the credit card issuer all charges incurred in the use of the Services.
- The information supplied by you is true and correct.
11.2 Payment may be made using only Visa or MasterCard credit cards or debit cards.
11.3 The card transaction is carried out in terms of the arrangement between you and your card issuer. Please check with your card issuer for any fees or charges that may apply.
11.4 Please allow time for your transaction to be processed. If your payment is made before 10.30pm New Zealand time, your payment will appear in your Horowhenua District Council account the following business day. Transactions after 10.30pm will appear after two working days.
11.5 The Council may contact you to confirm your credit card or debit card details.
11.6 All charges are in New Zealand Dollars and inclusive of GST (if any). If payment is made using a credit or debit card issued outside New Zealand, any currency conversion will be carried out according to the terms and conditions of the card and you may be charged currency conversion fees by the issuer.
11.7 Part payment of debtor accounts is acceptable provided the full payment is made by the due date.
11.8 All other payments must be paid in full and by no later than the final date for payment set out in the invoice/notice.
11.9 Once a payment has been made it cannot be cancelled.
11.10 The Council accepts no responsibility for refusal or reversal of payments, which shall be a matter between you and your credit card or debit card issuer.
11.11 Requests for refunds must be made in writing together with proof that you have paid more that the outstanding amount. Requests for refunds must be sent via enquiries@horowhenua.govt.nz or addressed to the Council at Private Bag 4002, Levin. If your request for a refund is granted the amount will be transferred to your nominated bank account.
12. Security of data
12.1 The Council will take all reasonable precautions to keep information secure and to ensure that there is no unauthorised use, misuse, modification, reproduction or disclosure of information provided by Authorised Users, and to ensure the security of payments through Connect Horowhenua and the Council’s website, but the Council is not liable for any failure to secure the information or payments.
12.2 The Council will not keep or store any credit card details.
12.3 The Council will provide Authorised Users with the means of retrieving their username and password in the event that they have forgotten or misplaced them.
12.4 The Council will disable access to Connect Horowhenua for a username and issue the Authorised User with a replacement as soon as is practicable once the Council is notified of the loss or theft or unauthorised use of a username and password.
13. Liability and Indemnity
13.1 The use of Connect Horowhenua is at the sole risk of the User.
13.2 In no event will the Council be liable for any loss or damage including without limitation, indirect or consequential loss or damage, or any loss or damage whatsoever arising from loss of data or profits arising out of or in connection with the use of Connect Horowhenua or reliance on any Material obtained from Connect Horowhenua.
13.3 Each User waives and releases and hereby agrees to indemnify the Council to the fullest extent permitted by law against any loss or damage including without limitation, indirect or consequential loss or damage, or any loss or damage whatsoever arising from loss of data or profits arising out of or in connection with the use of Connect Horowhenua by the User or reliance on any Material obtained from Connect Horowhenua.
14. Amend the General Conditions
14.1 The Council may change these General Conditions at any time.
14.2 It is the User’s responsibility to check the Connect Horowhenua General Conditions when accessing Connect Horowhenua to identify if any changes to the General Conditions affect them.
15. Viruses
15.1 The Council cannot guarantee that Connect Horowhenua or the Material are free from computer viruses or any other defect or error which may affect Users’ software or systems.
15.2 Users are responsible for installing and implementing their own system protection software to protect their software and systems.
16. Copyright
16.1 Unless otherwise specified:
(a) all of the Material on Connect Horowhenua is protected by copyright law; and
(b) copyright in the Material is owned by the Council, except for personal information provided by a User.
16.2 Apart from any fair dealing permitted under the Copyright Act 1994, no part of the Material may be reproduced or re-used for any commercial purposes whatsoever without the Council’s prior written permission. Requests for authorisation should be made using the “Contact Us‟ link.