GearQ terms of use

Plain-English version · last updated 12 November 2026 (draft)

1. Who we are

GearQ (gearq.app) is gear booking and inventory software for Scout groups and clubs. It is run by Daniel Gosling, a sole trader trading as GearQ (ABN 50767719891). Contact: [email protected].

GearQ is independent software. It is not affiliated with or endorsed by Scouts Australia or any Scouts branch.

2. Your account

• The person who signs a group up must be allowed to act for that group (for example its quartermaster or group leader).
• Your group has two shared passwords: one for members (to book gear) and one for the quartermaster. Keep them to people in your group. You can add named quartermaster or helper logins.
• You're responsible for what happens under your group's passwords. Tell us straight away if you think one has leaked, and change it.
• Sign-ins and other security events are logged with the network address and country they came from, and checked automatically to spot misuse (details in the privacy policy and on the security page).

3. Free trial and payment

• Every new group gets a free trial of 30 days. No card is needed to start.
• After the trial, plans are paid yearly in Australian dollars (prices are on the home page). Payments are handled by Stripe; we never see or store your card number.
• Plans renew each year until cancelled. You can cancel any time from the "Plan & team" tab; the plan then runs to the end of the period you've paid for. If you change your mind, ask within 30 days of a payment (first payment or renewal) and we'll refund it in full. After 30 days, payments aren't refunded, except where the Australian Consumer Law says they must be.
• GearQ isn't registered for GST, so no GST is charged on its prices.
• Referrals. If your group refers another group with its referral link and that group makes its first payment, both groups get 3 months free: we move the next renewal (or the end of the free trial) back 90 days. There's no cash value and no refund for unused free months. At most 4 rewards per group in any 12 months. A reward doesn't apply to referring your own group, and is reversed if the referred group's first payment is refunded within 30 days. A group on a free plan can refer others (the other group still gets its 3 months), but has nothing of its own to extend.

4. If your plan ends

If the trial ends or a plan isn't paid, your group becomes read-only: members can still see bookings and the quartermaster can still sign in, see everything and download the inventory as a spreadsheet, but nobody can add or change bookings or gear until a plan is active again. We don't delete your data because a plan lapsed. If a group has no active plan for 2 years, we delete its data, after emailing the quartermaster a warning at least 30 days beforehand.

5. Your data

• Your group's gear list, bookings and photos belong to your group. You can download your inventory at any time, even when read-only.
• We use your data only to run GearQ for you. We don't sell it, and we don't share it with other groups or districts unless your group chooses a sharing level that allows it.
• Booking forms collect the name, email and phone number of the person booking gear, used only to contact them about that booking. Only your group's quartermaster(s) and helpers and GearQ's operator (for support) can see them; districts and regions never do. They're anonymised 12 months after the booking ends.
• GearQ is for gear only. Don't enter medical details, children's details, dates of birth, home addresses or member numbers, and don't import anyone's personal details into it. GearQ has no connection to any Scouts membership system.
• How we handle personal information is set out in our privacy policy.

5a. Your gear stays private

Your gear list, where it's kept, serial numbers and bookings are never shown publicly. They sit behind your group's passwords, are hidden from search engines, and districts only ever see totals (like "3 canoes") if your group chooses to share them.

5b. Your rights under Australian Consumer Law

Our services come with guarantees that can't be excluded under the Australian Consumer Law: they must be provided with due care and skill, be fit for the purpose we describe, and be delivered within a reasonable time. If there's a major failure, you're entitled to cancel and get a refund for the unused part, or to compensation for reasonably foreseeable loss. Nothing in these terms takes those rights away.

6. Fair use

Don't use GearQ for anything unlawful, don't try to get into another group's data, and don't overload the service. Attempts to reach another group's data are refused, logged and alerted to GearQ's operator. We may suspend an account that does, and we'll tell you why. If you find a security problem, report it on the security page rather than testing it against other groups.

7. The service

• We work hard to keep GearQ running and backed up, but we can't promise it will never be down or never lose data. Keep your own copy of anything critical (the CSV export is there for that).
• We monitor GearQ automatically for signs of misuse; alerts go to GearQ's operator, not to groups. If we confirm a data breach that touches your group's data, we'll tell your quartermaster within 72 hours of confirming it (and the regulator and the people affected where the law requires).
• GearQ helps you track and book gear. It doesn't check that gear is safe to use; that stays with your group.
• If something goes wrong with GearQ (for example it's unavailable, or a booking record is lost), the most we'll be liable for is the amount your group paid GearQ in the 12 months before it happened, as far as the law allows. This doesn't apply to anything the Australian Consumer Law says can't be limited.

8. Changes

If we change these terms in a way that matters, we'll email your group's quartermaster at least 30 days before the change takes effect.

9. Law

These terms are governed by the laws of Victoria, Australia.