AI Use and Safety Policy

Private Help Threads and optional AI assistance

Creating or unlocking a Private Help Thread does not by itself authorise a binding AI decision. If an optional AI-assisted explanation or summary is offered in connection with the enquiry, it remains subject to this policy and does not replace human review, a formal quote or a technician’s assessment.

Do not upload passwords, banking details, recovery phrases, one-time codes or unnecessary sensitive information for AI analysis or chat support.

1. Where we use AI

We may offer optional AI-assisted features, including Start Here guidance, Quick Help summaries, answers based on our published information, scam-message explanations, business cyber self-check explanations and customer-safe My Tech Help status explanations, explanations of human-approved quotes and scope, and plain-English explanations of step-by-step scam-recovery plans. We may add, change, suspend or remove an AI feature where it is unreliable, unavailable, unsafe or no longer appropriate.

2. Optional use and non-AI alternatives

AI features are optional unless a page clearly says otherwise. Existing pathway cards, rule-based checkers, forms, telephone support and human review remain available. Refusing an optional AI feature does not remove your ability to request ordinary help.

3. AI outputs are not final decisions

AI output may be incomplete, inaccurate, outdated, misleading or unsuitable for your circumstances. It is general guidance only. You must not treat it as a diagnosis, binding quote, booking approval, warranty decision, provider approval, referral-reward approval, legal advice, financial advice, cyber-forensics report, compliance assessment, certification, insurance approval, government endorsement or guarantee of security.

4. Human review and important decisions

A suitably authorised person must review important decisions involving price, paid work, bookings, warranties, refunds, disputes, provider approval, referral rewards, legal rights, financial loss, account compromise, safety, privacy or security. We may decline to provide an AI response and direct you to a person or official service.

5. Information sent to AI service providers

When you actively use an AI feature, the text or structured selections needed to generate the response may be sent through our server to third-party AI services, currently including Google Gemini. These providers may process information outside Australia and their own terms and privacy practices apply to their processing.

Google Gemini processing is governed by Google’s applicable service terms and privacy practices. We do not promise that every provider has identical retention, logging, location or training practices. AI provider arrangements may change.

6. What you must not submit

You should remove names, account numbers, addresses and other identifying details before using an AI feature. Automated removal of some identifying details may reduce risk, but it cannot identify every secret or personal detail.

7. Consent and control

Where a feature asks for consent, the AI request will not be made until you take the required affirmative action. Consent applies to that request and does not create permission for unrelated marketing, publication or automatic decision-making. You may stop before submission and use the non-AI pathway.

8. Storage, logs and security

We use security checks, input limits, temporary limits after repeated attempts, protected connections and safe display controls for customer AI features. Where a feature states that pasted text is not saved as part of your customer record, we do not intentionally save that text as a customer record. Our service providers may keep limited security, misuse-prevention or legal records under their own policies. Internet transmission and automated removal of sensitive details cannot be guaranteed completely secure.

9. My Tech Help limitations

The My Tech Help AI assistant may explain only customer-safe information already linked to your authenticated account. It does not access private team notes, does not change a request, and cannot approve quotes, bookings, payments, warranties, refunds, disputes, provider decisions or completion dates. The visible customer record and authorised staff remain the authoritative record.

10. Scam and cyber limitations

An AI scam explanation cannot prove that a message is safe or fraudulent. Verify independently using an official app, a website address you type yourself, or a known phone number. Do not click, reply, pay, install remote-access software or share codes because an AI response appears reassuring.

Business cyber scores remain rule-based where stated. AI only explains the recorded result. The feature does not certify Essential Eight maturity, formal compliance, insurance eligibility or guaranteed security.

11. Prohibited use

You must not use our AI features to facilitate crime, fraud, impersonation, harassment, surveillance, unauthorised access, malware, credential theft, deceptive content, discrimination, exploitation, self-harm, sexual abuse material, or infringement of privacy, intellectual property or other rights. You must not probe, bypass or interfere with safety controls, temporary limits after repeated attempts, service instructions, access controls or our online services.

12. Children and vulnerable users

Children and vulnerable persons should use AI-assisted safety or support features with a trusted adult, guardian, support person or authorised worker where appropriate. AI must not replace safeguarding, emergency assistance or qualified professional support.

13. Availability and changes

AI services may be delayed, unavailable, temporarily limited after repeated attempts or changed without notice because they depend on third-party services and AI availability. We may provide a non-AI fallback instead. We may update this policy as features, providers, laws and safety practices change.

14. Consumer rights and liability

Nothing in this policy excludes, restricts or modifies any right or remedy that cannot lawfully be excluded, including rights under the Australian Consumer Law. Subject to those rights, you remain responsible for checking AI output before relying on it and for obtaining qualified advice for important, urgent or high-risk matters.

15. Questions, corrections and complaints

Contact us through the support page or the contact details published on this website if an AI answer appears unsafe, incorrect, discriminatory, privacy-invasive or misleading, or if you want a human review. Privacy requests are handled under our Privacy policy.

Related policies

How we manage AI safely

AI may assist with issue summaries, directing an enquiry to the right help, price guides, device-photo interpretation, model or serial-number extraction, scam explanations, business workflow ideas and plain-English guidance. It must not make final decisions about price, diagnosis, safety, eligibility, disputes, refunds, warranty, provider approval or NDIS funding.

Image analysis can misread damage, labels, serial numbers or personal details. Customers must verify extracted information. Images should be limited to what is needed, handled under the Privacy Policy and deleted or retained according to the stated feature workflow and legal record requirements.

Services and responsibilities

Reviewed: 17 July 2026. This section aligns this policy with the current Your IT & Tech Mates and TheFixers.APP service model.

Services covered

Depending on the page, quote and confirmed scope, our offering may include Family Tech Care, Senior Tech Support, home technology visits, computer, laptop, phone and tablet repairs, device setup, Wi-Fi and printer help, data recovery assistance, scam-safety guidance, after-hours or urgent technology support, small-business and tradie technology support, websites, software, workflow automation, AI-assisted tools, QuoteMe, Quick Help, customer-room features, referral pathways and related guides.

QuoteMe, estimates and approval

QuoteMe, online calculators, request summaries and indicative price ranges help organise an enquiry. They are not a binding diagnosis, booking or final quote unless we expressly confirm the scope, price, timing and provider in writing. No paid work, parts order, remote access or on-site attendance is authorised merely because a form was submitted. Additional work, parts, travel, after-hours charges or changed scope require customer approval before proceeding, except where immediate action is reasonably necessary to prevent imminent safety harm and is legally permitted.

Urgent and after-hours requests

Urgent and after-hours services depend on technician availability, location, safety, access, parts and the nature of the issue. We do not guarantee same-day attendance, recovery, repair completion or continuous availability. Emergency technology support is not a substitute for police, fire, ambulance, a bank fraud team, an internet or telecommunications carrier, a government identity service, a qualified legal or financial adviser, or a specialist cyber-incident response provider.

Families, seniors, people with disability and support persons

We aim to communicate patiently, clearly and respectfully. A customer may involve a family member, carer, guardian, nominee, advocate or support worker where the customer authorises this or the law permits it. We may verify identity, authority and consent before sharing information, changing an account, collecting a device, approving work or accepting instructions. We do not provide personal care, medical care, behaviour support, restrictive practices, guardianship decisions or financial management unless separately qualified, authorised and expressly contracted to do so.

NDIS-related services

Provider status: Your IT & Tech Mates is an independent technology support business and is not a registered NDIS provider, not an aged care provider, not a home-care provider and not a personal-care service. References to NDIS, disability, senior or care-related technology support describe the customer group or technology need only; they do not state or imply NDIS registration, aged-care approval, government endorsement, funding approval or the provision of personal care, therapy, support coordination, plan management, nursing or clinical services. Where a service is supplied to an NDIS participant, applicable legal duties and the NDIS Code of Conduct continue to apply. Funding eligibility, service agreements, plan-management requirements, consent, authority and invoice evidence must be confirmed for each engagement before booking or claiming.

Repairs, data and customer devices

Repair and diagnostic work can involve risks including data loss, loss of settings, reduced water resistance, cosmetic change, discovery of additional faults, unavailable parts, manufacturer restrictions and delays. Customers should back up important data where reasonably possible. Before accepting a data-storing product for repair, we provide or make available the repair notice required by Australian Consumer Law. We do not require passwords, PINs, banking codes or identity documents through public website forms. Any access credential needed for an authorised task should be provided through an approved secure process and changed afterwards where appropriate.

Other service providers

Some jobs may be delivered, quoted, referred or supported by an independent technician, repairer, supplier, software provider or other partner. The applicable quote, booking or service agreement should identify the responsible provider. TheFixers.APP may provide referral, communication and service-record functions. It is not automatically the contracting repairer or employer for every interaction. Nothing in this clause removes any responsibility that the law places on us for our own conduct, representations, supply or agency relationship.

Australian Consumer Law

Complaints and records

Customers may raise a concern without retaliation. We may keep request, quote, approval, communication, device, payment, referral, safety and dispute records where reasonably necessary to deliver the service, prevent fraud, meet legal and accounting obligations, protect vulnerable people and resolve complaints. Contact [email protected] or call 0452 323 571. Privacy complaints are handled under the Privacy Policy. NDIS participants may also contact the NDIS Quality and Safeguards Commission where applicable.