Terms of Service

These terms apply to every data recovery, forensic data recovery and digital forensics service we provide. You accept them when you submit a device through our Start a Recovery form, request a free postage label, hand a device to us, or accept an estimate.

These terms should be read together with our Privacy Policy, our Cookies Policy and our No Data No Fee Policy. Forensic engagements that may be relied on in legal proceedings are also covered by a written engagement letter, which prevails over these terms if the two conflict.

Every job follows the same sequence, so you always know where your device is and what happens next.

Standard diagnostic is free. There is no charge for the laboratory diagnostic of a standard recovery case, and no obligation to proceed. If you decline the estimate we return your device at no charge.

Website figures are guides only. Price ranges shown on our website, in our online calculator or discussed by phone indicate the complexity band a device may fall into based on previous recoveries. They are not quotes and are not error-proof. A formal estimate is only issued after an engineer has diagnosed the device in the laboratory, and the figures in that written estimate are the only figures that form part of our agreement.

Estimate validity. A written estimate is valid for 14 days from the date it is issued. After that we may need to re-examine the device before confirming the price, because component availability and device condition can change.

GST. Every figure we quote is shown ex GST with the GST-inclusive total alongside it. Pricing is identical in every section of the estimate.

Acceptance. You accept an estimate by clicking Accept Estimate in the Square estimate we email you, or by confirming acceptance in writing. Acceptance authorises us to begin the work described.

Every case is classified from Level 1 to Level 5 by complexity, whatever the device type (hard drive, SSD, RAID or NAS, mobile phone, USB or flash media, CCTV or DVR). The level determines the fee structure and the success threshold that applies.

Success fee. The success fee is only ever charged when we recover your data to the agreed standard and return it to you. If we cannot recover your data, no success fee is payable.

Upfront component (Levels 3 to 5). Where the estimate includes an upfront component, it is a fixed per-case amount, never a percentage. It is invoiced after you accept the estimate, work begins once it is paid, and it is not refundable once work has started, because it pays for donor parts, consumables and laboratory time that are consumed whether or not the recovery succeeds. Your rights under the Australian Consumer Law (see section 14 of these terms) are not affected.

Urgency. Our default Economic service carries no urgency fee. Critical and Emergency 24/7 service are available for an additional per-device fee shown on your estimate. The urgency category is set after the laboratory diagnostic, the clock starts when we hold your written authorisation and any upfront payment, and turnaround is always subject to parts availability, courier delivery times, device complexity and specialist availability.

Recovery media. Recovered data is returned on new recovery media, charged separately and shown on your estimate, or on suitable media you supply.

Payment methods. Bank transfer carries no surcharge. Card payments carry the card surcharge shown on your estimate. Any discount is shown as one line off the combined pre-tax subtotal.

Forensic and locked-device work. Forensic engagements, chain-of-custody work and locked-device extractions use a staged fee structure rather than the Level 1 to 5 ladder. Each stage, its fee and whether that fee is success-based is set out in the written estimate before you commit to that stage.

No Data No Fee means exactly what it says: if we do not recover your data to the agreed standard, you do not pay a success fee. The agreed standard is either the success threshold for your recovery level or, if you prefer, a critical file register that lists the specific files and folders you need.

The full policy, including what counts as a functional file, what the upfront component covers and how verification works, is on our dedicated No Data No Fee Policy page.

When payment is due. The upfront component (where one applies) is payable before work begins. The success fee is payable after you have reviewed the file listing and before your recovered data is released and your device is returned.

Cancelling before work starts. You may cancel at any time before you accept an estimate, or before we have begun work under an accepted estimate, at no cost. We return your device free of charge.

Cancelling after work starts. Once work has begun under an accepted estimate, the upfront component is not refundable because the parts and laboratory time it covers have been consumed. No success fee is charged on a cancelled job unless the data has already been recovered to the agreed standard and you elect to take it.

Partial results. If the recovery falls short of the success threshold, you may elect within 14 days of the file listing to purchase the partial result at a reduced fee agreed in writing. If you decline, no success fee is charged.

Refunds. If a service we have provided fails a consumer guarantee under the Australian Consumer Law, you are entitled to the remedies that law provides, which may include a refund. Change-of-mind refunds of an upfront component after work has begun are not provided.

Where a recovery required donor parts, the original faulty parts may be retained for recycling unless you ask for them to be returned with the device.

We operate primarily as a mail-in laboratory. We email you a free tracked Australia Post Express label; you are responsible for packing the device securely (our packing and shipping guide explains how). Brisbane collection can be arranged, and drop-off at the laboratory is by appointment only.

Devices in transit are covered by the carrier’s terms. We take responsibility for your device from the moment it is signed for at our laboratory until it is lodged with the carrier for return. You can follow both legs on our postage tracking page.

By sending us a device you confirm that:

The Australian Consumer Law requires repairers to give the following notices before accepting goods. Please read them before you send your device.

In practice, data recovery is the service you engage us for when a copy does not exist. We image failing media before any logical work, we carry out component work inside Class 5 portable clean air boxes, and donor parts (heads, boards, controllers) are routinely used to read your original media. Your device is not “repaired” for ongoing use; the goal is to recover the data on it.

File listing review. Before you pay the success fee we provide a file listing (and, where practical, sample files) so you can confirm the result meets the success threshold or your critical file register. You have 7 days to review the listing and raise any concerns.

Post-delivery verification. You have 14 days from delivery of your recovered data to open and check it. If files that appeared in the listing do not open or are incomplete, tell us within that window and we will investigate, re-extract where possible, or adjust the fee in line with our No Data No Fee Policy.

Keep a copy. Once your data is delivered and verified, copy it to at least one other location. We wipe our working copies within 30 days.

Rarely, a case reaches a point where we cannot proceed further, because of its difficulty or because it needs equipment we do not hold. In that situation we may offer to refer the case to a specialist laboratory we have chosen with care. We will always tell you first, explain why, and obtain your agreement before anything leaves our custody.

Two pathways are available and your estimate will state which applies. Under a managed subcontract we remain your point of contact and remain responsible for the service. Under a direct engagement you contract with the specialist directly for the remaining work, we hand over everything we have (images, notes, parts) and the specialist is responsible for that onward phase, including any refund of its own fees. Either way, your Australian Consumer Law rights continue to apply.

We treat the contents of your device as confidential. Engineers access your data only as far as the recovery requires (for example, to verify that recovered files open). We never use your data for any other purpose, never sell it, and never disclose it except as described in our Privacy Policy or as required by law.

Forensic engagements follow documented chain-of-custody procedures. Where a matter may be relied on in court, the engagement letter sets out custody, reporting and retention arrangements that apply instead of the retention periods in section 07.

Our services come with guarantees that cannot be excluded under the Australian Consumer Law. For major failures with the service, you are entitled to cancel your service contract with us and to a refund for the unused portion, or to compensation for its reduced value. You are also entitled to be compensated for any other reasonably foreseeable loss or damage. If the failure does not amount to a major failure, you are entitled to have problems with the service rectified in a reasonable time and, if this is not done, to cancel your contract and obtain a refund for the unused portion of the contract.

Nothing in these terms excludes, restricts or modifies any consumer guarantee, right or remedy that cannot lawfully be excluded.

To the extent permitted by law, and where section 64A of the Australian Consumer Law allows it, our liability for a failure of a service is limited to supplying the service again or paying the cost of having it supplied again. To the extent permitted by law we are not liable for loss of profit, loss of business or other consequential loss, or for data that was already unrecoverable when the device reached us.

Data recovery is an inherently uncertain process performed on already-failed equipment. Accepting an estimate is not a guarantee that data will be recovered; it is an agreement that you pay a success fee only if it is.

We may update these terms from time to time. The version that applies to your job is the version published on the date you accepted your estimate; we keep earlier versions on file and will supply the relevant one on request. When we make changes we update the date at the top of this page.