1. Passports and Visas

All individuals (including Children) departing from Australia must be in possession of a valid passport with a minimum six months validity beyond your return arrival date back into Australia. Australian Residents travelling on a foreign passport may require a visa or permit to re-enter Australia. It is your responsibility to supply your full name as per your passport as travel will be denied if your booking does not match your passport name. If your airline ticket, cruise ticket or other documentation has to be reissued to comply with your passport details, there are often reissue fees that will be charged to you.

Certain countries require a Visa for entry prior to arrival and in some instances can take time to obtain, so please ask your travel consultant before you book your travel arrangements. It is your responsibility to ensure that you have valid passports, visas and re-entry permits. It is each travellers own responsibility to ensure they obtain the necessary visa clearance prior to their departure. Some Countries require compulsory pre-registration for an electronic pre-entry visa (e-Visa) which must be completed well in advance of travel (eg. USA ESTA visa). Any fines, penalties, payments or expenditure incurred as a result of such documents not meeting the requirements will be your sole responsibility. If you need information regarding visa and other travel document requirements for your trip, please let us know. We can obtain such information from an external visa advisory service provider on your behalf. We do not warrant the accuracy of such information and accept no liability for any loss or damage which you may suffer in reliance on it. If you wish, we can obtain visas for you through this external service and fees will apply. Obtaining visas however and the assurance that you have the necessary visas for your travel itinerary is the sole responsibility of each traveller. 

2. Travel Documents

Suppliers will usually wait until all passengers have finalised payment and for cruises this may extend to the completion of immigration online registration formalities before starting to finalise ticket documents. This will mean that ticket documentation will usually be available 14 to 21 days before travel. If you are travelling extensively before any of the travel arrangements we have booked on your behalf, please ensure that your Travel Advisor or for online booking call centre team, is aware of your departure date. It is important that when you receive your documentation that you read it carefully, checking all details prior to departing, so as to minimise any possible disruptions whilst travelling.

3. Travel Insurance

Travel insurance is strongly recommended by the Department of Foreign Affairs & Trade for all travel with clients recommended to take out comprehensive travel insurance when making a booking. Travel Insurance should cover loss of deposit, cancellation, medical expenses (including repatriation costs to Australia), loss or damage to personal baggage, loss of money and other additional expenses that may be incurred in the instance where services need to be extended or curtailed due to illness or other insurable risk. Hunter Travel Group Travel Advisors are FSR compliant with the Insurance providers we represent. You must obtain a Product Disclosure Statement relating to the product to consider the product before making a decision about whether to acquire the product. Travel Insurance is active from the date of purchase and is non-refundable after the initial cooling off period. The cooling off period is dependent on what Insurance Company and policy type you select. 

4. Health

You must ensure that you are aware of any health requirements and recommended precautions relevant to your travel booking and ensure that you carry all necessary vaccination documentation. In some cases, failure to present required vaccination documentation (e.g. proof of COVID-19 and/or Yellow Fever vaccination) may deny you entry into a country. We recommend that you consult with your local doctor, travel medical service or specialist vaccination clinic before commencing your travel. General health advice for the destination you wish to visit is also available from DFAT (see www.smartraveller.gov.au).

Whether any medical requests can be accommodated, including (without limitation) access to power, refrigeration and travelling with the use of mobility aids, is subject to the travel service provider in their sole and absolute discretion, and will often depend on several factors, including (without limitation) any modes of transport and local standards at the destination. All medical requests are beyond our control. While we will include all medical requests as a file note to the travel service provider, we cannot guarantee that your request will be accommodated. It is your responsibility to follow up with the travel service provider directly either at the destination or prior to travelling where possible.

5. Prices

All prices are subject to availability and can be withdrawn or changed without notice. Prices are only guaranteed once your booking has been paid for in full. Please note that prices quoted are subject to change. Price changes may occur by reason of matters outside our control which increase the cost of the product and/or service. Such factors include, but are not limited to, adverse currency fluctuations, fuel surcharges, taxes and airfare increases. Some products and/or services are ‘Instant Purchase’ due to the dynamic pricing of products and/or services and constantly changing availability, and so can only be secured if paid for in full immediately when quoted (and even once paid for by you in full, a product and/or service price may not be able to be secured for you, because the price (e.g. an airfare or a room-rate) may become unavailable in the short time period between your payment being processed by us and our booking systems being able to make the booking for you due to availability or changes in the travel service provider’s booking and yield management systems). If this occurs, we will notify you immediately and provide you with reasonable alternatives or a refund as soon as possible. Please contact your Travel Advisor for our most up-to-date prices. We do not represent or warrant that our prices or any sale airfares are identical to or cheaper than any prices or sale airfares that might be available direct from the airline, or that our in-store prices and sale airfares are identical to or cheaper than our online prices or sale airfares.

6. Financial Arrangements

We receive remuneration through commissions, financial incentives, fees or payments, rebates, other means including transaction processing fees, merchant service fees or other payments or credits of a similar nature and other means from third party travel service providers, card issuers, credit providers, payment service providers and/or other suppliers/partners for booking travel and travel-related products and/or services on your behalf and/or for providing other products and/or services (including any credit) to you. We are entitled to retain, and we are not required to account to you, for any such fees, payments or credits we may receive. We are not required by law to disclose the nature or value of these financial arrangements.

7. Deposit and Final Payment (Not applicable to online bookings, which must be paid in full at the time of booking)

You will be required to pay a deposit/s when making a booking. Your Travel Advisor will advise you of the sum of your deposit payment. Subject to your rights under the Australian Consumer Law, all deposits are non-refundable for changes of mind or cancellations by you, or if the travel service provider’s terms and conditions provide that your deposit is non-refundable. If your deposit is refundable, this is subject to Hunter Travel Group having received the funds from the travel service provider and/or being authorised by the travel service provider to refund your deposit. A deposit will generally secure your booking/airfare/seat, however prices quoted may change before you make the final payment for the reasons outlined in section 6 above. Final payment is required no later than 8 weeks prior to departure unless otherwise stated. Some products and/or services must be paid in full at the time of booking.

8. Cancellations and Changes

Subject to your refund and remedy rights under the Australian Consumer Law, the following change or cancellation fees will apply to your booking (including online bookings and bookings made with a consultant), as set out in sections 10 to 14 below:

Online Bookings

• Changes to Domestic bookings will incur a fee of $25 per person in addition to any travel service provider fees.
• Changes to International bookings will incur a fee of $50 per person in addition to any travel service provider fees.
• Cancellations of Domestic bookings will incur a fee of $25 per person in addition to any travel service provider fees.
• Cancellations of International bookings will incur a fee of $50 per person in addition to any travel service provider fees.

 

Instore Bookings

• Changes to Domestic bookings will incur a fee of $100 per person in addition to any travel service provider fees.
• Changes to International bookings will incur a fee of $100 per person in addition to any travel service provider fees.
• Cancellations of Domestic bookings will incur a fee of $200 per person or 15% of total money paid whichever
  is greater in addition to any travel service provider fees.
• Cancellations of International bookings will incur a fee of $200 per person or 15% of total money paid whichever
  is greater in addition to any travel service provider fees.

 

These change and cancellation fees reflect the reasonable, direct and indirect costs, time and effort incurred or involved in us providing booking and advisory services to you, as well as processing and managing the changes to, or cancellation of, your booking.

Any fees for such change or cancellation must be made via credit card and will attract the applicable credit card surcharge.

All bookings are made on your behalf subject to the terms and conditions imposed by the travel service provider. If, for example, a travel service provider’s terms and conditions contain a “no refund policy”, we will only be able to provide you with the remedy provided by the travel service provider (if any), which may include a travel credit supplied by the travel service provider.

9. Travel partner Change and Cancellation Fees

Modifications (changes) or cancellations to bookings for any reason, including circumstances beyond your or our control, may result in fees from the travel service provider. These fees can be as high as 100% of the booking cost, regardless of whether travel has started. Fees may also apply if a booking is altered for any reason or when tickets or documents are reissued. If we are liable for a change or cancellation fee from a travel service provider for any altered or cancelled booking, you agree to cover that fee. If you request a refund for a changed or cancelled booking that has been paid to the travel service provider, we can’t refund you until we receive the funds from the provider. This process may take 12 weeks or longer, depending on the provider’s processing time. If we’re still holding the funds, we can only refund you once the travel service provider authorises us to do so, and this is subject to the provider’s change or cancellation policy.

10. Change or Cancellation by You

If you change any aspect of your booking, we will do our best to accommodate your request, but it may not always be possible. All changes will be subject to any applicable travel service provider fees and Hunter Travel Group change fees set out above, and you will be responsible for any increase in pricing that may occur as a result of your change request.

If you cancel any aspect of your booking, you will forfeit your deposit and you will be required to pay any applicable travel service provider fees and Hunter Travel Group cancellation fees set out above, and we will provide you with a refund for the remaining funds (if any). Alternatively, Hunter Travel Group or the travel service provider may offer you a travel credit for the full amount paid by you without applying any applicable travel service provider fees or Hunter Travel Group cancellation fees. If your deposit or booking is refundable, this is subject to Hunter Travel Group having received the funds from the travel service provider and/or being authorised by the travel service provider to refund your deposit or booking funds.

For instant purchase or non-refundable bookings, if you cancel any aspect of your booking, you will not be entitled to a refund, travel credit or other remedy from the travel service provider and/or Hunter Travel Group.

11. Change or Cancellation by a travel partner

The following terms apply to a cancellation by a travel service provider, except in the event of unavoidable or extraordinary circumstances (which are dealt with in sections 12 and 13 below).

To the extent permitted by applicable law, if your booking is cancelled by a travel service provider, the travel service provider will generally offer you in the first instance alternative travel arrangements of comparable standard if available (and will refund any price difference if the alternative is of a lower value), or a travel credit for the full amount paid by you. Alternatively, subject to the travel service provider’s change or cancellation policy, the travel service provider may offer you a refund of all money paid by you in respect of the booking, from which the travel service provider and/or Hunter Travel Group will deduct any unrecoverable costs, and any applicable travel service provider fees and Hunter Travel Group cancellation fees set out above.

“Unrecoverable costs” means all reasonable, direct and indirect costs we have incurred in relation to your booking, and includes amounts paid by Hunter Travel Group to other relevant travel service providers who are responsible for components of your booking and which may be non-refundable. For example, costs paid to overseas in-destination tour or transfer operators.

12. Unavoidable or Extraordinary Circumstances

In the event of unavoidable or extraordinary circumstances, a travel service provider may materially modify or cancel your booking as set out below.

In these Booking Terms and Conditions “unavoidable or extraordinary circumstances” means any cause outside a travel service provider’s reasonable control which could not have been prevented or avoided even if all reasonable measures had been taken by the travel service provider (including, but not limited to, war, threat of war, riot, civil disturbances, industrial dispute, terrorist activity and its consequences, plague, epidemic, pandemic, infectious disease outbreak or any other public health crisis (including quarantine or other employee restrictions), natural or other disaster (such as volcanic ash or hurricanes or similar events), nuclear incident, fire or bushfires, adverse weather conditions (actual or threatened, including snow and fog), closed or congested airports or ports or other modes of transport, unavoidable technical problems with transport, unforeseen alterations to transport schedules, transportation disruptions or cancellations, domestic and/or international travel restrictions, changes to travel advisories and restrictions, changes to health advisories and quarantines, changes to immigration, rescheduling of aircraft, boats, other modes of transport, changes to applicable laws and/or other government mandates (including evacuation orders and border closures), and similar events).

A material modification is one that has a serious impact on your booking and would cause substantial inconvenience to you (including a change of departure date, departure point or airport, or change of departure time of more than 24 hours).

13. Cancellation due to Unavoidable or Extraordinary Circumstances

If your booking is cancelled due to unavoidable or extraordinary circumstances, the travel service provider may offer you a travel credit.

14. Payments by Credit Card

Credit card surcharges of 1.2% for Visa, MasterCard and American Express will apply when paying by credit card. Unfortunately, we do not accept Diners Cards or Debit cards at this time. You authorise us to charge all fees incurred by you in relation to the products and/or services provided by us to the credit card designated by you. If payment is not received from the card issuer or its agents for any reason, you agree to pay us all amounts due immediately on demand. If you choose to save your credit card details with us, they will be securely stored and may be used for your future transactions with us (including transactions agreed over the phone or by email). You can choose to remove your saved credit card details at any time.

15. Payments by Cash (Not applicable to online bookings)

Cash payments can be made at any time for bookings made within our retail branches. Due to Australian regulations, we are unable to accept more than $10,000 in a single transaction.

16. Payments by Cheque (Not applicable to online bookings)

Please note that cheque payments (including bank cheques) require a minimum 5 business days to process. If you are paying by this method you will need to make the payment at least 5 business days prior to the actual due date. You agree not to stop payment of the cheque even when your booking is cancelled for any reason (including by reason of matters outside your or our control). You agree that we may apply the proceeds of the cheque to satisfy any liability you have to us, including any liability in respect of cancellation fees, before refunding the balance to you.

17. Payments by Direct Deposit (Not applicable to online bookings)

Please note that Direct Deposit payments take up to 3 business days to process. If you are paying by this method you will need to make the payment at least 3 business days prior to the actual due date. You must notify your Travel Advisor of your payment once it has been made.

18. Amex Pay with Points (Not applicable to online bookings)

You are able to use your American Express rewards points towards making a payment for your holiday. Please see your Travel Advisor for more information.

19. Taxes

Airline taxes are subject to change and are confirmed at the time your airline ticket is issued. There may also be a local tax charged at some airports.

Where applicable prices quoted do include goods and services tax or similar tax ("GST"). GST does not apply to international travel.

20. Agency

We serve as an agent, selling various travel-related products and services on behalf of many providers like airlines, coach, rail, and cruise line operators, as well as wholesalers and tour operators. As your agent, we provide booking and advisory services  including making travel bookings on your behalf and arranging contracts between you and the travel service providers.

While we carefully select reputable travel service providers, we ourselves are not a provider of travel services and have no control over or liability for the services provided by third parties. All bookings made on your behalf are subject to the terms and conditions of these travel service providers, which are separate from our own Booking Terms and Conditions.

These terms and conditions can usually be found on their specific travel service providers websites (click here for a summary of our preferred partners). If you need help accessing these terms and conditions, or if you’re unsure which ones apply to your booking, please contact your travel advisor or our call centre for online bookings.

Please note that the travel service provider’s terms and conditions may include terms and/or fees related to booking cancellations or changes, and your legal rights in connection with the provision of travel services are against the specific travel service provider, not us, unless a problem arises due to our gross negligence, fraud, criminal conduct or wilful misconduct.

We strive to ensure the accuracy of all information provided by the travel service provider, but we can’t guarantee its accuracy, completeness, or correctness. We can’t be held responsible for any errors, omissions, interruptions, or inaccurate, misleading or untrue information provided by the travel service provider, unless we are aware of such inaccuracies or incompleteness. In such cases, we reserve the right to correct any information and amend your booking to ensure it reflects the correct price or contains the correct and complete information.

21. Liability

Hunter Travel Group cannot accept any responsibility for any act, omission or default, whether negligent or otherwise, of any travel service provider cruise lines, airlines, hoteliers, tour operators or any other supplier in connection with your holiday and over whom we have no direct or exclusive control. In no event shall we be liable for injury, loss or damage occasioned by the negligence or any incidental or consequential damages, including but not limited to loss of profits, savings arising out of or in any way connected with your travel bookings. We reserve the right to cancel or modify itineraries or bookings where circumstances require.  We act as an agent for service travel providers. We have no responsibility for these services, nor do we make or give any warranty or representation regarding their standard. Bookings are made on your behalf subject to the Terms & Conditions imposed by those service providers. Your legal recourse is against the specific provider and not Hunter Travel Group. If, for any reason, any travel service provider is unable to provide services for which you have contracted, your remedy lies against the provider and not Hunter Travel Group.

22. Supplier / Travel Partner Insolvency

Without limiting section 21, for the avoidance of any doubt, in the event of a third party provider being unable to provide you with the product and/or service you have booked due to that third party provider becoming insolvent or being placed under external administration, subject to your refund and remedy rights under the Australian Consumer Law, we have no obligation to reimburse you for the cost of your booking, or for any loss or damage you may otherwise suffer as a result of any such insolvency or external administration.

23. Special Requirements

Please liaise with your Travel Advisor or, for online bookings call our call centre, regarding any special requirements you may have for your travel arrangements such as special meal and seating requests, room type or disabled access.

24. Frequent Flyer or Other Loyalty Programs

Please advise your Travel Advisor of your frequent flyer membership details (or other applicable loyalty program details) for inclusion in your booking. Please check your loyalty program for the specific terms of your membership. We cannot guarantee that the supplier of your frequent flyer or other loyalty program will credit you with points for your booking or provide you with any other particular benefit

25. Schedule Changes

We recommend that you contact the travel service provider to confirm your scheduled departure time 24-48 hours prior to your departure.

26. Travel advisories

Policies are constantly evolving and changing with and with-out notice and it is your responsibility to check if any travel advisories have been listed for all States, Territories & Countries you plan to visit.

When travelling internationally you can check with the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, via the Smartraveller website. For travel with-in Australia please refer to the relevant state's website for the most up to date information.

Any additional costs incurred to make changes to your travel arrangements due to not meeting these requirements will be your sole responsibility.

27. Force majeure

Hunter Travel Group shall not be liable for any loss or damage incurred by you as a consequence of Hunter Travel Group or any of the suppliers being unable to perform its obligations under your contract(s) due to the unusual or unforeseeable circumstances (a 'force majeure event') beyond the control of the party affected by the force majeure event. Force Majeure includes, but is not limited to: acts of God, accident, riots, war, terrorist act, epidemic, pandemic, quarantine, outbreaks of infectious disease or any other public health crisis, civil commotion, breakdown of communication facilities, natural catastrophes, adverse weather conditions, high or low water levels, governmental acts or omissions, changes in laws or regulations, national strikes, fire, explosion, generalized lack of availability of raw materials or energy.

28. Privacy Policy

We are committed to protecting your personal information and agree to handle your personal information in accordance with our Privacy Policy, which is available online at htg.com.au or in-store. For complete details, you should review the full details of our Privacy Policy. By way of general comments, in providing personal information to us, you agree that our Privacy Policy will apply to how we handle your personal information and you consent to us collecting, using and disclosing your personal information as detailed in our Privacy Policy. In particular, you agree that in certain circumstances (such as where you request us to book international travel for you), we are permitted to disclose your personal information to overseas recipients. Such recipients may include the overseas travel service providers (e.g. airlines, accommodation or tour providers) with whom you make a booking. These travel service providers will in most cases receive your personal information in the country in which they will provide the services to you or in which their business is based. We may also disclose your personal information to our overseas related entities and to service providers (including technology platforms) who perform services for us within and outside of Australia. Generally, we will only disclose your personal information to these entities and/or persons in connection with the facilitation of your travel booking and/or to enable the performance of administrative and technical services by them on our behalf. Where we disclose your personal information to any entity and/or person (including any overseas recipients), you agree that: (i) in the case of travel service providers or other recipients who are providing services directly to you, we will not be required to ensure that recipient’s compliance with Australian privacy laws or otherwise be accountable for how they handle your personal information and you acknowledge and agree that your rights in relation to their handling of your personal information are governed by the contract between you and that recipient (which may include their privacy policy); and (ii) in the case of our related entities and travel service providers who perform services for us, we will take reasonable steps to ensure that recipient’s compliance with Australian privacy laws. When used above, “disclose” includes to transfer, share, send, or otherwise make available or accessible to another person and/or entity.

29. Modifications of these Booking Terms and Conditions

We reserve the right to modify any of these Booking Terms and Conditions at any time without prior notice. If we make changes to any of these terms and conditions, we will post the amended terms and conditions on the htg.com.au website and any applications, or services, which are effective upon posting. The applicable terms that apply are those in effect at the time you make a booking with us.

30. Governing Law

Our terms, conditions, and the contractual relationship created between you and Hunter Travel Group when you book through us is governed by the laws applying in the relevant Australian state or territory.

31. Acknowledgement

You acknowledge that you are 18 years of age or older and that you understand and agree with the above Booking Terms and Conditions and our Privacy Policy.

These terms were last updated on June 19th, 2024