If you're launching an online course in Australia, your terms and conditions should cover who owns the course content and what participants can (and can't) do with it, your price and payment plans, how and when content is released, refunds, and how people sign up. Participants must accept your terms before they register. Your refund terms must also be consistent with the Australian Consumer Law, and if you sell your course as a subscription or membership, new rules apply from 1 July 2027.
Creating and launching a course is hard work. I totally appreciate that.
Despite the effort of pulling it together, shaping course material into something usable, maybe building it on a new platform, and marketing it, launching a course can be a great way to share your expertise with people who need it, and generate some additional income while you're at it.
Is it really worth it, though? What if people don't pay, or they buy your course and use your hard-won knowledge to create a course of their own in competition with you?
I hear this a lot and this is a discussion I have regularly with my course creator clients. It's worth understanding the value that solid, tailored terms and conditions can offer you. When developing tailored terms and conditions for your new offering, make sure the following are properly covered.
1. Intellectual property
One of the biggest anxieties I see when it comes to creating and launching a course is: "what if someone uses what I've made for their own gain?"
Your course content, including your videos, workbooks, templates, frameworks and recordings, is your intellectual property (IP). Copyright protects it automatically, but your terms decide what participants can do with it. They should make clear that:
you own the course content, and participants get a licence to use it for their own personal or business purposes only;
participants can't share their login, copy, resell or redistribute the content, or use it to create their own course or program; and
participants can't put your course content into AI tools, for example to summarise it, repurpose it or build their own version.
Without a clear restriction on AI, it's much harder to object later. And if you use AI to help create your course, consider telling participants upfront, along with confirming that the expertise and judgement in it are yours.
It's best to get advice, because the right approach depends on what you've created and how you deliver it. What you definitely don't want to do is consult solicitor Google and copy somebody else's terms. If they weren't written for you and what you've created, they're unlikely to work for you.
2. Price point and payment plans
It can be tricky to set your price point, but once you do, you'll definitely want to make sure you get paid.
You may decide on a one-off payment that gives participants access to the course. This can work well at a lower price point.
If your price point is higher, or you want to make the course more accessible, you may choose to offer a payment plan. If you do, your terms need to be clear about:
the payment schedule and how payments are taken;
what happens if a payment fails or is missed; and
whether access is paused or ends if payments stop.
Make sure your terms are fair. Since November 2023, unfair terms in standard form contracts are prohibited, and penalties apply.
3. Delivery of course materials
Are you going to release everything at once, or drip-feed it over time?
If you give full access straight away and someone is on a payment plan, how will you deal with a missed payment? You'll be better protected if you release content over time, particularly if you offer a payment plan, because you can restrict access if someone stops paying. Your terms need to set out these expectations and consequences.
Also think about how long participants have access. Is it lifetime access, access for a fixed period, or access while your program runs? Be clear and realistic about what "lifetime" means if you might one day close the course or change platforms.
4. Refunds and change of mind
What if someone changes their mind, or wants a refund after completing part or all of the course?
You don't have to offer change-of-mind refunds, and given the way online courses are delivered, many course creators don't. But you can't exclude the consumer guarantees under the Australian Consumer Law. Your course must be delivered with due care and skill, be fit for any purpose you promise and be delivered within a reasonable time. So avoid blanket "no refunds" statements, which can be misleading, and make sure your refund terms reflect your obligations.
Be careful with promises about results too. A course that promises a specific income, client numbers or results you can't control can raise misleading conduct issues.
Your terms are there to protect you, but you can apply them with discretion. If someone has a good reason for a refund that isn't covered by your terms, you can choose to offer one.
5. Memberships and subscriptions
Many course creators now sell through memberships or subscriptions. If you do, new unfair trading practices laws start on 1 July 2027, with specific rules for subscriptions. In summary, you'll need to:
clearly disclose key terms before sign-up, including the price, renewal terms and how to cancel;
send reminders before renewals and before free trials or introductory prices end; and
make cancelling easy, including online cancellation if people can sign up online.
Now is a good time to check your platform, your sales pages and your terms against these rules.
6. Your sign-up process
Finally, think about how participants sign up.
If they buy through your website or course platform, update your website terms to include your course and set up click-to-accept terms at checkout, so participants see and accept your terms before they pay.
If you take an invite-only approach, using expressions of interest or discovery calls, you'll need a plan for issuing your course terms, and you'll need to make sure they're accepted before participants pay or get access.
And because you'll be collecting participants' personal information, make sure your privacy policy is up to date. Read more in Does my small business need a privacy policy?
Remember
Your terms protect you as well as your participants. Make them easy to find before people buy and throughout the course, so participants can refer back to them. In many cases, this helps avoid uncomfortable or sticky situations.
Wondering what else you might need before you launch? Download the free Essential Legal Checklist, then book an introduction call.
This article provides general information only and does not constitute legal advice. Your obligations depend on your specific circumstances.
Frequently asked questions
Do I need terms and conditions for an online course?
Yes. Course terms and conditions protect your content, set out payment and refund terms, and manage participants' expectations. Participants should accept them before they pay.
Can I have a no refunds policy for my online course?
You don't have to offer change-of-mind refunds, but you can't exclude the consumer guarantees under the Australian Consumer Law. A blanket "no refunds" statement can be misleading.
How do I stop people sharing or copying my course?
Your terms should give participants a limited licence to use your content and prohibit sharing logins, copying, reselling, creating competing courses and putting your content into AI tools.
What are the new rules for subscriptions and memberships?
From 1 July 2027, businesses selling subscriptions must disclose key terms upfront, send reminders before renewals and before trials end, and make cancelling easy.
