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What are common IT agreements?
IT (information technology) agreements are often vitally important to not-for-profits.
Common IT agreements include:
- software licences
- web-hosting agreements
- cloud services agreements
- internet service agreements
- telephone or other communication agreements
- hardware purchase and maintenance agreements, and
- website or software development agreements
What are the key legal issues to consider?
There are key legal issues your organisation may need to be aware of when entering into an IT agreement, especially when an Australian organisation enters into an agreement with a provider overseas. It’s always important to read the terms of an IT agreement.
Issues in IT agreements which may give rise to legal risk include:
- clarity about when the agreement starts
- automatic renewal (where you sign up for a certain period and the contract automatically renews unless you give notice)
- the need for clear descriptions of the product or service being supplied
- the incorporation of additional documents into the IT agreement by the supplier
- unilateral changes to the IT agreement by the supplier (that is, changes which do not need to be agreed by the other party)
- warranties for defects
- overseas providers and determining which country's law applies (if your provider is overseas and you have an issue with your service, it can be harder to enforce your rights under the contract)
- indemnities, limitations and exclusions of liability, and
- data security and privacy
For more information, download our fact sheet which:
- summarises features of common IT agreements
- outlines key legal issues your organisation may need to be aware of when entering into IT agreements, and
- sets out how to manage risks associated with IT agreements
IT agreements
DownloadMore information
The content on this webpage was last updated in September 2023 and is not legal advice. See full disclaimer and copyright notice.
