Contact Central West Tours

Welcome to Central West Tours. By engaging our Services, you are agreeing to comply with and be bound by the following terms and conditions of use (‘Terms’), which together with our privacy policy and website disclaimer, govern Central West Tour’s relationship with you in relation to your use of our Services, website, online marketing pages and social media channels.

By engaging our Services or using our website and online marketing pages, you signify your acceptance to be bound by these Terms.

For the purposes of these Terms, ‘Us’, ‘Our’, Tour Leader, and ‘We’ and ‘Central West Tours’ refers to Central West Tours Pty Ltd, t/a Central West Tours, ABN 906 528 533 28. centralwesttours.com.au.

‘You’, ‘Your’ and the ‘Client’ refers to you, the client, visitor, website user or person using our website or Services as relevant. If you do not agree to be bound by these Terms, we ask that you do not engage our Services or use our website.

“Hosted Travel Experience” means any event, tour, excursion, concert, or other such experience that may be offered from time to time by Central West Tours.

You must be 18 years of age or older to use our Services. Person 12 – 18 age are welcomed and must be accompanied by an adult.

Australian Tour Package & Tour Leader

Central West Tours (CWT) is the organiser of hosted tour packages within regional Australia. As part of the offer, CWT has engaged third party suppliers to fulfil certain aspects of its packages e.g. coach services; limousine and car hire operators and regional hotels for accommodation. In doing so CWT and therefore you, may be bound to their terms and conditions in part or in whole. CWT has made every reasonable attempt to ensure that these terms and conditions are outlined or referenced but makes no claim as to their entirety. CWT reserves the right to amend or cancel the package/s at any time for whatsoever reason.

Bookings, Payments and Deposit Conditions

Tour packages may be made using the online booking process via the  www.centralwesttours.com.au and centralwesttours.rezdy.com websites. Packages are quoted in Australian Dollars inclusive of Commonwealth Government Goods and Services Tax (GST) and online booking fees. Packages and prices are subject to change without notice. The package price is an all-inclusive price.

25% deposit is required at the time of booking. The Final payment to be paid 30 days prior to departure date Failure to pay in full by the due date may result in the cancellation of your booking. If your booking is made within 30 days of departure you must provide full payment and complete the online registration for the tour immediately. Your booking cannot be confirmed until we have received full payment and received all of your registration details.

If you make a booking on a specific tour and we cannot put you on that tour for some reason (eg. no vacancies) then you will get a full refund of your deposit, or your deposit can be transferred to another Central West Tours. We will advise you within 2 business days of your booking if your requested tour or any other product or service is sold out.

Cancellations, Fees & Refunds – Made by Traveller

If due to unforeseen circumstances you are unable to join us and need to cancel your booking, we require written notice of AT LEAST 30 DAYS prior to your tour package commencing to provide you with a full refund. Please note that ALLclaims for refunds will be subject to a minimum processing fee of AUD$50 and you will be charged the online booking fee.

Cancellations received within less 30 days notice of the tour commencement date are subject to 100% of cost being non-refundable, unless a replacement from our waiting list can be sourced.

PLEASE NOTE CAREFULLY: no refunds will be payable in connection with airline or train delays, unused services, or other acts beyond the control of Central West Tours. All notifications of cancellation must be received in writing by email to nicole@centralwesttours.com.au

Cancellations, Fees & Refunds – Made by Central West Tours

All of our journeys have been carefully planned and researched however from time to time we may need to cancel a tour in full or in part. Changes and cancellations may occur for our own requirements, or due to 'Force Majeure', road conditions, weather, bush-fires, availability of accommodation, vehicle breakdowns, serious accidents, changes in transport schedules, or other circumstances beyond Central West Tours control or which simply cannot be foreseen. We also may be forced to cancel, suspend, or delay a tour or part of a tour if we deem it necessary for safety or other reasons, or if we are directed to do so by Police or other local authorities. If for some reason we need to cancel a tour or part of a tour, we will keep participants informed of the situation.

If due to unforeseen circumstances Central West Tours contacts you to cancel or reschedule a particular tour date, we will endeavour to provide you with at least 14 days prior notice in writing where possible.

We may cancel a trip at any time prior to departure if, due to global pandemics, terrorism, natural disasters, political instability or other external events it is not viable for us to operate the planned itinerary. If we cancel your trip, you can choose to transfer amounts paid to an alternative or rescheduled tour date or to request a full refund.

In circumstances where the cancellation is due to external events outside our reasonable control, refunds will be less any unrecoverable costs which will be advised at the time of notice in writing. We are additionally not responsible for any incidental expenses that you may have incurred as a result of your booking including but not limited to visas, vaccinations, travel insurance excess or non-refundable flights.

Travel & Medical Insurance

In arranging for the tours, we enjoy together, you would appreciate that a lot of work goes into preparation. Other businesses we use such as accommodation and others that require deposits and/or fees to hold bookings. As a business, our policies are influenced by these factors and the costs incurred in providing these tours to you.

We strongly recommend whilst it is not compulsory you consider Travel Insurance and Medical Insurance (if required) at time of booking your Tour Package with us. Travel Insurance will cover you for unforeseen circumstances and we strongly recommend it covers cancellation, curtailment, personal liability and loss of luggage and personal effects, as well as provide cover against personal accident and medical expenses. It is recommended that you take out Travel Insurance to cover you even for travel within your own state and country.

www.travelwithkit.com

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Health – Extra Expenses on Tours

Please be aware that you may be liable for additional costs on top of your entry fee if you fall ill or have symptoms of illness that may affect others in the group. This includes (but is not limited to), paying for an additional room if you are sharing with another tour member and you become ill during the tour. Upgrading to your own room will help limit the spread of the illness and is a courtesy to your fellow tour group members. You may also need to pay for your own transport between towns if you cannot ride/walk as per the itinerary, and it may present a health risk to staff and other tour group members for you to be in the support vehicle.

There may be other situations where extra costs are incurred and are to be paid for by the ill customer. This is to be decided by Central West Tours Management on a case-by-case basis.

General

We do our best to ensure that all tours go ahead as planned however from time to time we may need to adjust journeys in order to improve them from an operational perspective. If such journey adjustments or cancellations become necessary, a flexible and understanding attitude will help minimise any negative impacts on your overall experience and the experience of other group members. For many reasons travelling on a Central West Tours trip requires a degree of flexibility and understanding. If you approach these tours with an open mind and positive outlook, we will be able to work together to overcome any obstacles that we may face and we believe that these obstacles often result in the greatest enjoyments and achievements on a trip like this.

Itinerary & Booking Amendments

It is important to note that there may be changes or alterations from time to time to tour itineraries or bookings that are out of our control due to third party supplier issues, or due to events beyond our control. However, we will at all times endeavour to inform you in advance as soon as we are made aware of any issues. If it is a material change, we will at all times try to ensure you have a suitable alternative available.

From time to time, itinerary activities or Hosted Travel Experiences may be altered or cancelled for reasons out of our control. We reserve the right to cancel, change or substitute any Hosted Travel Experience at any time due to external or third-party supplier issues that may arise. If you do not want to accept the alternative Hosted Travel Experience for any reason, we will offer you a refund in accordance with Australian Consumer Law requirements.

Availability

We keep a waitlist for interested guests to join a tour that has been oversubscribed. In the event of any cancellations, guests on the waitlist (in order of the request being received) will be notified of the opportunity to join the tour.

Arrival and Departure Times

Please ensure you arrive in a timely manner for your advised Tour Package commencement time. If you miss events or tour experiences within the itinerary due to failing to arrive in time, CWT will not be liable for any reimbursement of funds in lieu of the missed experience or event.

CWT cannot guarantee the departure or arrival times of its third-party operator or any of its services. CWT is not liable for any delay, including without limitation, any failure to meet with connections or other services.

Accommodation

All rooms are subject to availability. Standard room options apply; king sized or queen sized bed or twin share. Alternative hotels of similar standard to those outlined in the package within the itineraries may be used without notice. The ‘star rating’ system for hotels is provided as an indication only and is subject to change without notice. Hotel room photographs may not be specific to the actual room occupied.

Dietary Requests

Vegetarians can easily be catered for as part of the set menus being offered at each of our venues as part of our travel package, however please note that for gluten-free, vegan or other dietary requirements asking for special meals there will be a 10% surcharge on basic package cost. Genuine allergies are happily catered for, please contact Nicole on mobile: 0459 155 845 if you have any questions regarding dietary requests or email nicole@centralwesttours.com.au.

Touring

CWT does not own, operate or control third party suppliers of services (e.g. airlines, hotels/accommodation, transportation companies, restaurants, hire car operators, etc.) To the extent permitted by the Commonwealth of Australia and its States laws, CWT is not responsible for any loss, accident, delay or irregularity whatsoever resulting from a third-party supplier’s acts or omissions. The travel services provided by these suppliers are subject to the conditions imposed by the suppliers and their liability may be limited by their tariffs, conditions of carriage, and agreements.

Authority on Tour

Our group trips are run by a tour leader. The decision of the tour leader is final on all matters likely to affect the safety or well-being of any traveller or staff member participating in the tour. If you fail to comply with a decision made by your tour leader or interfere with the well-being or mobility of the group, the tour leader may direct you to leave the trip immediately, with no right of refund.

Travelling Together With Integrity

This is a group tour made up of wonderful individuals. You may be travelling on your own, with a friend, or with a small group within our tour group, and we would encourage you to say hello and get to know your fellow travellers to really get the most out of your experience of travelling together through the Central West region over the tour. You’ll leave with new friends, we’re sure of it!

Feedback

At Central West Tours, we really value your feedback. Following the completion of each of our Hosted Travel Experiences, we send out an email survey to gather our guests’ responses to help fine tune and tailor our future Hosted Travel Experiences. These surveys are anonymous and we appreciate the time you take in responding.

Feel free to drop us a line anytime to nicole@centralwesttours.com.au if you have any additional feedback for us.

Complaints

We do our utmost to provide accurate information on our website, answer all your queries and ensure you enjoy our Hosted Travel Experiences. Sometimes though there may be instances where you feel your flights or accommodation, or another aspect of your Experience, did not match your initial expectations. Central West Tours only facilitates the actual Hosted Travel Experience and related Services. If you are unhappy with your flight or flight seating, or there are issues with your accommodation such as level of cleanliness, food quality or room quality, it is best to take this up direct with the third-party service provider (the airline, hotel or restaurant) at the time of your complaint.

If you have a problem with a third-party supplier while on the Experience, we ask that you alert your Tour Host regarding the issue immediately, so they can assist you with your dealings with the third-party service provider if needed. Please note that it is your own responsibility to ensure that any products, Services or information available through our website or otherwise offered through Central West Tours meet your specific, personal or commercial requirements. We do not warrant that any Hosted Travel Experience will be suitable or fit for your purpose or will correspond with the advertising by the venue. You agree to make your own enquiries directly with the venue if required.

If you feel you have a more substantial complaint or issue that needs to be dealt with, please refer to our Complaints Handling Policy on our website.

Limitation of Liability and Disclaimers

To enable us to offer you these Hosted Travel Experiences, we contract and work with and through a network of third party businesses and individuals to assist in the running of the Experiences. For this reason, we are not responsible for any of their acts or omissions.

It is an essential pre-condition to you engaging our Services that you agree and accept that Central West Tours is not legally responsible for any loss, injury or damage you may suffer related to your use of our Services, any goods or services we may offer or from any other use of the website or Services. Your use of, or reliance on, any information or materials on this website and our Services is entirely at your own risk, for which we shall not be liable.

Liability

To the fullest extent permitted by law, we exclude all express or implied representations, conditions, guarantees, warranties and terms relating to the Services and this agreement, except those set out in this agreement, including but not limited to:

(a) implied or express guarantees, warranties, representations or conditions of any kind, which are not stated in the Terms;

(b) our Services being unavailable; and

(c) any loss, damage, costs including legal costs, or expense whether direct, indirect, incidental, special, consequential and/or incidental, including loss of profits, revenue, production, opportunity, access to markets, goodwill, reputation, use or any indirect, remote, abnormal or unforeseeable loss, or any loss or damage relating to business interruption, or otherwise, suffered by you or claims made against you, arising out of or in connection with your use of the Services, the inability to access or use the Services, and the late supply of Services, even if we were expressly advised of the likelihood of such loss or damage.

To the extent we are unable to exclude liability; our total liability for loss or damage you suffer or incur from our Services is limited to us re-supplying the Services to you, or, at our option, us refunding to you the amount you have paid us for the Services to which your claim relates.

Legislation may confer certain rights, warranties and guarantees and remedies relating to the provision of the Services that cannot be excluded, restricted or modified, including but not limited to the Australian Consumer Law (‘ACL’). At no time are these statutory rights sought to be excluded.

We cannot guarantee the availability of any Experience at any time. In the event of any changes to any times, dates or venues, we will use all reasonable endeavours to notify you and where applicable, work with you to arrange suitable alternative options.

Your Privacy

At Central West Tours [centralwesttours.com.au] we are committed to protecting your privacy as a customer and an online visitor to our websites. We use the information we collect about you to maximise the services that we provide to you. We respect the privacy and confidentiality of the information provided by you and adhere to the Australian Privacy Principles. Please read our separate Privacy Policy carefully. You may change your details at any time by advising us in writing via email.

Third Parties

We do not and will not sell or deal in Personal Data or any customer information. Your Personal Data details are only disclosed to third party suppliers when it is required by law, for goods or services which you have purchased, for payment processing or to protect our copyright, trademarks and other legal rights. To the extent that we do share your Personal Data with a service provider, we would only do so if that party has agreed to comply with our privacy standards as described in this privacy policy and in accordance with applicable law. Our contracts with third parties prohibit them from using any of your Personal Data for any purpose other than that for which it was shared.

Disclosure of Your Information

We may from time to time need to disclose certain information, which may include your Personal Data, to comply with a legal requirement, such as a law, regulation, court order, subpoena, warrant, in the course of a legal proceeding or in response to a law enforcement agency request. Also, we may use your Personal Data to protect the rights, property or safety of Central West Tours, our customers or third parties. If there is a change of control in one of our businesses (whether by merger, sale, transfer of assets or otherwise) customer information, which may include your Personal Data, could be transferred to a purchaser under a confidentiality agreement. We would only disclose your Personal Data in good faith and where required by any of the above circumstances.

Whole Agreement

These Terms represent the whole agreement between you and Central West Tours [centralwesttours.com.au] concerning your use and access to our websites, our Services and your use and access to the documents and information on it. No other term is to be included in this agreement except where it is required to be included by any legislation of the Commonwealth or any State or Territory. All implied terms except those implied by statute and which cannot be expressly excluded are hereby expressly excluded.

Exclusion of Unenforceable Terms

Where any clause or term above would by any applicable statute be illegal, void, or unenforceable in any State or Territory then such a clause shall not apply in that State or Territory and shall be deemed never to have been included in these terms and conditions in that State or Territory. Such a clause if legal and enforceable in any other State or Territory shall continue to be fully enforceable and part of this agreement in those other States and Territories. The deemed exclusion of any term pursuant to this paragraph shall not affect or modify the full enforceability and construction of the other clauses of these Terms.

Amendment of Terms

We reserve the right to change, modify, add or remove portions of these Terms at any time. Please check these Terms regularly prior to using our website and Services to ensure you are aware of any changes. We will endeavour to highlight any significant or substantive changes to you where possible. If you choose to use our website and Services then we will regard that use as conclusive evidence of your agreement and acceptance that these Terms govern your and Central West Tour’s rights and obligations to each other.

Jurisdiction

Our agreement, these Terms and this website are subject to the laws of New South Wales and Australia. If there is a dispute between you and Central West Tours that results in litigation then you must submit to the jurisdiction of the courts of New South Wales.

[Updated 18 January 2024]

Your Privacy

At Central West Tours centralwesttours.com.au we are committed to protecting your privacy as a customer and an online visitor to our websites. We use the information we collect about you to maximise the services that we provide to you. We respect the privacy and confidentiality of the information provided by you and adhere to the Australian Privacy Principles. Please read our privacy policy below carefully.

Information We Collect From You

In the course of your visits to our websites or use of our products and services, we may obtain the following information about you: name, company name, email address, telephone number, credit card details, billing address, geographic location, IP address, survey responses, support queries, blog comments and social media handles (together ‘Personal Data’).

Our services are not directed to persons under 18 and we do not knowingly collect Personal Data from anyone under 18. If we become aware that a child under 18 has provided us with Personal Data, we will delete that information as quickly as possible. If you are the parent or guardian of a child and you believe they have provided us with Personal Data without your consent, then please contact us.

You can review, correct, update or delete your Personal Data by either logging into your account and making the changes yourself or contacting us directly to do so.

How We Use Your Information

Personally Identifiable Information: We use the information we collect to deliver our services to you, including: communicating with you, providing technical support, notifying you of updates and offers, sharing useful content, measuring customer satisfaction, diagnosing problems and providing you with a personalised website experience.

Marketing communications are only sent to you if you have requested or subscribed to them. You can opt out of our marketing communications at any time by unsubscribing or emailing us and your request will be actioned immediately.

Non-Personally Identifiable Information: We also use the information we collect in aggregated and anonymised forms to improve our services, including: administering our website, producing reports and analytics, advertising our products and services, identifying user demands and assisting in meeting customer needs generally.

Any information you choose to make publicly available, such as blog comments and testimonials on our website, will be available for others to see. If you subsequently remove this information, copies may remain viewable in cached and archived pages on other websites or if others have copied or saved the information.

Storage and Security of Your Information

We will use all reasonable means to protect the confidentiality of your Personal Data while in our possession or control. All information we receive from you is stored and protected on our secure servers from unauthorised use or access. Credit card information is encrypted before transmission and is not stored by us on our servers.

To enable us to deliver our services, we may transfer information that we collect about you, including Personal Data, across borders for storage and processing in countries other than Australia. If your Personal Data is transferred and processed outside Australia, it will only be transferred to countries that have adequate privacy protections.

We retain your personal information for as long as needed to provide services to you and as otherwise necessary to comply with our legal obligations resolve disputes and enforce our agreements.

In the event there is a breach of our security and your Personal Data is compromised, we will promptly notify you in compliance with the applicable law.

Cookies and Pixels

A cookie is a small file placed in your web browser that collects information about your web browsing behaviour. Use of cookies allows a website to tailor its configuration to your needs and preferences. Cookies do not access information stored on your computer or any Personal Data (e.g. name, address, email address or telephone number). Most web browsers automatically accept cookies but you can choose to reject cookies by changing your browser settings. This may, however, prevent you from taking full advantage of our website.

Our website uses cookies to analyse website traffic, provide social media sharing and liking functionality and help us provide a better website visitor experience. In addition, cookies and pixels may be used to serve relevant ads to website visitors through third party services such as Google Adwords and Facebook Adverts. These ads may appear on this website or other websites you visit.

Sharing Your Information With Third Parties

We do not and will not sell or deal in Personal Data or any customer information.

Your Personal Data details are only disclosed to third party suppliers when it is required by law, for goods or services which you have purchased, for payment processing or to protect our copyright, trademarks and other legal rights. To the extent that we do share your Personal Data with a service provider, we would only do so if that party has agreed to comply with our privacy standards as described in this privacy policy and in accordance with applicable law. Our contracts with third parties prohibit them from using any of your Personal Data for any purpose other than that for which it was shared.

Disclosure of Your Information

We may from time to time need to disclose certain information, which may include your Personal Data, to comply with a legal requirement, such as a law, regulation, court order, subpoena, warrant, in the course of a legal proceeding or in response to a law enforcement agency request. Also, we may use your Personal Data to protect the rights, property or safety of centralwesttours.com.au, our customers or third parties.

If there is a change of control in one of our businesses (whether by merger, sale, transfer of assets or otherwise) customer information, which may include your Personal Data, could be transferred to a purchaser under a confidentiality agreement. We would only disclose your Personal Data in good faith and where required by any of the above circumstances.

Links to Other Websites

This website may contain links to other websites. These links are meant for your convenience only. Links to third party websites do not constitute sponsorship or endorsement or approval of these websites. Please be aware that we are not responsible for the privacy practices of such other websites. We encourage our users to be aware, when they leave our website, to read the privacy statements of each and every website that collects personally identifiable information. This privacy policy applies solely to information collected by this website.

Exclusion of Competitors

If you are in the business of creating similar materials, goods or services for the purpose of providing them for a fee to customers, whether they be business, commercial customers or domestic customers, then you are a competitor of Central West Tours. We expressly exclude and do not permit you to use or access our website, to download any documents, videos, material or information from our website or obtain any such documents or information through a third party. If you breach this term then we will hold you fully responsible for any loss that we may sustain and further hold you accountable for all revenue that you may make from such unpermitted and improper use. We reserve the right to exclude and deny any person access to our website, services or information in our sole discretion.

Use of Website Content

All images, photographs, graphics, data, including but not limited to moving images, videos and other content (together “Material”) on this website are protected by Australian and international copyright, trademark, patent and other laws relating to intellectual property and all Material is either owned by or licensed to us. You may not do anything that interferes with or breaches those laws or our intellectual property rights in the Material. Any unauthorised use of any Material may violate such laws and we do not grant any express or implied permission to you to use any Material.

You may not, except with our express written permission, distribute or commercially exploit the content. Nor may you transmit it or store it in any other website or other form of electronic retrieval system.

Whole Agreement

These Terms represent the whole agreement between you and Central West Tours concerning your use and access to Central West Tour’s websites and your use and access to the documents and information on it. No other term is to be included in this agreement except where it is required to be included by any legislation of the Commonwealth or any State or Territory. All implied terms except those implied by statute and which cannot be expressly excluded are hereby expressly excluded.

Change in Privacy Policy

As we plan to ensure our privacy policy remains current, this policy is subject to change. We may modify this policy at any time, in our sole discretion and all modifications will be effective immediately upon our posting of the modifications on this website. Please return periodically to review our privacy policy.

Contact Us

If you have any questions or concerns at any time about our privacy policy or the use of your Personal Data, please contact nicole@centralwesttours.com.au and we will respond within 48 hours.

Our Access & Inclusion Statement

Central West Tours is committed to providing and continually improving services to our diverse community, including people with disability, their families, and carers as well as families with young children and older people. We strive to continually improve access to services for everyone to participate in and enjoy our travel experiences.

How We Do This

1. Or We offer our guests multiple options for bookings – either through our website, by emailing telephone.

2. We ask all guests at booking whether they have any specific access needs.

3. Floor plans of our accommodation venues are available on request, including details on accessibility and photos.

4. All guests are provided with clear itineraries and written instructions on activities at each of our various destinations.

5. Each of our guides is fully-briefed on access needs and any special needs of all guests, including pick up and drop off requirements.

6. We have trained our staff in disability awareness and in communicating with people with learning or behavioural challenges.

7. We use plain English that’s easy to read on our website, itineraries and tour information.

8. We can arrange quiet places at all tour venues and facilities, and are happy to assist with guests taking time out of the tour itinerary and rejoining when they feel comfortable.

9. We welcome assistance dogs.

10. We can arrange wheelchair accessible rooms at some limited accommodation venues and ensure accessibility at all venues on our tour itineraries, including transport access.

11. We are happy to offer a Companion discount on request.

12. We cater for all genuine food allergies and intolerances and can provide alternative menu options.

13. We offer a range of contact methods for receiving feedback and complaints, either direct or by email or telephone.

14. We saved the best to last, many accommodation venues and cellar doors are pet-friendly in the Central West region. Ask us before you book and we’ll let you know if your furry friend is able to join you on your region adventure.

Feedback and Complaints Policies

At Central West Tours, we really value your feedback. Following the completion of each Hosted Experience, we send out an email survey to gather our guests’ responses to help fine tune and tailor our future Hosted Travel Experiences. These surveys are anonymous and we appreciate the time you take in responding. Please also feel free to drop us a line anytime and say nicole@centralwesttours.com.au if you have any additional feedback for us.

We prefer to be made aware of any problems or concerns you may have while you are on tour with us, so we can take steps immediately to rectify the situation. You are very welcome to speak with us at any time during the tour, as instant feedback is greatly appreciated so we can ensure you have an enjoyable experience with us.

We do our utmost to provide accurate information on our website, answer all your queries and ensure you enjoy our Hosted Travel Experiences. Sometimes though there may be instances where you feel your flights or accommodation, or another aspect of your Experience, did not match your initial expectations.

Please note that Central West Tours only facilitates the actual Hosted Travel Experience and related Services. If you are unhappy with your flight or flight seating, or there are issues with your accommodation such as level of cleanliness, food quality or room quality, it is best to take this up direct with the third-party service provider (the airline, hotel or restaurant) at the time of your complaint. Please refer to our full Terms of Service.

If you have a problem with a third-party supplier while on our Hosted Travel Experience, we ask that you alert your Tour Host regarding the issue immediately, so they can assist you with your dealings with the third-party service provider if needed.

If you feel you have a more substantial complaint or issue that needs to be dealt with, please refer to our Complaints Handling Policy below.

Complaints Handling Policy

The objective of this policy is to ensure all Central West Tours guests, team members and partners are aware of our complaint lodgement and handling process.

Our Culture

Central West Tours endeavours to deliver exceptional quality curated lifestyle travel experiences. We are committed to being professional and responsive to the needs and concerns of our guests and to resolving complaint as quickly as possible. Customer feedback is welcomed as it helps us improve our service delivery to our valued guests.

Our Principles

• Each complaint is investigated thoroughly and efficiently, with impartiality, taking into account all information and evidence.

• Each complaint is handled confidentially.

• We take reasonable steps to actively protect your personal information, which will at all times be stored in accordance with privacy requirements.

• Any information you provide may be recorded and used to assist us in improving our products and services to future customers.

• There is no financial charge for making a complaint.

Our People

All complaints are handled by our Tour Experience Officer in liaison with other partners and suppliers. Complaints are given the utmost priority.

If you have a complaint, you can direct your complaint to the Tour Experience Officer of Central West Tours (ABN: 906 528 533 28) and advise us by one of the following methods:

a) Contact us directly via email nicole@centralwesttours.com.au;
b) by mail to Central West Tours, 3 Macquarie St Cowra NSW, 2794 Australia; or
c) or telephone +61 459 155 845

Our Process

1. Complete any feedback form or survey that we may make available to you, or contact us direct with your complaint.

2. Your complaint will be acknowledged by a Central West Tours team member within 3 business days of receiving it.

3. In the process of investigating your complaint, we may request additional information from you to assist us in reaching the most equitable outcome.

4. We will endeavour to provide you with a resolution within 10 business days of receipt. However if there is a delay, we will inform you of the reasons for the delay and maintain communication with you throughout our investigation.

5. All communication will be in writing unless there is a mutual agreement otherwise.

Resolution

If a complaint cannot be resolved to your satisfaction, we will advise you what other options you have available.

Contact

Email: nicole@centralwesttours.com.au
Tel: +61 [0]459155 845
Address: 3 Macquarie St Cowra NSW 2794, Australia

Updated September 2021

Sustainability

Central West Tours Pty Ltd objective is to provide a unique Australian cycle touring experience through the central west region and Lachlan river valley that is both ecologically and financially sustainable. We are fully commitment to protecting, nurturing and maintaining the diverse eco-system of the central west region and Lachlan River Valley. We will strive to reduce the impact of our activity and contribute to preserve the biological and cultural diversity of the environment and respect for the flora and fauna.

Central West Tours will continuously and enthusiastically seeks ways to support the environmental performance in all areas of our operations by working with suppliers, clients, partners, customers and the community. As far as possible, choose suppliers with a similar ethos and passion for the environment. We will work to ensure that customers are provided with education to increase their knowledge and awareness of the environment and how to improve efforts in our everyday lives to decrease waste and live a more sustainable existence.

Our sustainable approach includes the following:

• Promote E-Bikes tourism

• Strict adherence to the local Council recycling programs.

• Use of recycled paper and natural products where possible.

• All waste is removed during cycle tours.

• Reduce our carbon foot print.

• Responsible selection of rest stops to ensure no damage to the environment.

• All staff members are educated on the importance on the sustainability and protecting the environment.

Information Australian Tours departing 2024 / 2025

Our customers’ health and safety is always at the forefront of our minds when planning and running tours and continues to be so as we monitor the COVID-19situation across the world.

Central West Tours will continue to make operational decisions based on informed advice which could include postponing or adjusting tour plans. Informed advice is based on information provided by local, state and federal governments and health agencies and other appropriate authorities.

We will make decisions on our upcoming tours as we get close to the planned departure dates as we monitor the tours’ safety, viability and state entry requirements for the crew and customers. If necessary, we will postpone or make some adjustments such as re-routing our itinerary to avoid areas of concern if that is

possible. Please note that we will, where possible, try to make a judgement on the viability of a tour at least 30 days prior to departure, although we may make that decision earlier than that point, or may need to make a decision later.

In arranging the tours, we enjoy together, you would appreciate that a lot of work goes into preparation.

Other businesses we use such as accommodation and others, require deposits and/or fees to hold bookings.

As a business, our policies are influenced by these factors and the costs incurred in providing these tours to you.

In the current environment, our guiding principle is to be as flexible and generous as possible if either we cannot operate a tour, or a customer is stopped from coming due to border restrictions or quarantine requirements.

Coronavirus (COVID-19) Information and FAQs In relation to Central West Tours

If you have up-coming tours booked with Central West Tours, or are planning to book a tour, you likely have some questions around the impact that Coronavirus (COVID-19) may have on your travel plans with us.

The health and safety of our customers and staff is always at the forefront of our minds when planning and running tours and it continues to be so as we monitor the current Coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreaks across the world.

Below we have listed some answers to general questions about how our tours may or may not be affected.

Are you still running tours?

Central West Tours have a full itinerary of tours from Sep-Dec 2021 on our website and we are accepting bookings on these, and future tours. Please refer to each individual webpage for details on the status of that tour and any potential new dates. Or contact us if you wish to clarify anything.

I have an upcoming booking.

Currently we only operate tours in Australia. For domestic Australian Travel https://www.health.gov.au/news

Will you cancel my tour?

We intend to run all tours that we are able to operate safely. This means that we may cancel a tour if a relevant government or authority has issued a ‘do not travel’ warning or similar, or where there are operational restrictions that may prevent us from running a tour as intended. These decisions will be based on adherence to official travel advice and warnings, taking into account the health and safety of our customers and staff. There is also a possibility that we may cancel a tour if we have insufficient numbers due to a lower volume of bookings due to COVID-19. We will only do this in very extreme circumstances. If we do cancel a tour, we have amended policies to allow free transfer to future Central West Tours cycle tour (see separate document).

What are the new Cancellation and Amendments Policies?

We have a separate document outlining our cancellation andamendment policies if we (Central West Tours) cancel a tour, or if a customer decides to cancel a tour. See separate document for full details.

I have recently been in a destination affected by coronavirus - am I allowed on my up-coming tour with you?

As long as you have followed the government guidelines for the region that you have travelled through, including self-quarantine if required, and you have no signs of illness, you are allowed to travel on our tour.

I want to make a booking on a future tour - What if things change and the tour needs to be cancelled?

We have a very generous and flexible change/credit policy to our terms & conditions around COVID-19 to minimise financial risk to customers.See separate document for full details.

What if somebody gets sick on tour?

If someone (customer or staff) gets sick on tour, or presents with symptoms related to COVID-19, we will obtain local medical advice on a case-by-case basis. We have an incident management plan in place for all tours for medical and other emergencies.

Are you taking special precautions on tour?

We already have high levels of hygiene procedures on our tours and we will re-emphasise these at opening briefing along with any other expectations of tour participants in relation to hygiene. We have gained our ‘COVID-Safe Business’ accreditation and have procedures in place for dealing with suspected or confirmed COVID-19 cases on tour including a comprehensive list of local medical help along the route of all

of our tours, support vehicles for transport.

Am I covered by Travel Insurance for claims in relation to COVID-19?

We suggest checking YOUR policy wording that you received AT THE TIME of taking out your policy (not just the latest information on the providers website). For future bookings it is very unlikely that you will be covered for COVID-19 claims, however our T&Cs are quite generous and flexible to assist in minimising financial risk.

Do we have to wear masks?

This depends on the current guidelines at the time of your tour, however usually you do not have to wear a mask whist riding a bike or walking on a walking track. We suggest bringing a mask on tour in case the rules and guidelines suggest that you must wear one in public whilst not on the bike (eg. in shops).

I am joining one of your tours in the future - what should I do?

If we have not contacted you about your tour, then the current plan is for that tour to go ahead. In the meantime, stay up to date with travel alerts and follow the WHO general guidelines for basic protective measures against the new coronavirus.

https://www.who.int/emergencies/diseases/novel-coronavirus-2019/advice-for-public

As always, just contact us if you have any questions that are not answered here. We are happy to clarify any policies and answer any questions that you may have.