Terms and Conditions

This Agreement governs your opening of an Account with Stake (Stakeshop Pty Ltd), your use of the Account as well as the provision of the Stake Service. 

By creating an account with Stakeshop Pty Ltd, you not only agree to the Terms & Conditions laid out by us, but you also agree to the Terms & Conditions set out by our partners. Links to their Terms are below :

For DriveWealth Terms of Use, please click here.

For DriveWealth Customer Account Agreement, please click here.

For DriveWealth Margin Account Disclosures, please click here.

For FinClear Terms including Terms of Trade, including without limitation the CHESS Sponsorship Agreement, Disclosure Statement, Financial Services Guide and Privacy Statement, please click here.

For Airwallex Terms including Airwallex Wallet Terms, Product Disclosure Statement, Financial Services Guide and Connected Account Terms, please click here.

For Stake AUS Rewards Terms & Conditions, please click here.

For Stake Wall St Rewards Terms & Conditions, please click here.

For the Stake Black Terms & Conditions, please click here.

For the Stake Customer Code of Conduct, please click here.

1. Interpretation

In this Agreement unless the contrary intention appears:

• the singular includes the plural and vice versa;

• a reference to a gender includes each other gender;

• a reference to a regulatory guide, statute or other law includes regulations and other instruments made under it and consolidations, amendments or replacements of any of them;

• headings are for convenience of reference only and in no way define, limit or affect the scope or substance of any section of this Agreement; and

• a reference to a person includes an individual or a firm, body corporate, or association (whether incorporated or not); and the person’s legal personal representatives, successors, substitutes, transferees and assigns.

2. Definitions

The following words have the indicated meanings in this Agreement unless the contrary intention appears:

Account means your Stake account.

Account Holder means the person(s) named as the account holder.

ADI means an authorised deposit-taking institution.

Airwallex means Airwallex Pty Ltd ABN 37 609 653 312, Australian Financial Services Licensee 487221.

Airwallex Account means a digital ‘wallet’ which enables you to electronically send and receive funds in the form of non-cash payments when using the Stake Service, as set out in the Airwallex Wallet Terms here.

Agreement means these terms and conditions.

Applicable Law means all laws, legislation, regulations, binding codes of practice or rules or requirements of any relevant regulatory body applicable to the activities undertaken pursuant to this Agreement, including any instruments made under it and consolidations, amendments or replacements of any of them.

Application means your application for an Account.

Application Form means an approved application form required to open an Account with us.

AUD means Australian dollars.

Australian Broker or FinClear means FinClear Execution Limited or any other broker in Australia appointed by you to execute a Transaction in Australia.

Australian Consumer Law means Schedule 2 of the Competition and Consumer Act 2010 (Cth).

Australian Tax Resident means a Person who is a resident of Australia for the purposes of the Income Tax Assessment Act 1936 (Cth).

ASIC means the Australian Securities and Investments Commission.

ASX means the Australian Securities Exchange.

ATO means the Australian Taxation Office.

Business Day means a day which is not a weekend or Public Holiday in New South Wales, Australia.

Buying Power means the available funds in your Stake Account, as set out in section 24.4 of this Agreement.

Capital Raise means an initial public offering or a placement.

CHESS means the Clearing House Electronic Subregister System used by the ASX to facilitate share trading.

Confirmation means the confirmation note we send you on execution or partial execution of a Transaction.

Currency means a form of money which is tradeable on the foreign exchange market.

Currency Conversion means the sale or purchase of Currency in accordance with your Instructions.

Custodian means the custodian appointed by us or our Service Providers from time to time.

Exchange means an official stock exchange whether in the USA, Australia or elsewhere overseas.

Extended Hours Trading means the period of time that you are able to trade certain US Securities outside of Standard Market Hours, being the pre-market hours (4.00am to 9.30am Eastern Time) and the post-market hours (4.00pm to 8.00pm Eastern Time).

Financial Product has the meaning given in Chapter 7 of the Corporations Act 2001 (Cth).

FINRA Rules means the regulatory rules set by the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority ('FINRA') in the USA.

Force Majeure means any delay or interruptions in fulfilling our obligations under this Agreement if the circumstances are beyond our reasonable control or the control of any Service Provider. This includes, without limitation, problems with your telecommunications services, internet service provider, computer hardware and/or software, or difficulties in sending or receiving emails.

General Financial Product Advice means 'General Financial Product Advice' as defined by the Corporations Act 2001.

Information means information and data periodically provided by us and Service Providers, including but not limited to data derived from the manipulation of any part of the information. This may include Account information, market information, news, updates, analyses, notifications, data and research materials relating to financial Services and products.

Instructions means your instructions to arrange to execute Transactions.

Intellectual Property Rights means all intellectual property rights including current and future registered and unregistered rights in respect of copyright, designs, trade marks, patents, trade secrets, know-how, confidential information, terms and conditions, marketing assets and designs, client and other databases, goodwill and all other intellectual property as defined in article 2 of the convention establishing the World Intellectual Property Organization 1967.

Joint Account means any Stake account type other than an individual account type including company, trust, SMSF (whether externally administered or administered by Stake SMSF Pty Ltd).

Licensee means Stakeshop AFSL Pty Ltd who holds Australian Financial Services Licence number 548196.

Market Integrity Rules means the ASIC Market Integrity Rules (Securities Markets) 2017 (Cth) and ASIC Market Integrity Rules (Securities Markets - Capital) 2017 (Cth).

Mobile Application means Stake’s mobile application available for download and use in Android or iOS format or another format that becomes available for mobile applications.

NPP or NPPA means the New Payments Platform Australia which is overseen by Australian Payments Plus. 

PayTo ® means the payment method developed by the NPP whereby customers are able to authorise third parties to initiate real-time payments from their bank account via creation of a PayTo Agreement. PayTo is a registered trademark of NPP Australia Limited.

PayTo Agreement means a digital payment arrangement whereby you authorise Stake to make payments from your nominated bank account via the NPP.Non-Primary Account Holder means, in respect of any Joint Account, each Trustee, Director of a corporate Trustee, Director of a Company or any other individual who has a fiduciary duty in respect of the Joint Account, other than the Primary Account Holder.

Personal Financial Product Advice means 'Personal Financial Product Advice' as defined by the Corporations Act 2001.

Primary Account Holder means, in respect of any Joint Account type, the individual who established the account.

Recurring Deposit means standing instructions to make payments from your nominated bank account to your Stake Account in your local currency at a selected amount and frequency via PayTo as set out in your relevant PayTo Agreement with Stake.

Recurring Investment means standing Instructions to buy nominated Securities on a recurring basis at your nominated frequency and amount.

Rules means the operating rules of an Exchange.

Securities means securities as defined in section 761A of the Corporations Act 2001 that are either: listed on an Exchange, whether within Australia or overseas; or over the counter; and includes a fractional interest in a Security.

Service Provider means the service provider nominated by us to provide services such as custody, bank account operation, payment collection, foreign exchange or execution and clearing services.

Stake Service means provision by us, or our Service Providers, of information, trading and settlement services, custody services, arranging to execute Transactions on your behalf, foreign exchange services and financial services as defined in the Corporations Act 2001 as authorised by our Licensee.

TFN means your tax file number issued by the ATO.

Transactions means the sale or purchase of Securities or Financial Products, whether within Australia or overseas, in accordance with your Instructions.

Us, our, we, Stake means Stakeshop Pty Ltd (ACN 610105505), registered address c/o BDO Level 11, 1 Margaret St, Sydney NSW 2000, Australia, and its directors, officers, employees and agents.

US Broker-Dealer or DriveWealth means DriveWealth, LLC, registered address 15 Exchange Place, 10th Floor, Jersey City, New Jersey, 07302, United States of America.

USD means United States dollars. 

Website means www.hellostake.com/au or our mobile application services.

You means the Account Holder.

3. General

3.1 This Agreement applies to all dealings between you and Stake. By opening an Account, you acknowledge that you have read, and agree to be bound by, this Agreement.

3.2 This Agreement will apply once we have accepted your application to open an Account.

3.3 All dealings between you and us are subject to:

• Applicable Laws, including without limitation the Corporations Act 2001;

• the Rules, directions, requirements, customs and usage of and laws governing the Exchange;

• the customs and usages of the market; and

• Australian and international anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism laws.

3.4 If we accept your application for an Account, the Stake Service will be provided in accordance with this Agreement.

4. Representations, Warranties and Obligations

4.1 Your representations and warranties

(a) You represent and warrant that:

• you are authorised to provide the information and documentation you give us;

• the information you give us is complete and correct and you shall notify us as soon as reasonably possible of any change to the information provided by you;

• you have full power and authority to enter into this Agreement;

• your Instructions are lawful; and

• you are over the age of 18.

(b) If the Account is a company Account, you additionally represent and warrant that:

• the company is a body corporate duly incorporated and validly existing under the laws of the place of its incorporation or establishment; and

• the company has the power and necessary authorisation to enter into and perform its obligations, and the Transactions contemplated, under this Agreement.

(c) If the Account is a trust Account, you additionally represent and warrant that:

• you are a trustee of the trust and no action has been taken to remove or replace you as trustee;

• you have the power and necessary authorisation under the trust deed and constitution of the trust to execute and perform the obligations under this Agreement;

• all Transactions relating to this Agreement are or will be entered into as part of the due and proper administration of the trust and are or will be for the benefit of the beneficiaries; and

• you agree to provide us with up to date copies of the trust deed and constitution of the trust.

4.2 Breach of representations and warranties

If you breach a representation or warranty in this section, where reasonably necessary we may exercise our rights at section 21 of this Agreement by restricting or suspending access to, or closing, your Account. We will provide you with written notice where we take such action. We may also require you to indemnify us if we have suffered losses in accordance with section 31.

4.3 Your obligations 

You agree that:

• you will ratify and confirm any actions we or our Service Providers carry out based on your Instructions when reasonably necessary;

• you will pay us for any fees and charges which are reasonably incurred in implementing your Instructions and which are set out from time to time on our Website and/or within our mobile app; 

• you must only deal with assets that you own, that are lawfully obtained and that are available for delivery, including funds deposited or withdrawn to/from your Account and buying, transferring and selling Securities;

• you will inform us of any error or omission as soon as you become aware of it and you are responsible for taking necessary action to mitigate any potential loss from the error; 

• you will not use the Stake Service for any illegal or improper activity; 

• you will not cause us to process Instructions that breach any laws or regulations in any country;

• you will only provide Instructions and enter into Transactions for your own benefit and will not use your Account on behalf of third parties (unless expressly agreed in writing with us);

• you are responsible for notifying us immediately when you become aware of any unauthorised or suspicious activity on your account so that we can take reasonably necessary steps to stop or prevent such activity; and

• you will comply with all Applicable Laws and the terms of this Agreement.

5. Access to the Stake Service on web and mobile

5.1 To use the Stake Service you will need to have access to the internet. You are responsible for maintaining any electronic equipment or software needed to give you access to the Stake Service or the Website or our Mobile Application.

5.2 Access to the Website and/or Mobile App and the Stake Service may be unavailable or interrupted from time to time due to:

• unforeseen technical reasons;

• service delivery by our Service Providers;

• system maintenance, which we will give you reasonable prior notice of;

• legal, regulatory or risk management reasons; or

• other events which may interfere with your access.

5.3 In addition, your access to the Website and/or Mobile App may be restricted or suspended as set out in section 18.

5.4 We may require you to use certain identity verification methods in order to login to your Account and access the Stake Service. It is your responsibility to protect your password and login credentials. See section 28 for further detail regarding account security.

6. Account Opening

6.1 Account opening requirements

To open an Account, you must:

• Be over eighteen (18) years of age;

• Complete an Application Form in your own name, unless you have the requisite authority to act on someone else's behalf, for example a Power of Attorney;

• Agree to be bound by this Agreement and the terms and conditions of our Service Providers;

• Provide us information we reasonably request, which we or our Service Providers reasonably require in order to provide the Stake Service to you; and

• Successfully open accounts with our Service Providers (as required in order to use the Stake Service), as set out in section 9.

6.2 Declining your application

(a) We may, in our absolute discretion, decline your Application for an Account. Without limitation, some of the reasons we may decline your Application for an Account include:

• your Application is incomplete;

• you fail to provide further information we, or our Service Providers, require to process your Application;

• compliance with Applicable Laws, including without limitation the Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorism Funding Act 2006 (Cth); or

• any other situation in which we, or our Service Providers or Licensee, are reasonably unable to open an Account in your name.

(b) We reserve the right not to open accounts for residents outside of Australia. If applicable, we may require you to confirm that we did not solicit, induce or market our services to you. 

7. Funding an Account

7.1 Funds required to trade

Before you can provide an Instruction to buy Securities or Financial Products, you must deposit funds into your Account. 

7.2 Deposit methods

(a) We may offer different payment methods for you to deposit funds into your Account, including by bank transfer, PayTo, debit card, credit card, Apple Pay and Google Pay. We may charge you a fee for certain payment methods. We may also set minimum and maximum limits for the value of deposits in our reasonable discretion.

(b) We may also charge you a surcharge in order to fund your Account by using a debit or credit card in order to cover our reasonable costs of acceptance.

(c) When using PayTo as a deposit method, you will be required to agree to an ad hoc PayTo Agreement within your internet or mobile banking app authorising Stake to debit your nominated bank account. Once you have authorised the PayTo Agreement, we will debit your nominated bank account in accordance with your instructions. While the PayTo Agreement remains in place, you may instruct us to debit your nominated bank account for other amounts at any time in order to make deposits into your Stake Account. Depending on your financial institution, we may require you to agree to a new fixed PayTo Agreement each time you change the amount to be debited from your nominated bank account with that financial institution. You may add other bank accounts to withdraw funds to, but funds may only be withdrawn if the account is verified by us and the nominated bank account name matches the full name on your Stake Account.

(d) You may cancel a PayTo Agreement at any time within the Stake Mobile Application or Website, or via online banking with your ADI. Canceling a PayTo Agreement will automatically cancel any existing Recurring Deposits and Recurring Investments. See section 7.4 for more information on Recurring Deposits. 

(e) We reserve the right to change the type of payment methods and speeds, and fees associated with them, at our sole discretion where it would be reasonable to do so. If you do not wish to be bound by such changes, we will provide you with prior notice and you may withdraw funds or transfer your holdings to another broker before the changes take effect. As usual, fees are payable for certain withdrawals and share transfers, however Stake does not charge an exit fee. Please refer to our pricing for further information. 

(f) You are responsible for ensuring that you have sufficient funds available in your bank account to make payments on the Stake platform. Stake is not responsible for any fees or other losses you may incur as a result of making payments with insufficient funds in your bank account or causing your bank account to go into overdraft.  

(g) Your Account may be credited funds in accordance with promotions that Stake may run from time to time.

7.3 Deposit speeds

(a) We may offer different payment speeds for you to deposit funds to your Account.

(b) FastFunds allows you to deposit and transfer funds into your Stake Account and have access to those funds as 'Buying Power' for the purpose of trading immediately after confirmation of the funds transfer request by Stake, or when the underlying funds have been received by Stake, whichever occurs later. Transfer times may vary depending on (without limitation) the payment method selected. Bank transfers are subject to bank processing times and your Buying Power will be instantly credited when the funds are received by Stake. If we provide you with Buying Power you agree that we may apply your deposited funds against that Buying Power. Fees apply for FastFunds, please refer to our pricing for further information.

(c) We will notify you once the funds have cleared and are available to invest through the Stake Service.

(d) Funds will generally be cleared and be available to invest in your Stake Account instantly, however delays may occur and we will not be liable for such delays in accordance with section 29.3(b) of this Agreement.

7.4 Recurring Deposits

(a) You may provide standing instructions to us for Recurring Deposits to be debited from your nominated bank account and deposited to your Stake Account in your local currency at your preferred amount and frequency. Recurring Deposits can be made to your Stake Wall St and Stake AUS Account. 

(b) For Recurring Deposits to your Stake Wall St Account, you instruct us and our applicable Service Providers, on the scheduled date of each Recurring Deposit, to transfer the funds from AUD to USD at the applicable foreign exchange rate in accordance with your standing instructions. Your standing instructions may be processed at any time on the scheduled days. The applicable foreign exchange rate shall be the rate at the time that your standing instructions are processed. See sections 7.5 and 17 of this Agreement for more information. We are not liable for any losses that you may suffer as a result of fluctuations in foreign exchange rates.

(c) Recurring Deposits can only be made using the PayTo deposit method. All Recurring Deposits are instant, however the FastFunds fee is not applicable. Foreign exchange settles immediately, and fees apply if you make Recurring Deposits to your Stake Wall St Account. See our pricing page for further information on our foreign exchange fees. 

(d) You are able to skip an upcoming debit for a Recurring Deposit on the Mobile Application or Website up to the day before the due date for the debit and your nominated bank account will instead be debited in accordance with the Recurring Deposit on the next scheduled debit date. Requests to skip an upcoming debit for a Recurring Deposit received on the day of the scheduled debit may not be able to be processed and your nominated bank account may be debited. Where this occurs, the next upcoming debit date will instead be skipped. You cannot skip multiple Recurring Deposit debits in a row (i.e. consecutive payments) for a Recurring Deposit. If you wish to skip consecutive payments for a Recurring Deposit, the Recurring Deposit can be canceled in accordance with section 7.4(e) of this Agreement. 

(e) You are able to cancel a Recurring Deposit at any time on the Mobile Application or Website or by canceling the PayTo Agreement in accordance with section 7.2(c) of this Agreement. If you cancel before the due date for the next upcoming Recurring Deposit, your nominated bank account will not be debited. Recurring Deposit cancellation requests received on the day of a scheduled debit for a Recurring Deposit may not be able to be processed and your nominated bank account may be debited. Where this occurs, the cancellation will apply to the Recurring Deposit after such payment is made.

(f) Generally, we will attempt to debit your nominated bank account on the scheduled date in accordance with your Recurring Deposit instructions and the PayTo Agreement at a specified time, however we do not guarantee that the debit transaction will occur at any given time and we shall not be responsible for any losses that you may suffer as a result of any delay in debit transactions. 

(g) We may notify you if a debit for a Recurring Deposit fails. Unless you take any further action, the failed debit will be skipped and your bank account will instead be debited on the next scheduled debit for the Recurring Deposit. Generally, you may select to retry the failed debit via the Recurring Deposit in the Stake Mobile Application or Website, however we do not guarantee that this action will be available for all Recurring Deposits.

(h) We do not guarantee that debits for Recurring Deposits will be executed. You are responsible for managing your Recurring Deposits and scheduled debits and ensuring that there are sufficient funds in your nominated bank account to enable debits in accordance with your Recurring Deposit instructions. We shall not be liable for any losses that you may suffer as a result of any debit or failed debit for a Recurring Deposit, except where due to our fraud, negligence or wilful misconduct.

7.5 Transfers of deposits

(a) We may use one or more accounts held by Stake with Airwallex to facilitate depositing funds to your Account, withdrawing funds from your Account, and trading (including foreign exchange transfers). You authorise us to use those accounts held by Stake with Airwallex to facilitate those transactions.

(b) You authorise and direct Stake and its applicable Service Providers, if required to provide the Stake Service, to facilitate the transfer of funds deposited into your Account (which are not the result of a withdrawal) to:

• the US client account of Stake’s US Broker-Dealer, DriveWealth;

• the Australian client account of Stake’s Australian Broker, FinClear; 

• one or more accounts held by Stake with Airwallex to facilitate transactions and trading (including foreign exchange transfers); or

• a bank account with National Australia Bank (NAB), an Australian ADI, designated to hold Stake client monies on trust.

7.6 Foreign exchange transfers

(a) When you initiate a foreign exchange transfer on Stake, Stake will book a deal with its foreign exchange partner, Airwallex, to convert your funds into USD. The applicable exchange rate that you pay will be the rate at the time the funds are received (rather than when they are sent by you). We may provide an estimated exchange rate at the time you initiate the transfer, however if you do not select an instant payment method (e.g. bank transfer), the actual exchange rate applied at the time that the funds are received may vary to the estimate provided. See section 17 for further information regarding foreign exchange transfers.

(b) Funds transferred will be remitted by Airwallex to the US client account with DriveWealth in USD or Australian client monies bank account in AUD and you are entering into a direct contractual relationship with Airwallex as the remittance provider. 

7.7 Dividends

Any dividends will be paid into your Account.

7.8 Prohibited fundings

(a) If you fund your Stake Account directly (not explicitly within the Stake Service, but through your own channel) you acknowledge that Stake is not responsible or liable for any loss. Stake does not support third party deposits. You acknowledge that third party deposits may be rejected and sent back to source and Stake may take reasonably required actions in respect of your Account, including suspension and/or charging a fee, where it is reasonable for us to do so.

(b) You must not fund your Stake Account from an international source.

8. Withdrawing Funds

8.1 Instructions to withdraw funds

(a) You may submit instructions on the Stake Website and/or Mobile App to withdraw funds from your Account to your own local bank account at any time, subject to any applicable hold period. 

(b) When you issue a withdrawal instruction, you authorise and direct the transfer of your USD funds from the US client account or AUD from the Australian client monies bank account to your local bank account.

(c) USD funds will be sent by DriveWealth to Stake’s foreign exchange partner, Airwallex, and remitted by Airwallex to a bank account nominated by you. The bank account nominated by you must be an account in your name and match the name associated with your Stake Account.

8.2 Minimum withdrawals

For withdrawals of USD, the minimum withdrawal amount is US$10. Foreign exchange fees apply, see our pricing for more information. For withdrawals of AUD, the minimum withdrawal amount is A$1.  

8.3 Holding periods

(a) Your funds may not be available for withdrawal until the funds have cleared at Stake. Once funds are deposited, it generally takes up to four (4) business days for them to clear.

(b) Stake may in its discretion reduce the hold period for withdrawal on funds deposited without limiting its rights under section 14.

9. Appointment of Service Providers

9.1 Appointing third party suppliers

You agree that we may from time to time appoint third parties to perform certain obligations under this Agreement where it is reasonable for us to do so.

9.2 Our Service Providers

(a) Neither we nor our Licensee are participants on an Exchange. Accordingly, we have appointed DriveWealth and FinClear to provide execution and clearing services for the Transactions. In addition, we have appointed Airwallex to provide certain non-cash payment facilities and foreign exchange services. 

(b) You agree and acknowledge that it is necessary for you to open accounts with our Service Providers, Airwallex, DriveWealth and FinClear, so that we can provide you with the Stake Service, and that we will arrange for applications for such accounts to be made on your behalf.

(c) We may remove, replace or appoint other Exchange, foreign exchange or other Service Providers from time to time where it is reasonable for us to do so. We will exercise reasonable care in the selection of our Service Providers. If we intend to make such a change and it would be materially adverse to you, we will give you at least 14 days’ written notice before the change comes into effect. If you do not wish to be bound by the change, you may withdraw funds or transfer your holdings to another broker before the changes take effect. As usual, fees are payable for certain withdrawals and share transfers, however Stake does not charge an exit fee. Please refer to our pricing for further information. 

(d) You agree and acknowledge that opening a Stake account involves usage of a Service Provider’s systems and is subject to that Service Provider’s terms and conditions which you agree to when you open an Account with Stake. Stake may not be a party to any agreement between you and a Service Provider.

(e) Our Service Providers may appoint other agents to provide services under this Agreement. You agree that we will not be liable for any losses sustained or incurred by you by reason of any act, omission, fraud, negligence, insolvency or delay of such persons.

(f) You acknowledge and agree that, under their terms and conditions, the Service Providers have:

• Placed limits on their liability;

• Do not guarantee the availability of their services; and

• Have rights in relation to the Securities or Financial Products that are purchased through them which they might be able to exercise contrary to your interests.

10. Appointment as Agent

10.1 Appointing Stake and its Service Providers as your Agent

You appoint us and each of our respective agents, directors, officers, Licensee and Service Providers (as applicable) severally (each referred to as ‘Agent’) as your Agent to do in your name everything necessary or expedient to:

• execute and deliver any documents necessary to ensure that the registration details of your Securities or Financial Products contain your true name, registration address and other necessary personal information as set out in the Application Form or otherwise provided by you;

• apply for accounts on your behalf with any Service Provider;

• appoint one or more substitute Agents to exercise one or more powers given to the Agent, and to revoke such appointments; and

• provide the services contemplated by this Agreement.

10.2 Withdrawing your authority

You may withdraw the authority set out at section 10.1 at any time by emailing us at support@hellostake.com. If you withdraw your authority pursuant to this section, you understand that we may no longer be able to provide you with the Stake Service.

11. Advice

11.1 No advice

(a) You acknowledge that we do not provide financial, accounting, taxation or legal advice as part of the Stake Service. We recommend that you consider speaking with a licensed financial adviser, accountant or lawyer (as appropriate) before making any investment decisions. 

(b) You are responsible for any investment or trading decisions made by you with respect to your Account and we will not be responsible for determining the suitability, appropriateness or advisability of your Instructions, any Transaction or Currency Conversion.

11.2 General financial advice

Where any information or advice provided by us is General Financial Product Advice, it has been prepared without taking into account your objectives, financial situation or needs and you should consider the appropriateness of the advice in light of your own objectives, financial situation or needs before acting on the advice. Where applicable, you should obtain a Product Disclosure Statement relating to the product and consider it before making any decision about whether to acquire the product. 

11.3 No personal financial advice

As part of the Stake Service, we will not provide you with Personal Financial Product Advice. It is therefore your responsibility, before ordering the purchase or sale of any Securities or Financial Product through us, to assess and evaluate the proposed transaction in light of your financial situation, investment objections and particular needs. 

12. Your Instructions and Orders

12.1 How to give Instructions

Once you have opened an Account and funded it, you may place Instructions to buy or sell Securities or Financial Products. Any Instructions must be given to us through the Website and/or our Mobile Application. Instructions are subject to the Rules and this Agreement.

12.2 Entitlement to rely on your Instructions

(a) You authorise us and our Service Providers to act on any Instructions we reasonably believe are given by you in accordance with this Agreement.

(b) We are entitled to assume that any Instructions given via the Website or Mobile Application using your Account are valid and originate from you. You agree that you are bound by any such Instructions.

(c) We reserve the right to take such steps as we consider reasonably necessary to check the legitimacy of any order, Instruction or person giving us an Instruction, before acting on that order or Instruction. 

12.3 Brokerage fee payable when you submit Instructions 

(a) When you submit your Instructions, you will be charged a brokerage fee and any other applicable fees and charges in accordance with our Financial Services Guide. See our pricing page for a full list of our fees and charges.  

(b) The brokerage fee payable will be calculated based on the value of your order at the time we receive your Instructions to place the applicable order. If your order is partially filled, expires or is cancelled, we or our Service Provider(s) will make an adjustment to reflect the correct brokerage fee when necessary. 

12.4 Price can differ at time of execution

You acknowledge that the price at which the Instructions are executed may be different from the price the Security or Financial Product is trading at the time you give your Instructions. For example, this may be due to market factors such as supply and demand, liquidity and price volatility. You acknowledge that such price changes are outside of Stake’s control and we are not liable for any losses you may suffer as a result of price changes.

12.5 Acceptance or rejection of Instructions

We, or our Service Providers, may choose to accept or reject your Instructions at our discretion and do not guarantee that your Instructions will be executed in full or part, by a certain time or at a particular price. Your Instructions may be rejected in the following situations: 

• if we or our brokers reasonably believe your Instructions are unclear, ambiguous or incomplete;

• if your Instructions do not meet the minimum or maximum trading limit set by us or our Service Providers;

• if your Instructions cannot be placed with our brokers;

• if your Instructions cannot be executed by our brokers;

• if your Instructions are canceled by our brokers;

• if your Instructions expire before they are executed;

• if your Instructions are purged by us, our brokers or the market operator; 

• if you do not provide sufficient cleared funds in your Stake Account to cover the cost of your Instructions (and any ancillary fees);

• due technical issues; 

• if required by Applicable Laws; 

• if you, or we reasonably suspect that you will, breach this Agreement, our Service Providers’ terms as set out in this Agreement, or any Applicable Law; or

• any other situation where we or our Service Providers, including our brokers, are reasonably unable to carry out your Instructions.

12.6 Order Types

(a) We may make different order types available for different markets (i.e. Australian Securities and US Securities) which allows you to place Instructions to buy or sell Securities with different conditions or features, for example market orders, limit orders or stop loss orders.

(b) For certain order types, for example limit and stop orders for ASX listed Securities, you may give an Instruction to us to place an order for a Security when the Security’s price hits a certain threshold set by you (‘Conditional Order’).

(c) You acknowledge that Instructions for orders, including Conditional Orders, are not guaranteed to be executed in full or part, by a certain time or at a particular price and may be rejected or cancelled for the reasons set out at section 12. 

(d) Different order types have varied risks associated with them, you should read our Disclaimers for more information.

(e) You acknowledge that international orders or Transactions are not subject to the Rules of the ASX and you will not receive the benefit of coverage under the National Guarantee Fund.

12.7 Managing your orders

(a) It is your responsibility to manage any orders you submit when you place Instructions on the Website and Mobile Application. 

(b) You acknowledge that for various reasons, including without limitation technology or system limitations, Service Provider requirements, Exchange requirements or compliance with Rules, Market Integrity Rules and Applicable Laws, you may not be able to edit or cancel your Instructions once they have been submitted, including (without limitation) for:

• all market orders;

• triggered stop orders;

• bids; and

• other orders which we or our Service Providers are reasonably unable to allow you to amend your Instructions.

12.8 Recurring orders

(a) You may provide standing instructions for Recurring Investments to be made on Stake Wall St or Stake AUS in certain Securities nominated by you, at your preferred amount and frequency. When you set up a Recurring Investment, a Recurring Deposit will also be set up to enable funds to be debited from your bank account on the date of a scheduled order for your Recurring Investment. Orders for Recurring Investments can only be funded by this method. You cannot use existing ‘Buying Power’ in your Account to fund an order for a Recurring Investment. 

(b) Orders for Australian Securities resulting from Recurring Investment instructions are placed with our Australian Broker as market to limit orders on the days scheduled in accordance with the Recurring Investment frequency. Orders for US Securities resulting from Recurring Investment instructions are placed with our US Broker-Dealer as market orders on the days scheduled in accordance with the Recurring Investment frequency. If your order has not fully executed by the end of the applicable trading session in which the order was scheduled for, the order will expire. Our Australian Broker and US Broker-Dealer do not guarantee that the order will be executed at a particular time or price. We and our Service Providers are not liable for any losses that you may suffer as a result of delays, price fluctuations or technical errors.

(c) For Recurring Investments on Stake Wall St, you may buy whole shares and fractional interests in Securities so that your whole order will be executed where possible. For Recurring Investments on Stake AUS, only whole shares in Securities may be bought. This means that orders resulting from Recurring Investments on Stake AUS may be partially executed. We do not guarantee that orders for Recurring Investments will be executed in whole or part. 

(d) If a scheduled order for a Recurring Investment is partially filled or is not executed at all, the difference between the value of the filled portion of the order (including any applicable fees, for example brokerage fees) and the value of funds that were allocated to the order in accordance with the Recurring Investment Instructions shall be allocated as ‘Buying Power’ in your Account. You may provide Instructions to use this ‘Buying Power’ for other orders on the Stake Mobile Application or Website, however such funds cannot be used for orders for a Recurring Investment.

(e) You will be charged a brokerage fee specified in our Financial Services Guide. See our pricing page for a full list of our fees and charges.  

(f) You are able to skip an upcoming order for a Recurring Investment up to the day before the due date for the order on the Stake Mobile Application or Website. Requests to skip an upcoming order for a Recurring Investment received on the day of a scheduled order may not be able to be processed and the scheduled order may be executed. Where this occurs, the following scheduled order for the Recurring Investment will instead be skipped. You cannot skip multiple orders in a row (i.e. consecutive orders) for a Recurring Investment. If you wish to skip consecutive orders for a Recurring Investment, the Recurring Investment can be canceled in accordance with section 12.7(g) of this Agreement. 

(g) You are able to cancel a Recurring Investment at any time on the Stake Mobile Application or Website. Canceling a Recurring Deposit that funds your Recurring Investment will also cancel the Recurring Investment. If you cancel before the date of the next scheduled order for a Recurring Investment, your order will not be placed with our brokers and the Recurring Investment will be canceled. Recurring Investment cancellation requests received on the day of a scheduled order for the Recurring Investment may not be able to be processed and the scheduled order may be executed. Where this occurs, the cancellation will apply to the Recurring Investment after such scheduled order is placed.

(h) Your Instructions for Recurring Investments may be rejected in whole or part for any of the reasons set out at section 12.5 of this Agreement. 

(i) We will notify you if your Instructions for any scheduled order for a Recurring Investment are rejected and the order is not executed. In such circumstances, the scheduled order will be skipped until the next upcoming scheduled order for the Recurring Investment. 

(j) You are responsible for managing your Recurring Investments and scheduled orders, and your Recurring Deposits and scheduled debits that fund your Recurring Investments. If a scheduled debit for a Recurring Deposit that supports a Recurring Investment fails, the scheduled order for your Recurring Investment will not be placed. We and our Service Partners shall not be liable for any resulting losses that you may suffer as a result of any order for a Recurring Investment not being placed, nor shall we be liable for any losses suffered as a result of orders for Recurring Investments, except where due to our fraud, negligence or wilful misconduct.

12.9 Extended hours orders

(a) We, via our US Broker-Dealer, offer Extended Hours Trading for the US markets whereby you are able to place Instructions to buy or sell Securities outside of regular US market hours i.e. 9:30am - 4:00pm, Monday - Friday, Eastern Time, excluding any days that a US Exchange is closed ('Standard Market Hours').

(b) Extended Hours Trading is available during the pre-market hours (4.00am to 9.30am Eastern Time), and during after hours or post-market hours (4.00pm to 8.00pm Eastern Time). 

(c) When you designate a trade to be executed during Extended Hours Trading, you agree to our US Broker’s Extended Hours Trading Disclosures and our Risk Disclaimers. You should read these disclosures as they contain important information about how Extended Hours Trading works, additional terms and important considerations such as the additional risks associated with Extended Hours Trading. Extended Hours Trading carries additional risks compared to trading during standard US market hours and may not be appropriate for all investors.

(d) For your trade to be eligible to be executed during Extended Hours Trading, it must be designated for Extended Hours Trading when you place your Instructions to buy or sell Securities. Any trades designated for Extended Hours Trading will be eligible for execution at any time during that trading day i.e. during pre-market hours, Standard Market Hours or post-market hours. Unless you select ‘Extended Hours Trading’ or have your preference for ‘Extended Hours Trading’ saved as ‘on’, when you place your Instructions confirming a trade, your trade will only be eligible for execution during Standard Market Hours. 

(e) Orders will begin to queue for pre-market trading after 8.00pm Eastern Time on the previous trading day, and will be eligible for execution during the pre-market session. Any unexecuted or partially filled orders will automatically roll over into Standard Market Hours, and if still not executed the orders will roll over into the post-market session. If your order is designated with an expiry period of 'end of day' and it is unexecuted (in whole or part) at the close of post-market hours (8.00pm Eastern Time), it will generally be cancelled. For Extended Hours Trading orders designated with an expiry period longer than ‘end of day’, Stake will place a new order with its US Broker-Dealer each trading day until the earlier of your order being filled, canceled or expired. 

(f) Our US Broker-Dealer, DriveWealth, uses a practice referred to as ‘market order collaring’ to limit losses for market orders where the market price has drastically changed. In certain circumstances, our US Broker-Dealer may treat certain orders, for example stop orders, as a market order when certain conditions are met. You can read more about their market order collaring process here. 

(g) We, or our Service Providers, may: 

• suspend any given Extended Hours Trading session permanently or temporarily where reasonably necessary;

• vary the hours of operation for Extended Hours Trading;

• provide Extended Hours Trading on either the Stake Website or Mobile App, or both;

• limit or vary the types of orders you are able to place Instructions for with Extended Hours Trading;

• limit or vary the securities and Exchanges eligible for Extended Hours Trading; and

• limit or vary order types to buy or sell fractional interests in Securities.

(h) Due to limited trading activity during Extended Hours Trading periods, we do not guarantee that your Instructions will be executed, in full or part, during Extended Hours Trading. Our US Broker-Dealer has the discretion to reject certain order types.

13. Acknowledgements

13.1 Your acknowledgements when you provide Instructions

When you provide Instructions, you acknowledge that:

(a) you have read our Disclaimers; 

(b) you have responsibility for all obligations that arise from Transactions we undertake on your behalf;

(c) you are able to pay for any Securities or Financial Products purchased, and any liabilities that arise from these dealings;

(d) we will only permit trading in Securities or Financial Products where you have sufficient funds available for trade, which you are properly entitled. totrade with;

(e) Instructions to buy or sell Securities or Financial Products may be subject to limitations set by us, our Service Providers or the relevant Exchange from time to time;

(f) International time differences and timing of public holidays or other similar observances may lead to delays in receipt of Instructions and execution by us and our Service Providers;

(g) If you request variation to or cancellation of a Transaction recorded by us, the Transaction will not be varied or cancelled until we notify you that your request has been accepted; and

(h) You are responsible for any liability for contracts arising from your Instructions.

14. Failure to Settle

14.1 Without limiting any other rights and remedies we may have at law, in equity or in statute, if you:

• do not comply with the obligations set out in this Agreement, or the Rules, relating to a Transaction or the funds in your Account;

• do not make full payment or good delivery for your Transactions by the settlement date;

• make a chargeback on a card funding transaction; or

• do not settle any funding; then

you authorise us (as your Agent) to take the following actions to recover the outstanding amount:

• sell on your behalf any Securities or Financial Products, in your Account or in our control or possession at your risk and expense, including brokerage, stamp duty and other costs and apply the proceeds to reduce your liability to us;

• liquidate your account to recover any losses or expenses incurred;

• suspend your access to Stake and take other reasonable steps in accordance with section 18 of this Agreement; and/or

• seek damages for any losses or expenses incurred.

14.2 Where we have incurred additional reasonable costs such as bank fees or fees charged by our Service Providers, you agree to indemnify us against such losses and we will either set off or direct debit funds from you or demand payment from you in writing.

15. Confirmations

15.1 When you will receive a Confirmation

Once your order has been executed according to your Instructions, we will send you a Confirmation. 

15.2 Your authorisations for Confirmations

(a) By entering this Agreement, you agree that you authorise us to:

• give you a single Confirmation for a series of Transactions rather than individual Confirmations for each Transaction in the series; and

• accumulate Transactions in a particular security across multiple Exchanges on a single Confirmation and specify the volume weighted average price for those Transactions.

(b) You authorise us to send electronic Confirmations to your email address as notified to us via your Account from time to time. It is your responsibility to ensure that your email address is operational and available for receipt of electronic Confirmations issued by us and to advise us of any change to your email address as soon as practicable after the change is made.

(c) You may withdraw your authorisation at any time by providing written notice to us at support@hellostake.com. You acknowledge that by withdrawing your authorisation, we may no longer be able to provide the Stake Service to you due to technical or system limitations.  

15.3. Confirmations subject to change in certain circumstances

(a) You agree that if we issue you with a Confirmation, it constitutes evidence of the Transaction. 

(b) Confirmations are subject to:

• the Rules, directions, decisions and requirements of the market operator and Market Integrity Rules;

• The customs and usages of the market; and

• the correction of errors and omissions.

(c) We may issue you with an updated Confirmation if the previous one(s) contained any errors or omissions. If this occurs, the updated Confirmation shall supersede the previous one(s). 

16. Who Receives and Holds Your Cash and Assets

16.1 Ownership

Stake is not a custodian of your funds, Securities, Financial Products or other assets. You will retain legal and beneficial ownership of Securities you hold via the Stake Service.

16.2 Custody arrangements for Stake AUS

(a) When you sign up to Stake AUS, a digital Airwallex Account is opened with Airwallex. 

(b) Funds which you add to your Airwallex Account are paid initially into an account held by Airwallex with an Australian ADI and are protected by a bank guarantee in favour of you. Please note that Airwallex is not itself an ADI and it is not covered under the Australian Government’s Financial Claims Scheme. We may transfer funds held in the Airwallex Account at least once a day to a client money account in accordance with section 16.2(c).

(c) You agree and direct that any funds in your Airwallex Account shall be transferred to a bank account held on trust for you by our Licensee, Stakeshop AFSL Pty Ltd, with National Australia Bank (NAB). The funds held with NAB are held in an account that has been designated as a client monies account for the purposes of section 981B of the Corporations Act 2001 (Cth). Stake may retain interest on the funds held with NAB at the relevant interest rate which applies from time to time. You acknowledge and agree that, merely by your funds being placed with and held on trust at NAB by our Licensee, this does not constitute a deposit by you with NAB and you do not have a direct relationship with NAB as their customer.

(d) Stake AUS uses the CHESS sponsorship system. When you buy securities on Stake AUS via our Australian Broker, FinClear, you are the legal owner of those securities. Stake AUS is not a custodial model.

16.3 Custody arrangements for Stake Wall St 

When you sign up to Stake Wall St, you appoint DriveWealth as the custodian of the funds, Securities and other eligible assets as per the DriveWealth Customer Account Agreement. Such assets are custodied in the United States and funds are cleared by Electronic Transactions Clearing (ETC). In providing the custodial services, DriveWealth may appoint and use sub-custodians where your funds and Securities may be located.

16.4 US Investor Protection - SIPC

(a) Our US Broker-Dealer, Drivewealth, is a member of the Securities Investor Protection Corporations (SIPC), which protects the Securities and funds in your US brokerage account with DriveWealth up to US$500,000, including up to US$250,000 protection for cash in your account to buy securities. SIPC protection is only available if DriveWealth fails. It does not protect against a loss in the market value of US Securities.

(b) For additional information regarding SIPC coverage, please contact visit www.sipc.org. 

16.5 Other funds transfers

Your funds may also be transferred to other persons, such as an Exchange. Where such a person is located outside Australia, the legal and regulatory regime applying to such a person will be different to that of Australia and, in the event of failure of such a person, this money may be treated in a different manner from that which would apply if the money was held by such a person in Australia.

16.6 Interest

Stake and its Service Providers will be entitled to, and will retain, any interest in respect of any funds that are held on your behalf. This means that you will not earn interest on your AUD or USD funds.

17. Currency Conversion

17.1 Appointment of Service Provider for Currency Conversion

You appoint Airwallex to execute any Currency Conversions relating to your trades in international Securities.

17.2 Foreign exchange risks

You agree that you will bear the foreign exchange risks of a Currency Conversion, including but not limited to, the risks of cash held, or of interest or other income payments received, of expenses, taxation or other liabilities incurred in Currencies other than Australian dollars and of exchange controls or other laws that may prohibit or impose costs on the Currency Conversion and that we will not be liable for any loss suffered by you as a result of a Currency Conversion or the timing of a Currency Conversion.

17.3 Currency Conversion Quote

(a) When you fund your Account and place an order for Currency Conversion via an instant funding method, we will provide you with a quote for the applicable foreign exchange fee which is payable when you submit the order.

(b) When you fund your Account and place an order for Currency Conversion via bank transfer, we will provide you with an estimate of the applicable foreign exchange fee based on the current foreign exchange rate at the time you submit the order. The estimated rate may be different from the rate that you are ultimately charged when your funds clear with Stake or our Service Providers. This is because bank transfers can take a longer period of time for the funds to arrive, and during that period of time the rate may change due to market movements and market disruption events that occur.

(c) You acknowledge that the Currency Conversion quote is reasonably determined by Airwallex and includes their fees, charges and margins for executing the Currency Conversion.

(d) You acknowledge that Currency Conversions applied to certain payments may incur a spread.

(e) You agree that Currency Conversions incur fees that may be collected by us or our Service Provider(s) in exchange for converting your funds between Australian Dollars, USD or any other currency. See our pricing page for further information. 

17.4 Cross-Currency transactions

Not all cross-Currency transactions are supported. Some Currency Conversions may require an intermediate transaction to/from Australian dollars or another currency.

18. Restriction or Suspension of Access or Closure of Account

18.1 Actions we can take with your Account

Subject to any Applicable Law and in accordance with section 18.3, we can immediately close your Account or restrict or suspend your access to the Stake Service, your Account and any other services we may provide to you.

18.2 Actions our Service Providers can take

Our Service Providers may also restrict or suspend certain services provided to you via the Stake Service in accordance with their terms.

18.3 When we will take actions with your Account

We may exercise our right in section 18.1 to close your Account, or restrict or suspend your access to the Stake Service or your Account without prior notification for any reason, without limitation including if:

• you fail to pay any amount that you are liable for under this Agreement when it falls due;

• you breach a material term of this Agreement; 

• we reasonably consider such steps necessary for security reasons;

• we have reasonable grounds to believe that your continued access to your Account would result in us or you breaching, or being an accessory to a breach of, the Corporations Act 2001 (Cth), any Australian law, the law of another country or any agreement entered into by us or you in relation to the provision of services under this Agreement;

• we have any reasonable grounds to believe that your Account is, or may be, being used in connection with fraud or a breach of the Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorism Financing Act 2006 (Cth) or a similar law of another country;

• we have reasonable grounds to believe that you may have breached, or because of your continued access to your Account you will breach, any other Applicable Laws or Rules including but not limited to the Market Integrity Rules and FINRA Rules;

• you use (or appear to use) our website or Mobile Application in a way that we think is inappropriate or unreasonable;

• any of our Service Providers require or direct us to cease providing services to you;

• you become bankrupt or insolvent; or

• any other situation where we or our Service Providers reasonably need to close, restrict or suspend your Account.

18.4 Providing reasons for taking actions

If we exercise our right under section 18.1, we may at our discretion tell you the reason for the restriction or suspension and any conditions as soon as reasonably possible. Where we reasonably believe that it is necessary to take urgent or immediate action to exercise our rights, we do not need to tell you before restricting or suspending your Account access or closing your Account.

18.5 How we will close your Account

If we close your Account, you authorise us to take the following actions:

• we will transfer your holdings to a third party broker nominated by you and transfer any cash balance in your Account to a bank account nominated by you, less any outstanding fees or reasonable losses to be recouped by us or our Service Providers;

• if you do not nominate a third party broker within fourteen (14) days of our request for such information, at our discretion we may sell any holdings in your Account. We shall not be liable for any shortfall between the amount you invested and the amount you get back after the sale;

• if you do not nominate a bank account for us to transfer any cash balance in your Account to, we may hold such cash in accordance with Applicable Laws; and

• if you have a cash balance of less than AUD$10, we shall retain such cash balance and you agree that such cash balance will be forfeited.

18.6 How to close your own Account

You may elect to close your Account at any time via the settings section of the Mobile Application or Website, however to do so you must not have any Securities or funds in the Account.

18.7 Transferring your Securities

(a) You may transfer some or all of your Securities to or from another broker. 

(b) We may charge you a fee depending on the transfer method and size of your portfolio, see the Financial Services Guide for further information. Your outgoing or incoming broker may also charge additional fees for transfers. A sufficient cash balance is required in your Account to cover the transfer fees (if any) and commence the transfer. 

(c) Fractional shares are not transferable to other brokerage accounts. 

(d) Transfer processing times vary depending on which other broker you are transferring your Securities to or from. Therefore, we do not guarantee that a transfer will be completed by a certain time. Stake is not liable for any losses arising from delays or errors arising from the transfer of your Securities.

19. Anti-Money Laundering and Counter Terrorism Financing

19.1 Providing information for AML/CTF purposes

(a) You acknowledge that we are required by law to verify your identity before we can provide you with the Services. It is an offence under the Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorism Financing Act 2006 (Cth) to provide false or misleading information about your identity. 

(b) You must provide all information and documentation to us which we reasonably require to adhere to Australian and foreign jurisdictional requirements in order to manage money-laundering or terrorism financing, economic and trade sanctions risk or to comply with any laws or regulations in Australia or any other country. 

(c) By accepting this Agreement and applying for an Account you give consent to Stake to collect, use and disclose your personal information, including your name, residential address and date of birth to a credit reporting agency, verification provider or other Service Provider and ask the credit reporting agency, verification provider or other Service Provider to provide an assessment of whether the personal information so provided matches (in whole or in part) personal information contained in a credit information file in the possession or control of the credit reporting agency or other independent data sources of the verification provider or other Service Provider to assist in verifying your identity for the purposes of the Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorism Act 2006. Their databases may include drivers licence and passport details, as well as use of third-party systems and services. The credit reporting agency, verification provider or other Service Provider may prepare and provide Stake with such an assessment and may use your personal information files of you and other individuals for the purposes of preparing such an assessment. If you disagree with having your identity verified by a credit reporting agency, verification provider or other Service Provider, please contact us at support@hellostake.com so that we may discuss other options with you. Please see our Privacy Policy for further information about the handling of your personal information.

19.2 Actions we may take to comply with AML/CTF laws

You agree that we may delay, block or refuse to process any Transaction and give immediate notice to suspend or terminate the Stake Service without incurring any liability if we suspect that a Transaction:

• may breach any Applicable Laws in any country;

• involves any person that is sanctioned or is connected, directly or indirectly, to any person that is sanctioned under economic and trade sanctions imposed by Australia or any other country; or

• may directly or indirectly involve the proceeds of, or be applied for the purposes of, unlawful conduct.

20. Corporate Actions

20.1 Understanding corporate actions

You are responsible for understanding the terms, impacts and actions required in relation to any corporate action event and if required, take steps to seek further information or advice from the relevant Security issuer, applicable share registry or a financial adviser.

20.2 Informing you of corporate actions

As a brokerage platform, we are not obligated to notify you of any corporate action events or of any communications a Security issuer sends to its shareholders. In some instances we or our Service Providers may inform you of matters which may require you to act in respect of a corporate action, but we are not obligated to do so. If you are provided with information regarding any specific corporate action from either us or our Service Providers, you acknowledge that no guarantee is made as to the accuracy or completeness of the information which is gathered from third party sources.

20.3 Exercising your rights for corporate actions

Stake, via its Service Providers, may assist with handling certain corporate action events such as dividends and stock splits. However, you acknowledge that you are responsible for taking any required actions (including without limitation giving instructions) in relation to all corporate action events directly with the applicable share registry for ASX securities, or directly with our US Broker-Dealer for US securities, by the applicable deadlines. This includes, but is not limited to, corporate actions related to Securities or other contracts traded separately to the underlying Security. You understand that if you do not exercise your rights, or take the requisite action, by the deadline for the relevant corporate action event, that any rights associated with the corporate action event will lapse. 

20.4 Stake may assist with certain corporate actions

(a) Stake will not exercise your rights or take any action on your behalf in respect of a corporate action event, and will not be liable for any failure or delay by you to exercise those rights or take any action. For US securities, our US Broker-Dealer will handle processing corporate actions in your account, please see DriveWealth’s terms for more information.  For ASX securities, in the event that the applicable share registry cannot assist you in taking actions in relation to a corporate action event, then Stake may at its discretion use reasonable endeavours to enable you to exercise your rights or take certain actions via its Service Providers, however we do not guarantee that this will be possible in every instance and we shall not be liable for any missed opportunities due to delayed, incomplete or inaccurate instructions. 

(b) You acknowledge that in order to comply with mandatory instructions or requirements of an Exchange, Security issuer, market participant or our Service Providers, when certain corporate action events occur, your Securities may be altered and we or our Service Providers may need to amend or purge any open orders you have given Instructions for, or restrict your ability to deal in those Securities on the Stake App or Website, or make other adjustments to your Account after the corporate action event has occurred. Where we are required to take such actions urgently, we may do so without prior notice to you. Stake and its Service Providers shall not be liable for any delay, error or inaccuracy or other losses you may suffer as a result of taking such steps. 

20.5 Expert Market Securities

(a) When an issuer of US Securities does not make current information publicly available, by law US broker-dealers (including our US Broker-Dealer, DriveWealth), cannot publicly quote those Securities and they may instead be quoted on the OTC Markets Group 'Expert Market'. When Securities move to the Expert Market, our US Broker-Dealer will not support holding or trading of those Securities and you agree that any such Securities may be liquidated by our US Broker-Dealer. You agree that neither Stake nor DriveWealth shall be liable for any losses in respect of such events.

(b) If Securities in your Stake Account are designated to move to the Expert Market, where possible Stake will take reasonable steps to notify you in advance of the Securities being liquidated by our US Broker-Dealer. You agree that neither Stake nor DriveWealth shall be liable for any failure or delay to notify you of such events and that you are responsible for staying up to date and taking action in respect of your Securities.

21. Tax File Number (for Australian Tax Residents only)

21.1 Providing your TFN

We are authorised to receive your TFN in accordance with the Income Tax Assessment Act 1936 (Cth). We may disclose your TFN to the ATO. We may also disclose your TFN to our Australian broker, FinClear, when making investments on your behalf and share registries for the purposes of maintaining their share registry and paying dividends. 

21.2 Consequences of not providing your TFN

You can provide us with your Tax File Number, however there is no law that says you must do so. If you do not provide us with your Tax File Number, or notify us that you are eligible for an exemption from providing a Tax File Number, we or our Service Providers may be required to deduct withholding tax at the highest marginal tax rate from any income you earn through the Stake Service.

22. Taxation

22.1 Stake is not a registered tax agent

You acknowledge that we are not a registered tax agent i.e. a qualified tax agent who is registered with Australian Tax Practitioners Board.

22.1 Tax implications

(a) As the taxation implications when investing in Securities which are international are complex and different from investing in Securities which are in your local jurisdiction, you should seek advice from a taxation professional to evaluate whether an investment in international Securities is appropriate to your particular financial circumstances and to ascertain whether you are entitled to claim back any withholding taxes.

(b) Securities and Financial Products may attract withholding taxes on income and cash dividends in some jurisdictions. All withholding tax is deducted in the applicable Currency of the jurisdiction in which the tax applies.

(c) The Custodian will withhold tax at the rate applicable under the local laws. The rate may be different from treaty rates agreed to between Australia and the applicable foreign country.

(d) We will inform you of how much tax was withheld. However, we reserve the right not to make or support any application to reclaim the withheld tax on the Securities or Financial Products. We recommend you consider how this may impact your particular financial circumstances

(e) You may be liable for tax on foreign sourced income and may be required to include this information in your Australian tax return.

(f) We will not be liable for any tax implications to you and it is your responsibility to ensure that your details are up to date with the necessary regulatory body. 

(g) We will assist with the filing of W8BEN and similar forms through our Service Providers for the purpose of US investments, however we shall not be responsible for any adverse implications arising from any error or inaccuracy in the form(s) which was based on information you provided to us or our Service Providers, or any other cause which we or our Service Providers are reasonably unable to control.

23. Fees

23.1 Fees, charges and costs

You agree to pay our fees, charges and costs associated with using your Account, including without limitation, brokerage fees, foreign exchange transfer fees, funding fees, security transfer fees, regulatory and administration fees, and to reimburse us for any extraneous costs, for example GST, as set out on our website at https://hellostake.com/au/pricing and in our Financial Services Guide.

23.2 Fee changes

We reserve the right to change our fees, charges and costs from time to time in accordance with section 35 of this Agreement.

24. Capital Raises

24.1 Sophisticated/wholesale investors

(a) If you wish to participate in any Capital Raise for which disclosure material has not been prepared by the offering company (for example, a placement), you must qualify as a sophisticated/wholesale investor. If you submit an application to be considered a sophisticated/wholesale investor, you represent and warrant to us, the offering company and any intermediary engaged by such company to facilitate the Capital Raise, that:

• you are a “wholesale client” within the meaning of the Corporations Act 2001 (Cth) (or if you are outside Australia, that you are a person to whom financial services can be offered in the manner contemplated by this Agreement under the laws of the jurisdiction in which you are located or resident);

• that each of the declarations made in the sophisticated/wholesale investor application form are true; and

• that the information in your qualified accountant’s certificate is accurate.

(b) You acknowledge that, where it would be reasonable for us to do so, we may exercise our discretion not to consider you a sophisticated/wholesale investor. We may exercise our discretion if:

• you fail to make the necessary declarations in the sophisticated/wholesale investor application form;

• you fail to provide an accountant’s certificate, or the accountant’s certificate does not contain the requisite detail set out in the relevant ASIC Class Order;

• we are unable to verify the legitimacy of an accountant’s certificate;

• we reasonably suspect that you have not qualified as a sophisticated/wholesale investor; or

• any other reason where we, or our Service Providers, are reasonably unable to to consider you a sophisticated/wholesale investor.

(c) You acknowledge that, where it would be reasonable for us to do so, we may exercise our discretion not to allow you to participate in any offering of Securities or Financial Products, on your submission of an application to be considered a sophisticated/wholesale investor. We may exercise our discretion if:

• our Service Provider(s) reject your bid for Securities or Financial Products;

• a Capital Raise is oversubscribed, cancelled, due to be cancelled or otherwise unavailable;

• you have insufficient funds to meet the minimum bid requirements;

• we reasonably believe that you do not fall within the scope of an issuer’s target market determination, if applicable;

• your participation is prohibited for legal or regulatory reasons;

• you have breached any term of this Agreement; or

• any other reason where we, or our Service Providers, are reasonably unable to allow you to participate in any offering of Securities or Financial Products.

24.2 Bids 

(a) We will use our best endeavours to pass your bid onto the offering company or intermediary, but we do not guarantee we will do so, or do so by a certain time. To protect our legitimate business interest we may, in our sole discretion, impose restrictions or conditions on your ability to submit bids, including bids below or above thresholds we determine in our sole discretion.

(b) You acknowledge that a bid close date may be brought forward or extended at any time by the offering company or intermediary, and understand that Stake has no influence or control over changes to such timelines. You further acknowledge that this may impact your ability to validly place and/or cancel a bid.

(c) By submitting a bid, you acknowledge and confirm that you are making a binding offer to acquire Securities or Financial Products, on the terms set out in your bid, in the relevant term sheet or any disclosure documentation, and in accordance with this Agreement. You acknowledge and confirm that your bid is irrevocable unless validly cancelled prior to close of bids.

24.3 Allocation 

(a) You acknowledge that we do not guarantee that you will be allocated any or all of the Securities or Financial Products for which you place a bid. We may be required to scale back our customers’ bids if in aggregate our customers exceed the total number of Securities or Financial Products allocated to us. If we are required to scale back your bid, all customers will be scaled back pro rata by the same proportion, except that we will endeavour to ensure that no customer will be scaled back such that their bid fails to meet the minimum parcel required to participate in the Capital Raise. In certain circumstances, our aggregate allocation may limit our capacity to maintain bid sizes above the minimum parcel after a scale back has been applied. If this occurs and your bid size is too small, your bid may be cancelled, and your funds returned to your account.

(b) You acknowledge that we do not guarantee that your Securities or Financial Products will be available for trading immediately after you are issued those Securities or Financial Products and that a delay may apply.

24.4 Buying power required to bid 

It is your responsibility to ensure you have sufficient funds in your account ('Buying Power') prior to placing a bid. You authorise us to reduce your Buying Power by an amount equal to the value of your bid. If you validly cancel your bid prior to close of bids, your Buying Power will be increased by the value of your bid. If you are not allocated the full amount that you bid for (for example as a result of any scaleback that may apply), your Buying Power will be increased by the amount that you were not allocated.

24.9 Acknowledgements for Capital Raises

(a) You acknowledge and agree that:

• we offer an execution-only service and we do not recommend or endorse any investment opportunities and we assume no responsibility or liability in relation to the quality of any investment opportunities;

• we do not prepare any disclosure material or term sheets in respect of any investment opportunity and we assume no responsibility or liability in respect of the information contained therein;

• we do not conduct any due diligence on initial public offering and placement opportunities made available on the Capital Raises platform;

• it is your responsibility to assess and research each investment opportunity and determine its suitability for your purposes;

• prior to placing a bid, you have had an opportunity to seek independent financial, legal and tax advice; and

• prior to placing a bid, you have had access to information which you consider to be sufficient to enable you to conduct appropriate due diligence and make a decision in relation to the investment opportunity based on your own circumstances.

(b) Once a bid has been passed onto the offering company or intermediary, we accept no responsibility or liability for any failure or delay by the company or intermediary to consider the bid. An investment opportunity may cease to be available at any time, which may occur before or after you submit a bid. If we receive notice from the offering company or intermediary that an investment opportunity ceases to be available, we will endeavour to pass this notice onto you as soon as reasonably practicable.

25. Information

25.1 Information we request

(a) You agree to provide us with all information and documentation which we reasonably require to provide the Services to you, comply with Applicable Laws, the Rules, FINRA Rules, Market Integrity Rules or administer our internal risk controls. Further information about why we collect your personal information and how we process it is set out in our Privacy Policy.  Without limiting any other provision of this Agreement, information which we may require may include:

• name;

• postal address;

• date of birth;

• contact details;

• bank account details;

• photo identification;

• occupation;

• source of funds;

• salary range;

• reasons for opening, funding or withdrawing from an account;

• reasons for providing Instructions or making Transactions; and

• other such information as we or our Service Partners may require from time to time. 

(b) You agree that we may provide such information to our Service Providers where they reasonably require such information and documentation. We may request such information and documentation at any time during our relationship with you. If you do not provide us with requested information and documentation within the time period communicated to you by us, in accordance with section 18 of this Agreement we may restrict or suspend your access to the Stake Service, or close your Account or refuse to open an Account for you.

25.2 Third party information

(a) You acknowledge that information or data provided through the Stake Service on our website and/or mobile app, that has been supplied by a third party Service Provider, is for informative purposes only and such third party information does not constitute Stake’s Personal Financial Advice, opinions or policies. Such information and data includes financial data, market data, market depth, course of sales, analyst ratings and other information. 

(b) We are not responsible for any third party information available on the Stake Service, nor any investment decisions or losses that result from use of the information. 

(c) You acknowledge that we do not verify or guarantee the accuracy, reliability, completeness or timeliness of the third party information and we make no warranties, express or implied, as to such information. You should read our Disclaimers for more information.

25.3 Third party links 

From time to time we may include links to third-party websites which may redirect you to third party websites if you choose to click on them. The third party websites are not under the control of, and are not affiliated with, Stake and we are not responsible for the content of any third party websites or any links contained on those websites. Stake provides third party website links for your convenience and information only, and shall not be responsible for any loss or damage arising out of your access to or reliance upon the content on third party websites.

25.4 Information for personal use only

(a) The information supplied is for your personal and private use only. You must not:

• reproduce, broadcast, otherwise distribute or allow any unauthorised third party to access the information;

• use the information for any unauthorised or illegal purpose; or

• procure or assist another person to do an act prohibited by this section.

(b) If we reasonably suspect that you are in breach of this section 25.4 we may immediately suspend your use of the Stake Service.

26. Intellectual Property

26.1 Ownership of Intellectual Property Rights

You acknowledge that Intellectual Property Rights, including graphics, logos, trade marks, distinctive brand features, designs, text, icons, the arrangement of them, sound recordings and all software relating to the Website and Mobile Application, and relating to the information and derived information we provide (including information transmitted electronically), remain vested in us, its creator, or other Service Providers as applicable.

26.2 How you can use our and our Service Providers’ Intellectual Property Rights

(a) Such Intellectual Property Rights must not be used in any manner without the prior consent of the owner. If improper or unlawful use of materials under Intellectual Property Rights comes to your attention, we ask that you notify us immediately.

(b) You may view and use the Website and Mobile Application in accordance with the Agreement, but you may not in any form or by any means reproduce, modify, distribute, store, transmit, publish or display within another website or create derivative works from any part of the Website or Mobile Application without prior written consent of Stake, or other Service Providers, as applicable.

(c) You may not modify or copy the layout or appearance of the Website or Mobile Application nor any computer software or code contained within, nor may you decompile, disassemble, reverse engineer or otherwise attempt to discover or access any source code related to the Website or Mobile Application.

27. Privacy

27.1 Compliance with Privacy Laws

As part of providing the Stake Service, we collect personal information so that we can communicate with you, provide you with our services and comply with Applicable Laws. We respect the importance and confidentiality of the personal information we collect about our customers and potential customers. We abide by the Australian Privacy Principles contained in the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth).

27.2 Stake's Privacy Policy

You acknowledge that you have read our Privacy Policy, which contains details about how we collect, handle and disclose your personal information. Our Privacy Policy also sets out your rights to access and correct the personal information we hold about you, and how you can make a complaint about the way we have handled your personal information.

27.3 Sharing Personal Information

(a) Where reasonably necessary to give effect to this Agreement and provide you the Stake Service, we will share your personal information with our Service Providers. Your personal information will also be shared with third party electronic verification provider(s).

(b) We may also share your personal information with other third parties, including subsidiaries of Stake, our professional advisors and regulatory bodies. 

28. Security

28.1 Keeping your Account secure

(a) You agree to keep your password, access code and username required to access your Account and the Website and/or mobile app confidential. This includes not revealing your password or code to any unauthorised person and not letting any unauthorised person watch you enter your password or code.

(b) You agree not to allow or cause any unauthorised person to access your Account and not to allow any unauthorised person to issue instructions on your account. 

(c) You are responsible for notifying us immediately if you become aware of any unauthorised or suspicious activity on your Account. 

28.2 Compliance with Stake security requirements

(a) We may require you to use certain identity verification methods in order to login to your Account and access the Stake Service. You acknowledge that we employ these methods to help keep your Account secure.

(b) We shall not be responsible for any losses that occur due to unauthorised access where you have failed to comply with this section 28.

29. Our Liability

29.1 Our liability is subject to applicable law

We do not exclude or limit the application of any statute, including without limitation, the Australian Securities and Investments Commission Act 2001 (Cth), the Competition and Consumer Act 2010 (Cth) and any similar State or Federal Legislation where to do so would contravene the statute or cause any part of this Agreement to be void.

29.2 Disclaimer of warranties

(a) To the extent permitted by law and except for any non-excludable warranty under the Australian Consumer Law, Stake excludes all guarantees and warranties, whether express or implied, including any warranties, guarantees or representations concerning:

• the availability of the Stake Service;

• the merchantability or fitness for purpose of the Stake Service;

• the performance of any Securities or Financial Product; and

• the availability of any Exchange, Security, Financial Product or Currency on the Stake Service.

(b) The Australian Consumer Law consumer guarantees do not apply to Financial Products. However, where a consumer guarantee applies to a part of the Stake Service, we will provide the service with due care and skill, within a reasonable time and the service will be fit for the purpose. If we breach any of the applicable consumer guarantees, our liability is limited to either (at our own choice) resupplying the service to you or paying the costs of having the service resupplied to you. For a major failure with our services, you have other remedies. 

29.3 Limitation of our liability

(a) To the extent permitted by law, we, our Directors, our Licensee, Service Providers, officers, employees or agents, are not liable for any actions, claims, demands, proceedings, liabilities, losses (including incidental, indirect or consequential loss), damages, costs and expenses, except to the extent resulting from or caused by our negligence, fraud, dishonesty or wilful misconduct, due to:

• us acting upon your Instructions;

• refusal or failure to act on your Instructions, including as set out at section 14;

• a failure by you to comply with this Agreement;

• your default;

• any legal action;

• our compliance with a direction, request or requirement of Applicable Law, an Exchange, a market operator or any regulatory authority;

• error, omission, non-receipt, or invalidity in your Instructions;

• problems or failures involving the relevant Exchange, market participant, including any error, omission, interruption, deletion, defect, delay in operation or transmission, or any other factor which is out of our reasonable control;

• interruption, failure or delay of any telephone, computer, internet connection or other electronic or technological service;

• error, inaccuracy, omission, delay or failure associated with third party information available on the Stake Service, or your reliance upon such information; 

• any events or circumstances that we cannot reasonably control;

• any Force Majeure event;

• any delay, interruption, omission, failure, error or fault by us in transmitting, passing on and executing your Instructions;

• market movements and other risks associated with the trading of Securities or Financial Products;

• suspected or actual manipulative trading, including insider trading, false or misleading trading, market rigging and market manipulation; or

• faults, errors, defects, failures in the Website, the mobile app, other computer systems, or loss of access to your Account.

(b) Without limiting section 29.3(a) above or any other part of this Agreement, Stake is not liable for losses arising from delays related to deposits or withdrawal of funds where such delays are a result of:

• any act, omission or delay of our Service Providers or any other financial institution involved in the withdrawal or Currency Conversion process, for example your nominated bank provider;

• us or our Service Providers complying with Applicable Law; 

• your failure or delay to provide information we reasonably require, or to provide verify a withdrawal;

• incorrect or incomplete information provided to us or our Service Providers by you; 

• bank holidays, Business Days or other public holiday periods; or

• any other reason which is outside of Stake’s reasonable control.

30. Your Liability

30.1 You will be liable for losses caused by unauthorised Transactions where we can prove that you contributed to losses on the balance of probability:

• through fraud or breach of the security requirements; or

• from unauthorised Transactions because you unreasonably delayed notifying us after realising that the security of your Account had been breached.

30.2 If you are liable for losses pursuant to section 30.1, you will be liable for the actual losses that occur between the time you realised, or should reasonably have become aware, that your Account’s security had been breached and when you actually let us know.

30.3 You acknowledge that Stake has the right to claim any reasonable expenses and costs (legal or otherwise) in relation to resolving any claim against you or us (by you), whether resolved or not. In relation to this section, you acknowledge that if a judgment is made against you in relation to such costs and expenses, you will be liable for those costs and expenses incurred by us.

31. Indemnity

31.1 Indemnities given by you

(a) Unless caused by our fraud, negligence or wilful misconduct, you agree to indemnify and hold harmless us, our Licensee, our officers, employees, agents and our related bodies corporate for any losses, actions, claims, demands, proceedings, costs, expenses, liabilities and damages arising directly or indirectly out of:

• your use of the Stake Service or any third party information;

• our acting on your Instructions;

• your failure to comply with, or breach of any of your obligations under, this Agreement;

• your failure to comply with any Applicable Law; 

• any misleading or incorrect representation given by you in your dealings with us; 

• any breach of your representations and warranties as set out in this Agreement; and

• unauthorised instructions, Transactions or fraud associated with your Account.

(b) Your liability to indemnify us will be reduced proportionately to the extent a negligent or fraudulent act of ours contributed to the loss.

31.2 Survival of indemnity obligation

Each indemnity in this Agreement is a continuing obligation, which is separate and independent from your other obligations, and survives termination of this Agreement.

32. Joint Accounts

32.1 If your Joint Account has one or more Non-Primary Account Holders (such as more than one individual acting as Trustee personally or as Directors of a corporate Trustee), then each individual is deemed to be an agent of each other individually and you each authorise and direct us to accept instructions from any one individual without the need to seek confirmation of those instructions from any other individual. All individuals are jointly and severally bound by this Agreement.

32.2 We are entitled to assume that any instruction received from your password and login credentials is a valid instruction to access your account and our services. We are not obliged to inquire into the validity of any such instruction received.

32.3 We may from time to time receive conflicting instructions in respect of Joint Accounts. In such cases, we will on a reasonable endeavours basis:

• refuse any instruction to buy or sell a financial product or to withdraw any sum of money, that is not provided through the Stake app (whether such instruction is given by the Primary Account Holder or a Non-Primary Account Holder);

• apply a temporary account suspension limited to 21 calendar days on the request of the Primary Account Holder or Non-Primary Account Holder; and/or

• adhere to any requirements set out in a certified copy of an order of a court or tribunal of competent jurisdiction provided that such order is accompanied by an affidavit from appropriate legal counsel attesting to the fact that the court order applies to the assets of the relevant Joint Account. 

32.4 The Primary Account Holder and all Non-Primary Account Holders agree that Stake is not liable for any loss (including without limitation any missed market opportunities) arising from actions taken (or not taken) in accordance with section 32.3.

32.5 The Primary Account Holder and all Non-Primary Account Holders agree, jointly and severally, to pay our tax invoices. Our costs are payable up to the termination of the services and for any work that we are required to do for you after termination.

33. Assignment

33.1 You may not assign, transfer or novate any of your rights or obligations under this Agreement without our prior written consent, which may be withheld where it would be reasonable for us to do so. 

33.2 We may assign, transfer or novate any or all of our rights or obligations under this Agreement by giving thirty (30) days  written notice to you. 

33.3 If we reasonably withhold consent in accordance with section 33.1, or if you do not wish to be bound by the change if we assign, transfer or novate our rights to a third party in accordance with section 33.2, you may withdraw funds or transfer your holdings to another broker before the assignment, transfer or novation takes effect. As usual, fees are payable for certain withdrawals and share transfers, however Stake does not charge an exit fee. Please refer to our pricing for further information.

33.4 In the event of an assignment, transfer or novation under section 33.2:

• You will have the same rights and obligations under this Agreement against the new party as you had against us prior to the assignment, transfer or novation;

• The new party has the same rights and obligations against you that we had prior to the assignment, transfer or novation;

• We, the Licensee and Service Providers are released from any obligations arising on or after the date of the assignment, transfer or novation.

34. Termination

34.1 How long this Agreement lasts

This Agreement remains in force until it is terminated by either party in accordance with this Agreement.

34.2 Terminating this Agreement

(a) Subject to our other rights under this Agreement and the completion of outstanding obligations, either party may terminate this Agreement for any reason by giving not less than five (5) calendar days written notice to the other party.

(b) This Agreement may also be terminated immediately by us for any of the following reasons:

• in the event of insolvency, bankruptcy, winding up, death or incapacity;

• if we take any actions set out at section 18 of this Agreement;

• if we reasonably believe that allowing you continued access to the Stake Service would result in us breaching, or being an accessory to a breach, of any Applicable Law, including without limitation the Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorism Financing Act 2006 (Cth); or

• if you breach any term of this Agreement.

34.3 What happens when this Agreement is terminated

Unless we are prohibited by law, when this Agreement is terminated your Account will be closed and your funds and assets dealt with in accordance with section 18 of this Agreement.  

35. Amendments

35.1 We reserve the right to amend the Agreement from time to time, where it is reasonable for us to do so. 

35.2 If we intend to amend the Agreement in a way that would be materially adverse to you, we will give you at least 30 days’ written notice before the change comes into effect.

35.3 If you do not wish to be bound by materially adverse changes to the Agreement, you may withdraw funds or transfer your holdings to another broker before the changes take effect. As usual, fees are payable for certain withdrawals and share transfers, however Stake does not charge an exit fee. Please refer to our pricing for further information.

35.4 We will not be required to notify you if we amend the Agreement in a way which would not be materially adverse to you. When this occurs, we will publish an updated Agreement on our website. Unless we state otherwise, amendments which are not materially adverse to you will take effect immediately.

36. Notice

36.1 Either party may provide notice to the other party by electronic communication such as email. Notices sent by electronic communication will be treated as having been received one hour after being sent.

36.2 You may request that we provide notices to you by post. If you do so, the notice will be treated as having been received two business days after posting. If we have your email, we will use this as the default communication and reserve the right to use email exclusively.

36.3 You must ensure that:

• You provide us with a valid email address;

• The details you provide to us remain up to date; and

• That you notify us of any change to your details.

37. Severance

If any provision of this Agreement is unlawful, void or unenforceable, then that provision shall be deemed severable from the remaining provisions and shall not affect their validity and enforceability.

38. Waiver

A waiver of any right or remedy under this Agreement or by law is only effective if given in writing and shall not be deemed a waiver of any subsequent breach or default. A failure or delay by a party to exercise any right or remedy provided under the Agreement or by law shall not constitute a waiver of that or any other right or remedy, nor shall it prevent or restrict any further exercise of that or any other right or remedy.

39. Dispute Resolution

39.1 Stake is committed to providing exceptional service to our customers. We handle all complaints and disputes in a fair, transparent and timely manner in accordance with our Complaints Policy. 

39.2 We will investigate and address each complaint or dispute promptly and competently. If you have a complaint or dispute with us in connection with this Agreement or any transactions thereunder, both yourself and Stake must use reasonable endeavours to resolve any dispute.

39.3 If we cannot resolve a dispute to your satisfaction, depending on its nature, you can refer your complaint to the  Australian Financial Complaints Authority (AFCA):

By telephone on 1800 931 678

By writing to GPO Box 3, Melbourne, VIC, 3001

Online at https://www.afca.org.au/make-a-complaint

40. Governing Law

This Agreement shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of New South Wales, Australia. The parties agree to irrevocably submit to the non-exclusive jurisdiction of the courts of New South Wales, Australia to decide any matter arising out of the Agreement.