General

These application and service terms and conditions ("Terms") set out the terms on which VFS Services Australia Pty Ltd (trading as itself and/or 'VFS Global' and/or any other business name registered by VFS Services Australia Pty Ltd from time to time) ("VFS") provides one or more of the Services to you.

By submitting an application, you will be taken to have read, understood and accepted all of these Terms (which impose, among other things, obligations on you to make payments to VFS and to indemnify VFS and which limit your rights and VFS' liability in some cases). Accordingly, if you do not agree to any of these Terms, you must not submit your application for the Services.

Services

In these Terms, "Services" means any one or more of the following services provided by VFS:

	issuing or otherwise making available (whether in hard copy, soft copy or online) the applications forms ("Application Forms") specified by the Embassy of Austria in respect of Schengen visa- Type C, Airport Transit Visa- Type A or Austria National Visa- Type D.
	Providing or otherwise making available (whether in hard copy, soft copy or online), information specified by the Embassy of Austria in respect of applications for the above as applicable from time to time.
	receiving completed Application Forms and supporting documents
	Accepting the fees on behalf of the Embassy of Austria which are payable to the Embassy of Austria in respect of an application for the consular service applied for.
	forwarding completed Application Forms, supporting documents and application fees to the Embassy of Austria (either directly or via a third party)
	if an application is determined by the Embassy of Austria to be successful, sending the passport and other documents if any, together with the supporting documents provided with the completed Application Form, to the applicant (either directly or via a third party) on behalf of the Embassy of Austria or otherwise making those things available for collection by the applicant
	Such other services as VFS may elect from time to time to provide.

Applications must be sent in person to the participating Australia Post outlet. Details are available under steps to apply on this website.

In the following cases the service provider will not accept applications

	Applications lodged more than three months before the start date of the intended visit
	Applications not submitted in person at a participating Australia Post outlet. For minors under 12 years a parent or Guardian must submit the application in person with a valid photo identity
	Incomplete or unsigned applications forms and Annexure A [ checklist]
	Ordinary Passports that do not meet the criteria as set out in the Registration Process [ hyper link to Apply Now]
	Ordinary Passports not containing at least two blank pages and issued within the previous ten years
	Photographs not fulfilling the standards set out in Regulation [EC] No. 1683/95. Photo Specifications

VFS will not be held accountable or responsible for applications sent to an incorrect location.

Incomplete Applications and Refund Policy:
VFS will attempt to contact an applicant via telephone or email for any information lacking as required to constitute a complete application as set out in Annexure A [the checklist]. The applicant will be required to provide the necessary information within 2 working days, failing which the application may be considered incomplete and returned.

Refunds:
All other fees other than VFS Service Fees will be refunded for an application considered to be incomplete [ required information to prepare a complete application is not received within 2 working days from the date of contacting the applicant via email or telephone]
Once an application is submitted to the Embassy of Austria, a no refunds policy applies.

Variation of Terms

except where it is stated in these Terms that VFS can vary a particular term by notice, these Terms cannot be varied unless the variation is in writing, signed by VFS.

Rights of the Embassy of Austria

You acknowledge and agree that:

	The Embassy of Austria has the sole and absolute discretion to either accept or refuse your application and that VFS has no involvement whatsoever in the Embassy of Austria’s decision. VFS acts solely as an outsourced service provider to the Embassy of Austria in respect of your application and the Services;
	in addition to your application and supporting documents in respect of your application (including, without limitation, your passport) ("Documents"), the Embassy of Austria may require you to provide such further documents, information or material ("Further Documents") to assess your application. VFS has no involvement whatsoever in any decision by the Embassy of Austria to require you to provide Further Documents;
	The time taken by the Embassy of Austria to make the decisions referred to in paragraphs (a) and (b) above, or any other decisions in connection with your application, are entirely outside the control of VFS.

Information provided by VFS

All material and information provided or otherwise made available to you by VFS ("VFS Information") is provided as general information only. The VFS Information is not intended to be professional advice and must not be relied upon as such. Prior to entering into a transaction or taking any particular course of action in connection with your application or the Services, you should make your own inquiries and seek independent advice tailored to your specific circumstances and objectives.

Accuracy and Usefulness of VFS Information

The VFS Information is provided to you in good faith and is believed to be accurate and current as at the date of publication. However, VFS provides no warranty or guarantee that the VFS Information (or any part of it) is accurate or complete.

Courier Service and Third Parties

VFS engages third party courier businesses ("Couriers") in respect of applications and the collection and delivery of your Documents and/or Further Documents. You specifically acknowledge and agree that VFS cannot control the acts, omissions, quality of service provided or care taken by any of the Couriers or any other third parties or any of their respective officers, agents, employees, representatives, contractors or sub-contractors.

If any third party provides any services to you in connection with your application and/or the Services (including, for example, photographic services in connection with your application), such services will be supplied to you on the terms and conditions specified by the relevant third party service provider.

VFS expressly disclaims any and all liability to you or anyone claiming through you for any loss or damage suffered in connection with your application and/or any of the Services provided to you by a third party where such loss or damage arises from, or is related to, any act, omission or negligence of a Courier or any other third party or any of their respective officers, agents, employees, representatives, contractors or sub-contractors.

Loss/Damage/Theft of your Documents or Further Documents

To the maximum extent permitted by law, VFS shall not be liable to you or anyone claiming though you for any loss or damage suffered in connection with your Documents and/or Further Documents (including, without limitation, any loss or damage suffered in connection with the loss or theft of, or damage to, your Documents and/or Further Documents, any misplacing of, or delay in returning, your Documents and/or Further Documents or any failure to return your Documents and/or Further Documents).

Without prejudice to the aforesaid or any other term in these Terms, and without any admission of liability whatsoever, if your passport is lost or damaged while it was in VFS' possession, VFS will reimburse you the standard fee charged by the applicable Government department for a replacement passport upon VFS receiving from you a certified copy of a receipt which evidences payment by you of that standard fee to the applicable Government department.

Personal Information

VFS collects personal information about you (including health information where necessary) ("Personal Information") in order to provide the Services. If the Personal Information is not provided by you, VFS may not be able to provide the Services which are the subject of your application.

Before submitting an application to VFS, you should read our Data Protection Policy. Our Data Protection Policy is available at here.

The Data Protection Policy describes how your personal information is collected, used and disclosed and your rights in relation to accessing and correcting that information. You agree to the collection, use and disclose of your personal information in accordance with Data Protection Policy