Terms of service

The Landscape Brigade is a trading name of The Trade Brigade Pty Ltd (ACN 702 347 313). In these terms, "we", "us" and "our" mean that company, and "you" means the person who books the job. When you book with us, your contract is with that company.

Your contract is made up of your written quote (and, for residential building work, any written contract we give you) and these terms. If your quote or written contract says something different from these terms, the quote or written contract applies.

By booking, you confirm that you own the property or have the owner's permission to have the work done, for example as a tenant, property manager or owners corporation.

The Trade Brigade Pty Ltd also trades as The Trade Brigade (https://www.thetradebrigade.com.au). The Brigade Club is run by The Trade Brigade under its own terms, published on that site.

Quotes are free. Every quote is in writing and says what work is included, so you can see what you're paying for.

A quote is valid for 30 days from the date on it.

If we quoted from photos or a description and the site turns out to be different when we see it, we may give you a new quote before we start.

A full garden design is a paid service, separate from a quote. The fee and what the design includes are set out in writing before we start it.

If you then have us build the design, the design fee comes off the price of the build, as set out in your quote.

We only build what's on the plan or quote you approved. Any change to the work, whether you ask for it or we suggest it, is priced and sent to you before we do it, and only goes ahead with your yes. A yes can be by phone, text or email, and we note it on the job.

On residential building work, a change to the work may also need to be recorded in writing as a variation to your contract. See Residential building work below.

Some things can't be seen until we dig. These include rock, old concrete, buried rubbish or rubble, tree roots, soft or wet ground, and pipes, cables or other buried services that weren't found before digging.

If we find something like this that wasn't allowed for in your quote, we stop that part of the work. We show you with photos, explain what it means, and give you a price for dealing with it before we go on. That work only goes ahead with your yes.

Before we dig, we arrange for underground pipes and cables to be located. Please tell us about anything you know is buried at the property, such as old drains, irrigation lines, septic or water tanks, or garden lighting cables.

Some work, such as taller retaining walls, needs an engineer's design or council approval. We check before we start and tell you if your job needs it. Where it does, the cost of the engineering and approval is set out in your quote or priced separately before we go ahead.

If you tell us an approval isn't needed, or you arrange it yourself, please give us a copy before we start. Rules differ between councils and change from time to time, so it's also worth checking with your council.

In NSW, some landscaping, such as retaining walls, paving and drainage, can be residential building work under the Home Building Act 1989 (NSW). Where the Act applies to your job, it applies in full, alongside these terms.

That can mean the work is covered by a separate written contract, that insurance must be in place before any deposit is taken, that there are limits on any deposit, and that statutory warranties apply to the work. Where your job needs any of these, we'll deal with them before the work starts.

If anything in these terms is inconsistent with any written contract for your job or with the Home Building Act 1989 (NSW) where it applies, the written contract and the Act win. Nothing in these terms limits the statutory warranties or any other right you have under that Act.

Our contractor licence number is shown on our quotes and written contracts. You can check it on NSW Fair Trading's public licence check.

Whether a deposit applies, how much it is and when it's due are set out in your quote or written contract. On residential building work, any deposit is subject to the Home Building Act 1989 (NSW) where it applies.

Please give us as much notice as you can if you need to reschedule or cancel. If you cancel after we've ordered materials or plants for your job, or started work, you may need to pay for what's been ordered or done, where your quote or contract sets this out.

We may need to reschedule a job, for example because of weather or a supply delay. If so, we'll let you know and arrange another time.

Some work can't be done properly in heavy rain, on waterlogged ground, or in extreme heat. Laying turf on soaked soil or pouring a footing in the rain can harm the result.

If the weather means work can't go ahead, or we have to stop part-way through, we'll rebook the rest of the job with you.

Before we arrive, please:

We need an outside tap and a power point at the property that we can use. The small cost of the water and power used is yours. If there's no tap or power point we can use, or the water is on a tank, please tell us when you book, and we'll tell you before you confirm whether that changes anything.

If our quote assumed access that isn't there on the day, such as room for a small machine, we'll talk to you about it before we go on. Any change to the price follows the Changes to the work section above.

We pick plants and turf to suit your sun, soil and wind, and we plant and lay them properly. But plants and lawns are living things. How they do after we finish depends a lot on care, weather and things outside our control.

Care after handover is yours. That includes watering, which new turf and plants need often at first. When we finish, we give you written care notes on watering, mowing and feeding. Following them gives your garden the best start.

As far as the law allows, we're not responsible for plants or turf that fail because they weren't watered or cared for as our care notes set out, or because of drought, frost, flood, pests, animals, or damage by others after handover. This doesn't limit your rights under the Australian Consumer Law.

Plants grow and change. Their size, shape and colour will differ from a plan, a photo or a nursery label, and from season to season.

On garden care visits, green waste from the visit is taken away on the day, and its removal is included in the price. This doesn't include bulk waste, such as building rubble, soil, rubbish, or whole trees, which we'll quote separately if you ask.

Regular visits run weekly, fortnightly or monthly, as agreed. You or we can stop regular visits by telling the other, as set out in your quote.

We shape hedges and shrubs. We don't remove or lop trees.

Your job may be carried out by subcontractors working on our behalf. Where work needs a licence, it is done by or under the supervision of someone who holds the right licence. Whoever does the work, your contract is with us, and we're responsible for the work under these terms.

Payment is due as set out in your quote or written contract. If it doesn't say, payment is due when the job is finished. The ways you can pay are listed on your invoice.

If you think something on your invoice is wrong, please tell us promptly.

Our services come with guarantees that cannot be excluded under the Australian Consumer Law. For major failures with the service, you are entitled to cancel your service contract with us and to a refund for the unused portion, or to compensation for its reduced value. You are also entitled to be compensated for any other reasonably foreseeable loss or damage. If the failure does not amount to a major failure you are entitled to have problems with the service rectified in a reasonable time and, if this is not done, to cancel your contract and obtain a refund for the unused portion of the contract.

Nothing in these terms or in our quotes excludes, restricts or changes those rights, or the statutory warranties that apply to residential building work in NSW.

If you think we've damaged something, tell us as soon as you can, with photos if possible.

As far as the law allows, we're not responsible for loss or damage that wasn't reasonably foreseeable, that comes from a defect or condition that was already there, or that happens because something we asked about wasn't disclosed, such as a buried pipe you knew about.

Nothing in this section limits or excludes your rights under the Australian Consumer Law or the Home Building Act 1989 (NSW).

If something isn't right, please tell us. Ring or email us with what happened and, if you can, a photo, and we'll look into it.

These terms are governed by the law of New South Wales. You and we agree to the jurisdiction of the courts and tribunals of New South Wales, including the NSW Civil and Administrative Tribunal.

We may update these terms from time to time. The latest version is always on this page, with the date it was last changed at the top. The terms that apply to your job are the ones in place when you accepted your quote.