Terms of use
Version 0.1 · drafted 9 August 2026
Draft — not legally reviewed, and not in force.
These documents describe how Break Up Buddy actually behaves today, so they are useful for review. They have not been checked by a lawyer, and they are not the terms anyone is currently bound by.
Still needing legal input before this goes near a real client:
- Whether the program is a health service under state law, which would impose stricter obligations than the Australian Privacy Principles alone.
- A retention schedule, and a data breach response program.
- Whether the limitation of liability is enforceable alongside the Australian Consumer Law.
- The duty of care owed by a volunteer Anchor, and who carries it.
Break Up Buddy is not a crisis service.
Nobody is watching this at 3am. If you are in danger, or thinking about ending your life, ring 000 or Lifeline on 13 11 14. Both are free, confidential and open right now.
1. What this is
Break Up Buddy is a twelve-week structured program for men working through a separation. You get a program built from what you tell us at the start, a daily check-in, and two or more Anchors — people who stay in touch with you through it.
2. What this is not
- Not therapy or counselling. Your Anchors are not your clinicians.
- Not a crisis service. Nothing here is monitored around the clock.
- Not medical, legal or financial advice. The program covers legal and money pressure because they are real, not because we are qualified to advise you on them. Get proper advice.
- Not a replacement for a GP, psychologist or lawyer you are already seeing. Please keep seeing them.
3. Joining
Access is by invitation. You must be 18 or over and living in Australia. We assess whether the program suits you before you start, and we may decide it does not — usually because what you need is more than peer support can give.
Your account is yours alone. Do not share your sign-in with anyone.
4. Anchors
An Anchor is someone who has applied, been checked and been approved to walk alongside you. Some have professional backgrounds; many are men who have been through it themselves. You can put forward someone you already trust — they still go through the same application and approval.
An Anchor is expected to:
- Stay in touch, and log it so the team knows you are covered.
- Refer on rather than hold something beyond their depth.
- Raise a concern if they are worried about you.
- Keep what you tell them to themselves, except where safety requires otherwise.
An Anchor is a volunteer, not an employee, and not available at all hours. If a pairing is not working, say so — you can ask for a different Anchor at any time and you do not have to explain why. Nothing changes until we have spoken to you, and you will not be left without support in the meantime.
5. What we ask of you
- Be honest at intake. A program built on a tidier version of your situation helps nobody.
- Treat your Anchors and the team decently.
- Do not use the program to harass, threaten or track anyone — including a former partner.
- Do not share another person's information through it.
6. What we may do
We may, without notice where safety requires it:
- End a pairing, or move you to a different Anchor.
- Pause or end your program.
- Suspend an account for conduct, or where an Anchor is unreachable.
- Contact emergency services or your emergency contact if we believe you or someone else is at serious risk.
7. What you write
Your journal entries stay yours — no Anchor sees them. Your messages to an Anchor are stored and can be read by the program team if a concern is raised. We are telling you that here rather than leaving you to assume otherwise. How all of this is handled is set out in the privacy policy.
8. Availability
We will try to keep the program running, but we do not promise it will always be available. Do not rely on it in an emergency — see the notice at the top of this page.
9. Liability
The program is offered in good faith, as peer support. To the extent the law allows, we are not liable for decisions you make, for what an Anchor says or does, or for any loss arising from the program being unavailable. Nothing here excludes any right you have under the Australian Consumer Law.
10. Changes and ending
We may update these terms; if the change matters, we will tell anyone on the program at the time. You can leave whenever you like, and we will not chase you. Your record is kept rather than destroyed, because a concern raised about your safety may need to be accounted for later — the privacy policy explains what that means.
11. Law
These terms are governed by the law of Victoria, Australia.