At Dociva, we are committed to providing safe, responsible and accessible online healthcare services. This Fair Use Policy (Policy) explains how users are expected to use the Dociva platform, including medical certificate requests, online consultations, prescription requests, referral requests, support services, accounts, communications and any other services made available through Dociva from time to time.

This Policy is designed to protect patients, medical practitioners, Dociva staff, the integrity of clinical decision-making and the availability of the platform for other users.

While we aim to outline key examples of Unacceptable Use, it is not possible to list every potential misuse. Dociva may reasonably assess whether particular conduct breaches this Policy, our Terms, clinical safety requirements, operational requirements or applicable law, taking account of the nature and circumstances of that conduct. Any action will be proportionate and subject to applicable law. Capitalised terms not defined in this Policy have the same meaning as in our Terms.

Dociva is not an emergency service. If you have chest pain, severe breathing difficulty, signs of a stroke, heavy bleeding, collapse, seizure, sudden swelling of the lips, mouth, throat or tongue, thoughts of self-harm, or any symptom that feels serious or life-threatening, call 000 immediately or attend the nearest emergency department.

What Constitutes Acceptable Use?

Acceptable Use means using Dociva honestly, safely and for legitimate healthcare-related purposes. This includes:

• Providing accurate, complete and truthful information in a timely manner.
• Using Dociva only for genuine healthcare-related requests, including medical certificates, online consultations, prescription requests, referral requests and other services where available.
• Respecting the independent clinical judgement of Australian-registered medical practitioners.
• Understanding that submitting a request does not guarantee that a certificate, prescription, referral, diagnosis, treatment plan or other clinical outcome will be provided.
• Being reasonably available for phone, video or follow-up contact if requested by the doctor or Dociva support team.
• Following any safety-netting advice, urgent care advice, in-person review recommendation or follow-up recommendation provided by a medical practitioner.
• Using documents issued through Dociva honestly and only for their intended purpose.
• Respecting the time, safety and professional boundaries of medical practitioners and Dociva staff.
• Using the platform in a way that does not interfere with the availability, security or proper operation of Dociva.

Clinical Independence

Medical practitioners providing services through Dociva exercise independent clinical judgement. You must not pressure, mislead, threaten, manipulate or attempt to influence a medical practitioner to provide a certificate, prescription, referral, diagnosis, treatment plan or other clinical outcome.

A doctor may approve, decline, limit, defer or escalate a request where they consider it clinically appropriate. The doctor may also request further information, require phone or video contact, recommend in-person care or advise urgent or emergency care.

For any Dociva service, the doctor may require phone or video contact before making a decision if they consider it clinically necessary.

Subscription Memberships and Fair Use

Where Dociva offers paid Subscription Memberships, members must use included benefits responsibly, honestly and in accordance with the plan allowances, our Terms of Service and this Policy.

Membership Allowances

Each Membership covers only the Services and benefits expressly included in the selected plan. Where offered, Bronze Membership includes up to three (3) eligible single-day medical certificate assessments in each monthly billing cycle, with Priority Processing for those eligible assessments at no additional charge. The eligible single-day certificate categories are those identified in the plan description.

The allowance is a maximum entitlement to eligible clinical assessments, not a guarantee of approved or issued medical certificates. Every request must relate to a genuine healthcare need and remains subject to independent clinical assessment. Using all three available assessments does not, by itself, constitute a breach of this Policy.

One allowance is reserved when an eligible request is submitted and used when a medical practitioner commences review, even if a certificate is not issued. A reserved allowance will ordinarily be restored if a request is cancelled before practitioner review commences and no clinical assessment has been supplied. Unused allowances do not roll over or transfer to another account or person. Further details are in Section 5 of our Terms of Service.

Acceptable Membership Use

Acceptable use includes submitting genuine, clinically appropriate requests within your Membership allowance, giving complete and accurate information, responding to reasonable requests for further clinical assessment and respecting a medical practitioner's independent clinical decisions.

Unacceptable Membership Use

Unacceptable use includes, but is not limited to:

• allowing another person to use your Membership or submitting requests on their behalf through your personal Membership;
• using multiple accounts or false information to bypass Membership eligibility rules, allowances or restrictions;
• submitting fraudulent, false, misleading or substantially duplicate medical requests;
• repeatedly seeking a different outcome for substantially the same matter after an earlier clinical refusal without a genuine change in relevant circumstances;
• seeking medical certificates for periods or circumstances unsupported by the information provided;
• reselling, commercially distributing or otherwise transferring Membership benefits or clinical documents;
• pressuring medical practitioners to approve or issue documents because a Membership fee has been paid; or
• deliberately manipulating or bypassing subscription billing, eligibility verification, technical controls or assessment allowances.

Priority Processing for Members

Where Priority Processing is included in a Membership, it applies only to eligible requests under that Membership. It does not guarantee immediate review, a specific timeframe, practitioner availability or any clinical outcome.

Membership Enforcement

Dociva may reasonably investigate suspected misuse, request further information and take proportionate steps, including restricting a particular request, temporarily suspending benefits or terminating Membership access where justified by a material breach, fraud, patient safety concern, security risk or legal obligation.

Unless immediate action is reasonably necessary, Dociva will endeavour to notify the member and provide a reasonable opportunity to address material concerns before permanently terminating a paid Membership. Restrictions, refunds and other remedies are subject to our Terms of Service and applicable law.

Medical Certificates and Backdating

Dociva does not backdate issue or assessment dates; they remain the actual dates. However, where clinically appropriate, an Australian-registered medical practitioner may, at their discretion, certify that a period of illness or incapacity commenced before the date of assessment. Retrospective periods are not guaranteed.

You must not request, pressure, mislead or attempt to obtain a certificate with a backdated issue or assessment date, or an unsupported retrospective period, through Dociva. You must also not alter, edit, falsify, misuse or misrepresent any certificate issued through Dociva.

Employers, schools, universities and other organisations may have their own evidence requirements, so acceptance can vary depending on the organisation and circumstances.

Prescription and Medicine Requests

Prescription requests, where available, are subject to clinical review and are not guaranteed. A prescription will only be provided where the doctor considers it clinically appropriate and safe.

You must provide accurate information about your symptoms, medical history, current medicines, allergies, pregnancy or breastfeeding status where relevant, previous adverse reactions and any other information that may affect prescribing safety.

Unacceptable use includes attempting to obtain medicines by deception, omission, repeated requests, multiple accounts, pressure on practitioners, or “drug-shopping” behaviour.

Referral Requests

Referral requests, where available, are subject to clinical review and are not guaranteed. A referral will only be provided where the doctor considers it clinically appropriate.

You must not use Dociva to obtain referrals through false, misleading, incomplete or exaggerated information. A referral also does not guarantee that a specialist, clinic, imaging provider, pathology provider or other third party will accept the referral or provide a particular outcome.

What Constitutes Unacceptable Use?

Unacceptable Use includes, but is not limited to:

• Providing false, misleading, incomplete, exaggerated or inconsistent information.
• Withholding relevant clinical information, including symptoms, medical history, medicines, allergies, pregnancy status, mental health risks, substance use, previous adverse reactions or recent medical reviews.
• Attempting to manipulate, pressure, threaten or deceive medical practitioners or Dociva staff.
• Requesting a guaranteed medical certificate, prescription, referral, diagnosis, treatment plan or other clinical outcome.
• Requesting or attempting to obtain a certificate with a backdated issue or assessment date, or an unsupported retrospective period.
• Submitting multiple requests for the same or similar issue after being declined, redirected or advised that the request is unsuitable for Dociva.
• Submitting an unusually high volume of requests without a genuine healthcare need.
• Misusing a paid Membership, including by sharing it, bypassing assessment allowances or submitting duplicate requests to manipulate clinical outcomes.
• Engaging in “doctor-shopping”, “drug-shopping”, “certificate-shopping”, “referral-shopping” or “outcome-shopping”.
• Using multiple accounts, false details or another person's details to avoid restrictions, obtain a different outcome or conceal prior requests.
• Allowing another person to access your account or use your identity.
• Making a request on behalf of another person unless you are legally authorised to do so and the service allows that request.
• Impersonating another person, a practitioner, a Dociva staff member, an employer, a school, a university or another organisation.
• Uploading or sending explicit, offensive, abusive, threatening, discriminatory, harassing or inappropriate content.
• Using abusive, offensive, threatening or inappropriate language in any communication with medical practitioners or Dociva staff.
• Failing to respond to reasonable follow-up requests after a doctor has commenced review.
• Repeatedly cancelling, abandoning or disputing requests in a way that appears abusive, dishonest or disruptive.
• Misusing refund, chargeback, complaint or support processes.
• Editing, altering, falsifying, selling, sharing, misrepresenting or misusing any certificate, prescription, referral, receipt, letter or document issued through Dociva.
• Using Dociva for emergencies, serious symptoms, urgent deterioration or situations requiring immediate in-person care.
• Using the platform for illegal, fraudulent, harmful or unsafe purposes.

Platform, Security and Technical Misuse

You must not misuse the Dociva website, platform, systems, APIs, payment flow, communications, staff systems or support tools.

Unacceptable technical use includes, but is not limited to:

• attempting to bypass security controls, access controls, rate limits, verification steps or eligibility checks;
• using bots, scrapers, automated tools, scripts or other automated methods without written permission from Dociva;
• attempting to gain unauthorised access to accounts, systems, servers, databases, staff portals or practitioner tools;
• introducing malware, harmful code, viruses, trojans, worms or other malicious material;
• testing, scanning or probing systems without written permission from Dociva;
• interfering with platform availability, performance, security, payment processing or service delivery;
• attempting to reverse engineer, copy, scrape or misuse Dociva content, workflows, forms, certificates or platform functionality; or
• using Dociva in a way that creates unreasonable load, operational disruption or security risk.

Support and Communication Misuse

Dociva support channels are intended for genuine service, technical, payment, privacy and account-related assistance.

Unacceptable use of support includes abusive messages, repeated unreasonable demands, threats, harassment, false claims, excessive duplicate enquiries, attempts to pressure staff into changing clinical outcomes, or attempts to bypass doctor review.

Dociva support staff cannot override independent medical practitioner clinical judgement.

Consequences of Breaching This Policy

If Dociva or a medical practitioner reasonably determines that a user has engaged in Unacceptable Use, Dociva may take action to protect patients, practitioners, staff, the platform and service integrity.

Actions may include:

• requesting further information or identity verification;
• delaying, declining, cancelling or limiting a request;
• requiring phone or video contact before further review;
• refusing future requests;
• suspending, restricting or terminating account access;
• restricting, suspending or terminating Membership benefits where proportionate and legally permitted;
• withholding, cancelling or refusing access to services where permitted by law;
• declining refunds where practitioner review or platform services have commenced, subject to applicable law;
• notifying relevant third parties, regulators, law enforcement or healthcare bodies where required or permitted by law;
• taking technical, operational or legal steps to protect Dociva and its users.

Refunds and Fair Use

Misuse of Dociva, including providing false or misleading information, failing to respond after practitioner review has commenced, requesting documents with backdated issue or assessment dates or unsupported retrospective periods, attempting to force a specific outcome, abusing support channels or misusing chargeback processes, may affect refund eligibility.

Refunds, including where a paid Membership is involved, are handled in accordance with our Terms of Service, applicable refund provisions and the law. An included Membership assessment is accounted for under the Membership allowance rules rather than treated as a separately purchased one-time assessment. Nothing in this Policy excludes, restricts or modifies any consumer guarantee, right, remedy or liability that cannot lawfully be excluded, restricted or modified.

Relationship With Other Policies

This Policy should be read together with our Terms of Service, Privacy Policy, Cookie Policy and any other policy or notice made available by Dociva.

If there is any inconsistency between this Policy and the Terms of Service, the Terms of Service will apply to the extent of the inconsistency.