Terms of Enrolment - Institute of Equine Counselling

Terms of Enrolment

Institute of Equine Counselling

These terms apply to all courses offered by the Institute of Equine Counselling. By enrolling in a course, you confirm that you have read, understood and agree to the Terms of Enrolment, the Refund Policy, and the Complaints & Grievances Policy set out below.

1. Eligibility

You are 18 years of age or older.

2. Fees and additional costs

Your course fee covers access to the course content only. Completing a course may require additional items and services, which are your responsibility and at your own expense, and are not included in the course fee. Depending on the course, these may include:

A suitable, quiet horse and a safe, enclosed area for the practical assessments.
Confident, competent handling of a horse on the ground, and horsemanship lessons with a qualified local instructor, at your own cost, if you are not yet competent.
A current first aid certificate, issued within the last three years by an authorised provider and recognised in your jurisdiction.
An adult volunteer to take part in any filmed facilitated session.
A device to study on, reliable internet access, and a means of recording and uploading video.

3. Certification

A certificate is awarded only once you have passed every assessment and met all course requirements, including providing any required first aid certificate. We cannot certify you until these requirements are met.

4. Nature of our courses

Our courses teach non-clinical, educational equine modalities. They are not therapy, counselling or psychology, and do not qualify you to provide any clinical or mental-health service.

5. Safety and assumption of risk

Working with horses carries inherent risk. During any practical assessment in your own setting, you are responsible for your own safety and for the safety of your horse and any volunteer, and you agree to follow the safety guidance taught in the course.

6. Payment options and access

Full payment upfront. If you pay the full course fee at enrolment, you receive immediate access to the complete course.
Monthly payment plan. If you pay by the monthly payment plan (three monthly instalments), course content is released on a drip schedule over the first three months, in line with your payments. You receive full access to the remaining course content once the full course fee has been received.
If a scheduled payment fails or is missed, your access to the course is suspended until the outstanding amount is paid.
Practical assessments will not be marked, and feedback will not be given, while any payment is overdue.
Your certificate is issued only once the full course fee has been paid and all requirements are met. No certificate will be issued while any payment remains outstanding.
If you do not complete the payment plan, you will lose access to the remaining course content, assessment and certification. Instalments already paid are non-refundable, except where the refund eligibility in the Refund Policy applies, or as required by the Australian Consumer Law.

7. Student declaration

By enrolling, you confirm that you understand and agree:

This is the Practitioner Certificate in Equine-Facilitated Learning, a practitioner-level course in the complementary-therapy modality Equine Facilitated Learning (EFL).
It is a facilitation and education qualification and is not counselling, psychotherapy, or a medical or mental-health qualification.
In practice, you work with a suitable, known horse to which you have reliable access, managing the horse and facilitating the human side of the work yourself. To certify, you must complete eleven video practical assessments: six safe horse handling tasks, and a facilitated session delivered to one adult volunteer whom you recruit and who gives written and filmed consent.
Certification requires a current first aid certificate recognised in your jurisdiction and issued within the last three years, uploaded before your certificate is issued.
You are responsible for holding your own appropriate insurance, and for confirming any registration and legal requirements that apply where you intend to practise.
You are medically fit to undertake the practical assessments. Where you have any injury, health condition, allergy, or are pregnant, you are responsible for obtaining your own medical advice or clearance before attempting the practical work, at your own cost.
The information you provide at enrolment is true and complete to the best of your knowledge.

Refund Policy

1. Refund eligibility

We want our policy to be fair. A refund will be considered where:

the request is made within 14 days of enrolment; and
no more than 20% of the course content has been accessed.

2. Illness, suspension or extension

If unforeseen circumstances such as illness affect your ability to continue, a refund may be considered where the request is made within 30 days of confirmation of illness and supported by a medical certificate. Refunds are not issued for content already completed. Alternatively, you may request a suspension or an extension of your enrolment.

3. How to request a refund

Email [email protected] with your request. We will review and respond within 5 business days.

4. Refund amount

Eligible refunds are processed for the amount paid, less a 10% administrative fee. No refund is issued after 30 days from the date of enrolment.

5. Payment method

Refunds are issued by the original payment method. Please allow 5 to 10 business days.

6. Non-refundable items

Application or enrolment fees.
Any additional materials or resources purchased separately.

7. Course modification or cancellation

If we need to modify or cancel a course, enrolled students will be offered a transfer to another course or a full refund.

8. Your consumer rights

Nothing in this policy limits or excludes your rights under the Australian Consumer Law, including the consumer guarantees, which cannot be excluded. Where applicable, those rights apply in addition to this policy.

9. Contact

Please email [email protected] for any questions or concerns.

Complaints & Grievances Policy

Institute of Equine Counselling (a business name of Blackwood Ranch Pty Ltd) is committed to handling all complaints and appeals fairly, promptly and in line with the principles of natural justice and procedural fairness. This policy covers complaints from students, graduates, employees, contractors, suppliers and clients about the conduct of IEC, its courses, staff or representatives.

How to raise a complaint

You may raise a concern verbally or in writing with IEC at [email protected]. We will acknowledge your complaint in writing and aim to resolve it promptly and by mutual agreement.

We will respond in writing within 5 business days of receipt. If a matter will take longer than 60 calendar days to resolve, we will explain in writing why, and keep you regularly updated. Our written response will propose a resolution and explain your right to appeal.

Appeals and external mediation

If you are dissatisfied with the proposed resolution, you may appeal in writing and we will provide a further opportunity to resolve the matter.

If the complaint cannot be resolved internally, it will be referred to an independent external mediator. The parties will share the reasonable costs of mediation unless otherwise agreed, and will participate in good faith.

Your rights

Records

IEC maintains records of all complaints, appeals and their outcomes, reviews them to identify causes, and takes corrective action to reduce the likelihood of recurrence. Records are kept securely and confidentially.

Contact

I confirm that I have read and agree to the Terms of Enrolment, including the student declaration, together with the Refund Policy and the Complaints & Grievances Policy set out above.

Disclaimer

The Practitioner Certificate in Equine-Facilitated Learning is a non-clinical, educational course. It does not confer any clinical, medical, psychological or counselling qualification, and completion does not guarantee professional registration, insurance or work.

You arrange and undertake all practical work in your own setting and at your own risk. The Institute of Equine Counselling is not liable for any injury, loss or damage arising from the practical work or from your later practice, and you are responsible for holding appropriate insurance and meeting the legal requirements that apply where you practise.

This document does not constitute legal, medical or professional advice.