Affiliate, referral and directory listing disclaimer

Affiliate, referral and listings disclaimer updated 4.7.23

Hi, Karen here. I want to be totally up front and transparent about the ways I make money on my sites (Smart Steps to Australia, the Move to Australia Toolkit and Move to Australia Directory) and how businesses are listed on my sites.

I include links and banners to products and services that I think will be useful for you, and in return, I may receive an affiliate or referral commission for any purchases you make by clicking those links or through buying from the businesses I’m referring. Banners and links may also be part of paid advertising packages.

Businesses can pay to be listed in the Move to Australia Directory. As part of this annual fee, they may receive additional benefits such as promotion on the websites mentioned above, in email, mentions on social media and inclusion in the Move to Australia Facebook group. Requests to join the directory are reviewed by SmartStepstoAustralia (applying to join does not guarantee acceptance). Services must meet the needs of being suitable for somebody moving to Australia. We reserve the right to decline a business if we feel it doesn’t fit with our brand, or if online reviews don’t appear favourable as we want to promote the services that can best serve our readers. Applications will be treated on an individual basis in line with our business values.

If an issue of misconduct occurs, SmartStepstoAustralia has the right to withdraw a business from the website and refund any pro rata fees outstanding. We hold the right to make decisions about who we promote, and our decisions can change.

Please remember, the services we link to aren’t ours and we hold no control over the service they provide. Please do your own due diligence as we can’t be held liable for any loss resulting in your use of those services. The relationships with those businesses is yours directly although we welcome feedback about the businesses we partner with info@smartstepstoaustralia.com.

I’m all about helping you to reach your dream of moving to Australia and, therefore, the links and services I include have been carefully hand-picked because I believe they will help you on your journey.

In the Move to Australia Directory, please assume that any of the links or businesses listed have either paid for the listing, or they are affiliate links (although some may be collaborative listings where I don’t receive direct compensation). On Smart Steps to Australia, I will always highlight sponsored content in blog posts so they are clearly identified. Not all links included on Smart Steps to Australia are affiliate links or sponsored content.

Anything you go on to buy through one of my affiliate links makes me very happy as it helps to fund this site. Whilst I’m running Smart Steps to Australia, the Move to Australia Toolkit, the Move to Australia Directory and the Move to Australia Facebook group because it’s my passion to help people live the life of their dreams, it’s also a business that needs to help support my family in our new life Down Under.

Trust that I will never refer something to you that I don’t believe in myself, and whenever I give an opinion on a product or service it will be my own personal opinion and not swayed by any financial relationship.

With affiliate links and referrals, I have not usually been given any free products or services in exchange for advertising them on my site. If I’ve been gifted a product for review, or had my time paid to review a product, this will clearly be disclosed within the written review.

I may sometimes write reviews for items that I’ve bought myself and love. Smart Steps to Australia is a participant in the Amazon Associates Programme, an affiliate advertising programme designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.co.uk, Amazon.com and Amazon.com.au and associated sites. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.

It remains solely your personal responsibility to conduct your own investigation to determine whether to purchase an affiliate product or service.