These Terms & Conditions apply to professional services provided under the Coherence Diagnostics brand by Josephine Sorciere, a sole trader registered in Australia. ABN 427 816 25 282.
These are the general Terms & Conditions governing Coherence Diagnostics services. Each engagement is governed by its accepted Proposal Scope and the Terms & Conditions incorporated within that proposal. Where the engagement-specific proposal differs from these general terms, the accepted proposal takes precedence.

1. Nature of the Services

Coherence Diagnostics provides independent decision-support and relational coherence assessment for ventures, projects and the wider systems in which they operate. Each engagement is tailored to the decision, system complexity and perspectives required.

Depending on scope, an engagement may include structured intake questionnaires, diagnostic assessment, a Diagnostic Report, an online consultation and a Synthesis Report. Where relevant, the assessment may extend beyond the venture itself to a receiving ecosystem or substrate such as land, water, infrastructure, organisational or other system conditions.

The work is designed to make relevant relationships, pressures, assumptions, constraints and potential more visible so that clients can make better-informed decisions. It does not guarantee a particular project, investment, commercial, environmental or implementation outcome.

2. Scope and Proposal

The scope, professional fee, deliverables, anticipated timing and any engagement-specific conditions will be set out in the proposal or Statement of Work.

The assessment is based on the agreed scope and the information available at the time. If material new information emerges, the decision under consideration changes, additional stakeholders or systems need to be assessed, or the client requests work outside the agreed scope, Coherence Diagnostics may recommend a revised scope, fee or timeline. No additional chargeable work will be undertaken without agreement.

Unless expressly included in the proposal, the engagement does not include implementation management, ongoing project management, technical or scientific validation, engineering advice, financial advice, legal or regulatory advice, or other specialist professional services.

3. Commissioning and Independence

A Coherence Diagnostic may be commissioned by a founder, venture, investor, landholder, solution provider, organisation, consortium or other relevant party. Joint commissioning and shared-cost arrangements may also be agreed.

Who commissions or pays for the work does not alter the independence of the assessment. Findings are based on the information provided, the agreed diagnostic architecture and Josephine’s independent interpretation of the relationships and conditions relevant to the engagement.

Where different parties have different interests in the outcome, the proposal may include engagement-specific provisions governing access to information, participation, confidentiality and distribution of reports.

4. Acceptance and Payment

An engagement is accepted when the client signs or otherwise confirms acceptance of the proposal and its accompanying Terms & Conditions.

An invoice containing payment details will be issued following acceptance unless otherwise stated in the proposal. Work is commissioned and will commence only after cleared payment has been received.

Unless the proposal states otherwise, fees are payable in full in advance. Any GST or other applicable tax will be identified on the invoice. International engagements may be invoiced in the currency specified in the proposal.

5. Client Responsibilities

The client agrees to provide information that is accurate, complete and supplied in good faith, and to disclose material information reasonably relevant to the decision being assessed.

Where questionnaires or inputs are completed by more than one person, each respondent should provide their own perspective without another party interpreting, amending, supplementing or influencing their answers unless translation or another agreed form of assistance is required.

The quality and usefulness of the assessment depend on the quality and completeness of the information available. Coherence Diagnostics is not responsible for conclusions affected by information that is materially inaccurate, incomplete, withheld or subsequently changes.

The client remains responsible for all decisions, actions, implementation and specialist advice arising from or connected with the engagement.

6. Timing and Delays

Indicative timeframes will be stated in the proposal. Delivery timing depends on receiving payment, completed questionnaires, requested documents and any other agreed inputs.

Where client information or participation is delayed, the delivery date may move accordingly. Coherence Diagnostics will communicate any material change to the anticipated timeframe.

Where circumstances outside reasonable control affect delivery, the parties will work in good faith to establish a revised timetable.

7. Cancellation, Change of Mind and Refunds

Because each engagement is bespoke and preparation begins once the work is commissioned, payments are not refundable for change of mind or a client’s decision not to proceed after payment has been made.

If the client cancels after work has commenced, no refund is due for work already undertaken, time reserved, analysis completed or bespoke materials prepared. Where Coherence Diagnostics agrees in writing to cancel an engagement before substantive work has commenced, any refund or credit is at its discretion, subject always to rights that cannot lawfully be excluded.

Nothing in these Terms & Conditions excludes, restricts or modifies any consumer guarantee, right or remedy that cannot be excluded under the Australian Consumer Law or other applicable law.

8. Rescheduling and Participation

Consultations may be rescheduled by mutual agreement where reasonable notice is provided. Repeated postponement or extended client delay may require the engagement timetable to be reset.

If a client or required participant does not attend an agreed consultation without reasonable notice, Coherence Diagnostics may treat the session as used or offer a replacement session at its discretion, depending on the circumstances and the terms of the specific proposal.

9. Confidentiality

Information supplied by the client and findings produced through the engagement will be treated as confidential and used for the purpose of delivering the agreed services, except where disclosure is authorised by the client, required by law, or reasonably necessary to professional advisers or service providers who are themselves subject to appropriate confidentiality obligations.

Where an engagement involves multiple commissioning parties or stakeholders, the proposal should identify who may receive reports, findings or other engagement material.

The client agrees to respect the confidentiality of any proprietary Coherence Diagnostics material disclosed during the engagement.

10. Intellectual Property

Coherence Diagnostics retains all intellectual property rights in its methodology, diagnostic architecture, assessment framework, questionnaires, weighting, interpretive methods, templates, processes and other proprietary materials.

Upon full payment, the client may use the final reports and engagement-specific deliverables internally for the purposes for which they were commissioned. Unless expressly agreed in writing, this does not transfer ownership of the underlying methodology or permit the client to reproduce, adapt, reverse-engineer, commercialise, teach, licence or create derivative diagnostic products from Coherence Diagnostics materials.

Client-owned information and pre-existing intellectual property remain the property of the client.

11. Use of Technology and AI

Digital tools and artificial intelligence may be used as part of research, pattern organisation, analysis support, drafting or workflow within the diagnostic process. They do not replace Josephine’s independent assessment, interpretation or professional judgement.

Reasonable care is taken in handling client information and in reviewing outputs used within the engagement. The final diagnostic interpretation and deliverables remain the responsibility of Coherence Diagnostics.

Where an engagement requires particular data-handling, confidentiality or technology restrictions, these should be agreed in the proposal before work begins.

12. Professional Boundaries and Reliance

A Coherence Diagnostic is an independent decision-support process. It is not a substitute for technical, scientific, agronomic, engineering, financial, investment, accounting, legal, regulatory, medical or other specialist professional advice where such advice is required.

Clients should obtain appropriate specialist advice before making decisions that depend on matters outside the agreed scope of the Diagnostic.

Reports and findings are prepared for the specific client, decision and context described in the proposal. They should not be assumed to apply to another project, site, system, organisation or set of circumstances without further assessment.

13. No Guarantee of Outcome

The work identifies conditions, relationships, pressures and potential relevant to a decision at a particular point in time. Systems, markets, environments, people and circumstances can change.

Coherence Diagnostics does not warrant or guarantee that a project will proceed, succeed, achieve a particular return, secure investment, obtain approval, avoid loss, or produce any particular environmental, organisational or commercial outcome.

The purpose of the work is to improve visibility and decision clarity while meaningful choices remain available.

14. Limitation of Liability

To the maximum extent permitted by law, Coherence Diagnostics is not liable for indirect, incidental, consequential or special loss arising from decisions made, actions taken or outcomes occurring after the engagement, including loss of profit, opportunity, revenue or anticipated savings.

Where liability cannot lawfully be excluded, it is limited to the extent permitted by applicable law. Nothing in these Terms & Conditions excludes any liability or statutory right that cannot legally be excluded or limited.

15. Case Studies, Testimonials and Public Reference

Client names, confidential project details, reports or identifiable engagement information will not be used publicly as a case study, testimonial or marketing reference without permission.

Where anonymised or de-identified patterns are used for education, research or thought leadership, reasonable care will be taken to prevent identification of the client or confidential project information.

16. Governing Law

These Terms & Conditions and each engagement are governed by the laws of South Australia, Australia, unless the specific proposal states otherwise. The parties submit to the jurisdiction of the courts of South Australia and any courts entitled to hear appeals from them.

17. Entire Engagement and Variations

The accepted proposal, Statement of Work (where applicable), these Terms & Conditions and any written engagement-specific variations together form the agreement between the parties for the services commissioned.

Any material variation to scope, fees, deliverables, confidentiality arrangements or other engagement terms should be agreed in writing.

18. Acceptance

By accepting a proposal, signing an acceptance page, paying an invoice, or otherwise instructing Coherence Diagnostics to proceed after receiving these Terms & Conditions, the client confirms that they have read, understood and agreed to the terms applying to the engagement.

Website note: This document is drafted as the dedicated Coherence Diagnostics terms. The proposal remains the place for engagement-specific scope, fee, commissioning parties, deliverables, timing and any special confidentiality or data-handling provisions.

Josephine Sorciere: PO Box 6119, Linden Park, South Australia 5068