Sherpa
Community Guidelines
Objective
The Sherpa Guidelines for Drivers is meant to keep everyone on the platform (Sherpa drivers, Sherpa Users, Sherpa User’s recipients and your local community) safe and build trust across all actors.
The Guidelines for Drivers are meant as a clarifying document or practical manual under the terms of the Contractor Agreement and the On-Boarding Manual.
1. Mobile Device
You will need to use a mobile device with IOS or Android and a wireless data plan in order to access the Sherpa driver application or website (“Driver App”). You are responsible for all costs and expenses associated with the device and the data plan.
Use of the Driver App on your mobile device as an interface with the Sherpa Services may consume very large amounts of data through the data plan. Sherpa recommends that your mobile device only be used under a data plan with unlimited or very high data usage limits.
You must follow the road rules regarding the use of mobile devices in a vehicle.
2. Delivery Vehicle
You must use your vehicle in providing the delivery services (“Delivery Services” or “Services“). You acknowledge and agree that your delivery vehicle will at all times:
- meet the then-current Sherpa requirements for a vehicle to provide Delivery Services;
- be properly registered and licensed to operate as a roadworthy vehicle for commercial transportation of goods in your State or the Territory;
- be owned or leased by you, or otherwise in your lawful possession;
- be suitable for providing the Delivery Services contemplated by this Agreement, and
- be maintained in good operating condition, consistent with any applicable Industry Safety and Maintenance Standards for a vehicle of its kind and any additional standards or requirements in the relevant State or Territory, and in a clean and sanitary condition.
You are responsible for all costs and expenses associated with the motor vehicle.
3. Insurance
At your own expense, you must maintain up-to-date insurance of the types and in amounts equal to or greater than the minimum requirements as set out by Sherpa:
- A minimum vehicle Insurance of Third Party Property for Professional Use or greater for all motorized vehicles; and
- workers’ compensation insurance, and/or occupational accident and illness insurance (does not apply to Sole Traders).
You will also need to take out product and public insurance covering the goods in transit. For cost-efficiency purposes, Sherpa may take out a product and public insurance for all its contractors (drivers) and may enable you to take advantage of this insurance policy. Please contact Sherpa for details.
4. How the Driver App Works
When the Driver App is active, a request (“User’s Requests” or “Request”) for Delivery Services originating from a customer (“User”) using the Sherpa software platform may appear to you on the Driver App if you are available and in the vicinity of the User.
The User Request will specify the User’s requirements for carriage of the goods, which will include, but is not limited to; the goods (“Goods”), the price and terms regarding where and when Goods are required to be collected and delivered, special goods (e.g. alcohol, pharmaceutical goods), special delivery and handling instructions, rights, duties and liabilities of the User and the Driver for negligence, breach of bailment, consequential loss and other causes of action or losses that may arise during the course of carriage.
You are free to accept or decline a User Request. If you accept a User’s Request, the User’s Request specifying the user requirements for carriage of the goods will act as the conditions of carriage. To ensure a timely and efficient delivery process, you must ensure that the destination address is entered correctly into any navigation system that you may be using in locating the destination.
Each User Request will prescribe a timeframe for pick-up and delivery of the goods. You are not obliged to accept a User Request and you should only accept a User Request if you are able to meet the required delivery timeframe.
To provide the Services in a timely manner, you need to collect the Goods within the first one half of the timeframe. To complete the requested Service in time, you must use reasonable endeavours to deliver the Goods on time. If Goods are delivered after the delivery due date and time, the delivery is recorded as being late (“Late”) on the Sherpa system.
5. GPS
As part of the provision of the Services, the Users and the recipients of the Goods (“Recipients”) are given the opportunity to use the Application to track the location and the delivery of the Goods. Accordingly, you must keep GPS location services on your mobile phone turned on at all times during the delivery.
6. Following the Law
If the carriage of the Goods is partly by air and involves an ultimate destination or a stop in a country other than the country of departure, the Warsaw Convention (1929), or the Warsaw Convention as amended by the Hague Protocol (1955) and/or Montreal Protocol No. 4 (1975), or the Montreal Convention (1999), whichever is compulsorily applicable.
You’re responsible for knowing and obeying all relevant and applicable local laws , including speed and traffic laws, and maintaining your driver licence and mandatory insurance.
In providing the Services to the Users for sole domestic carriage of Goods and for the carriage of international Goods on the Australian leg of transit, you must understand that you have an obligation under the Australian Consumer Law, among others, to provide consumer guarantees to the Users. Accordingly, you are to ensure that your Services are:
- provided with acceptable care and skill or technical knowledge and taking all necessary steps to avoid loss and damage;
- fit for the purpose or give the results that you and Users had agreed to; and
- delivered within a reasonable time when there is no agreed end date.
7. Delivery of Alcohol
If you do not wish to deliver alcohol, you must specify it in your profile.
If you do deliver alcohol:
- you must not, in any circumstances whatsoever, deliver or hand over the goods to any person under 18; and
- you must request to see a proof of age document and note their date of birth in the driver app. If the recipient doesn't have appropriate identification, or they are under 18, you must not deliver or hand the goods to them.
- you must comply with all other federal, State and Territory regulations applicable to the delivery of alcohol.
8. Delivery of Pharmaceutical Goods
If you do deliver pharmaceutical goods:
- you must not, in any circumstances whatsoever, deliver or hand over the goods to any person under 18;
- if the recipient appears to be under 25, you must request identification. If the recipient has no proof of identification, you must not deliver or hand over the goods to them.
- you must not, in any circumstance whatsoever, leave the pharmaceutical goods unattended;
- you must comply with all other federal, State and Territory regulations applicable to the delivery of pharmaceutical goods.
9. Handing over the Goods to Recipient
To minimise and prevent any damage to the Goods, you must handle and transport the Goods in accordance with the delivery instructions given by the User (if any), Sherpa’s delivery guidelines as defined in the on-boarding manual, and the industry standard.
10. Proof of Delivery
You will need to provide Proof of Delivery (POD) as evidence of your completion of a Request for Services.
Accepted Proof of Delivery is the name of the person who accepted the items + a picture via the Driver App of the Goods showing you handed over the items to the recipient or if Authority to Leave is provided: a picture via the Driver App of the Goods showing where you have left them + a description where you left the items.
Not providing Proof of Delivery or providing incorrect Proof of Delivery may result in a warning, not getting paid for the delivery and getting charged for the items, if they have gone missing.
To minimise and to prevent the loss of the Goods:
- If the delivery goods are handed over to the intended Recipient as specified by the User,
- Take a picture when handing over the items, but make sure you crop out the face of the recipient from the frame;
- if the Goods are handed over to a third party who is authorised to hold onto or accept the Goods on behalf of the intended Recipients
- obtain the full name of the person accepting the Goods and ask for signature;
- if the User authorises you to leave the Goods unattended (Authority to Leave or “ATL”) at a specified location:
- leave the Goods at the nominated location in a manner as directed by User; and
- take a picture of the location where the Goods are placed.
11. Other Issues during Delivery
If you encounter any issues during the delivery, you must promptly contact Sherpa, the User and/or the Recipient (as appropriate) for further instructions or assistance. You must not use the contact details of the Users and the Recipients for any other purposes other than to ensure the goods are delivered timely to the Recipients.
12. Review & Rating
After completion of an instance of Delivery Services, a User and/or Recipient may be prompted by the Sherpa User App to provide a rating of you and such Delivery Services and, optionally, to provide comments or feedback about you and such Delivery Services.
After completion of an interaction with a Sherpa Support Agent (or “Support”), Support may provide a rating of you and such Delivery Services and, optionally, to provide comments or feedback about you and such Delivery Services. Sherpa reserves the right to use, share and display your ratings and comments (may be provided by a User, Recipient, or Sherpa) in any manner in connection with the business without attribution to you or your approval.
Sherpa reserves the right to exclusively conduct business with Carriers or Sherpa Drivers that provide Services in a proper and workmanlike manner; to the reasonable satisfaction of Sherpa, as per the Contractor Agreement. For this purpose, Sherpa reserves the right to monitor all activities on its Software for quality purposes, including, but not limited to, timely delivery of the Goods. Reasonable minimum satisfaction of timely delivery is defined as a late delivery rate of less than 15%.
13. Warning system
Please note that Sherpa is dedicated to maintaining a high driver and delivery quality. Any Sherpa driver breaching the conditions outlined in the Contractor Agreement will be issued a warning.
Sherpa has in place a 3-grade warning system for Drivers using the Service.
A Grade 1 warning is related to unlawful or unethical conduct (e.g. fraud or dishonesty) and will lead to immediate deactivation of your account,
A Grade 2 warning is related to professional misconduct (e.g. breach of road rules) or RSA failure,
- Sherpa will not continue to use your services as a contractors if there are three warnings of this nature;
- Sherpa will not utilise your services for alcohol deliveries after two warnings related to RSA warnings.
- Grade 2 warnings stay on your profile forever.
A Grade 3 warning is related to delivery misconduct or unsatisfactory provision of Services:
- Grade 3 warnings expire (i.e. get reset) after 6 months.
- Your account will be deactivated after three non-expired warnings.
Sherpa provides all Drivers to appeal a warning within 5 business days of issue. Following any logged appeal, a formal investigation will be conducted to review the warning.
14. Abuse of your Sherpa Driver Profile
Sherpa believes in creating a fair, open and inclusive process for individuals to become Sherpa drivers. Using your Sherpa Driver profile in a way that hinders the fair and open process, and restricts others from accessing the opportunity that comes with being a Sherpa driver may result in the permanent deactivation of your account.
15. Fraud
Sherpa does not take lightly to deception and scam, and makes every effort to set measures to prevent fraud. Fraud is any action taken in an effort to modify, influence or bypass the normal functionality or rules of the Sherpa service. The definition of fraud covers, but is not limited to, the following actions:
- the use of several accounts for the same service;
- sharing of the same account by different individuals;
- use of any methods to change or disguise the location of a device (e.g. through GPS spoofing);
- misrepresenting your vehicle to get access to jobs.
Sherpa has the right to inspect, monitor and audit any activity related to your use of the Sherpa Driver app to ensure compliance with these terms. By accepting these guidelines, you consent to the use of legal mechanisms by Sherpa, including but not limited to the use of GPS, to detect and respond to fraud, deception or other actions that are prohibited under these guidelines.
We encourage you to report violations of these guidelines to Sherpa immediately.