DMSW: Defects, Maintenance & Small Works, made easy/Terms & privacy

Platform terms

Version: 1 · Last updated: 02/10/2026 · Applies to: everyone who uses DMSW

These terms apply to everyone who uses the DMSW platform. You'll also agree to the terms for your role:

  • Host terms for builders and agencies who run an account
  • Contractor terms for builders and trades who do the work and get paid
  • Client terms for villages, agencies, body corporates and homeowners who approve and pay for work
  • End user terms for residents, tenants and owners who report problems
  • Payment terms for anyone who pays through a payment link

If these platform terms and your role's terms conflict, your role's terms apply.

1. Who we are

DMSW is operated by DMSW Limited, a New Zealand company, of 42E Tawa Drive, Auckland 0623, New Zealand ("DMSW", "we", "us").

2. What DMSW is, and what it isn't

2.1 DMSW is software for reporting, managing and paying for building defects, maintenance and small works. It records jobs, quotes, photos, approvals and sign-offs, sends notifications, and collects and holds payments through Stripe.

2.2 DMSW does not do building work. The builder or contractor who accepts a job is responsible for the work, its quality, and meeting the law, including the Building Act 2004. DMSW is not a party to the building contract between the client and the builder or contractor.

2.3 DMSW does not decide disputes. If there's a disagreement about a job, DMSW records it and holds any payment as these terms describe, and acts on what the parties agree or on a decision of the Disputes Tribunal or a court. DMSW won't decide who is right.

2.4 DMSW is not an emergency service. If there's a risk to people or property, contact your builder, property manager or the emergency services directly. Don't rely on a job lodged in DMSW.

2.5 Held payments are not escrow. When we say a payment is "held", we mean it's kept in DMSW's Stripe balance, or in the circumstances in the payment terms a DMSW trust account, until it is released or refunded under these terms.

3. Your account

3.1 You can only join DMSW by invitation, or by a project link or QR code that your client approves. You must give accurate details and keep them up to date.

3.2 Keep your sign-in secure. You're responsible for what happens under your account. Tell us straight away at support@dmsw.co.nz if you think someone else has used it.

3.3 Some roles must use two-factor sign-in: super admins, host admins, and staff who can send quotes, issue refunds, or change bank, fee or Stripe settings.

3.4 If you leave a role (for example, you move out of a unit or leave a builder's staff), the person who invited you can remove you. You'll lose access straight away. Job records stay with the unit or account, not with you.

4. Using DMSW properly

You must not:

  • upload anything unlawful, misleading, abusive, or that infringes someone else's rights
  • upload photos of people who haven't agreed, where you can reasonably avoid it
  • try to access information you're not entitled to see, or interfere with the platform's security
  • use DMSW to send spam or unrelated marketing
  • copy, resell or reverse-engineer the platform

We can remove content, or suspend an account, if we reasonably believe these terms have been broken.

5. Beta period

While DMSW is in beta, some features may change, be withdrawn, or not work as expected. We'll tell hosts about material changes.

6. Availability

We aim to keep DMSW available at all times but can't promise it will be uninterrupted or error-free. We may carry out maintenance, preferably outside NZ business hours.

7. Your content and our rights

7.1 You keep ownership of what you upload: photos, notes and documents. You give DMSW, and the other people on the job who need it, a licence to store, copy, display and share it for running the platform and the job, and for keeping records.

7.2 DMSW owns the platform, its software and its design. The builder's logo and branding belong to the builder.

7.3 We may use anonymised, aggregated information (such as average job times) to improve the platform. It won't identify you or your property.

8. Privacy

Our Privacy policy explains how we handle personal information under the Privacy Act 2020.

9. Record keeping

Closed jobs, photos, quotes, payments and warranty records are kept for 10 years from the date each job closes, matching the Building Act 2004 10-year longstop for claims, and are then deleted.

10. Liability

10.1 Nothing in these terms limits rights you have under the Consumer Guarantees Act 1993, the Fair Trading Act 1986 or other laws that can't be excluded. If you're using DMSW for a business, you agree the Consumer Guarantees Act doesn't apply, as section 43 of that Act allows.

10.2 Subject to 10.1, DMSW isn't liable for the building work, the quality of any job, or losses caused by a builder, contractor, client or end user.

10.3 Subject to 10.1, DMSW's total liability to you under these terms in any 12-month period is limited to the fees you paid DMSW in the 12 months before the event that gave rise to the claim.

10.4 DMSW isn't liable for indirect or consequential loss, such as loss of profit, except where the law doesn't allow this to be excluded.

11. Changes to these terms

We may update these terms. For material changes, we'll give at least 20 working days' notice and ask you to accept the new version when you next sign in. We keep a record of who accepted which version, and when.

12. Ending your use

You can stop using DMSW at any time. Hosts should read the host terms about closing an account. We can suspend or end access for a serious or repeated breach of these terms, or as the host terms allow for non-payment.

13. General

13.1 These terms are governed by New Zealand law, and New Zealand courts have jurisdiction.

13.2 If part of these terms can't be enforced, the rest still applies.

13.3 Notices to DMSW go to support@dmsw.co.nz. We'll send notices to you at the email address on your account.