Terms and Conditions

Guidelines for a Safe and Harmonious Studio

The Body Refinery has always been and will continue to be, an enjoyable and safe venue for its clients and staff, and our guidelines provide a framework that allows us to maintain this environment.

 

Training – Health and Safety

Your safety and wellbeing are our priority. Our Team, using their professional training, will determine a level of training that is suitable for you. We recommend that all new clients to the Studio participate in at least one private session to help our Team most accurately establish a suitable level for you. Our Team is not medically trained. They are not qualified to assess if you are in good physical condition and can exercise without risking your health, safety, or comfort. If you have any doubts or concerns, you must seek expert advice before starting an exercise program.

Exercise during pregnancy is recommended but also needs to be assessed on a case-by-case basis to ensure that each Client is safe and comfortable.

To ensure your health and wellbeing needs are met, please disclose your pregnancy status to your physio or instructor.

There is an inherent risk of injury with any exercise. If you feel unwell, or have an injury (diagnosed or otherwise), please inform the Studio of this in writing, and also communicate with your instructor or physiotherapist each time you attend. If you have an injury or don’t feel confident exercising, then group sessions are not the right option for you, and you should take private sessions until you are confident and pain-free.

 

Hygiene and Attire Policy

Zippers and other sharp components on clothing must not come into contact with the Pilates equipment. Our equipment is handmade, and components such as zippers can tear the upholstery.

Please wear comfortable, clean, and fitted clothing that allows your instructor to provide technical feedback.
Socks (preferably incorporating gripping elements on the soles) must be worn on all Pilates equipment, to ensure that we maintain the hygiene of our equipment.

 

Class

Please arrive 5-10 minutes before the start time of your class, so that your class or session has a full complement of attendees at the scheduled start time.

A 6 monthly review is mandatory when attending a Clinical Rehab class with a Physiotherapist.

Latecomers (arriving after the scheduled start time) may risk injury and/or disruption, and in certain circumstances may not be admitted to join group classes and will be charged a late cancellation fee. Arriving late or leaving early may also limit your progress.

Your instructor will lead the class and provide instruction to help you exercise safely and to get the most out of your body, and your time.

Private sessions provide more tailored feedback than is typically received in a class/group environment, and this can be beneficial if you are new to Pilates.  Clients who have been attending for a long time will also benefit from occasional private sessions. All feedback to the student is constructive by way of offering safe and effective technical guidance and sharing years of industry expertise.

Phones should be set to “silent” mode and without vibrate function.  No phone calls should be taken by Clients on the Premises.

 

Class Schedule

We make every possible effort to deliver our services in accordance with our Class Schedule. Class Schedules are subject to change; we provide you with notice for permanent schedule changes, though may not be able to provide advance notice in certain circumstances. We are not liable to provide a refund, credit, transfer, or to offer compensation of any kind, for Classes/Sessions that are not held in accordance with the Class Schedule, including without limitation, any Classes/Sessions that are changed or canceled.

 

Administration

Please update our Administration Staff with any changes to your contact details, including phone number and email address.  We send a monthly newsletter to ensure you are kept up-to-date with relevant news at the Studio.

 

Cancellation Policy

The Body Refinery seeks to provide its services to all Clients at times that suit them.

By adhering to our Cancellation Policy, each Client will give our Team the best chance of meeting the requirements of all Clients of the Studio.

Late cancellations will incur a cancellation fee.

We aim for all our Clients to be passionate about improving their health, and for them to be given the best chance of doing this at times that suit them.  Frequent late cancellations make it difficult to achieve this aim.

Please note the following cancellation timeframes:

Private and duo sessions of Pilates and Exercise Physiology, Physiotherapy, Myotherapy, and Remedial Massage sessions require 24 hours cancellation notice to avoid being charged a $30 cancellation fee.

Group classes require 24 hours’ notice to avoid being charged the full fee.

Notice of cancellation can be provided by using our app, online booking system, email, or phone. Cancellations via SMS or social media will not be accepted.

Memberships and other unlimited pricing options, such as 1 month unlimited and challenges, will be charged $10 per late cancellation or no-show.

With respect to our therapists who are contractors and small business owners in their own right, we request a minimum of 24 hours’ notice to change or cancel an appointment to minimise their financial loss.

If you provide less than 24 hours’ notice for appointments, our policy is to apply a cancellation fee equivalent to 50% of your treatment cost.  Your therapist is the only person who is able to waive this fee please ask to speak directly to your therapist about this if you feel the application of a cancellation fee is unjust for any reason.

Please note that if you simply do not show up to your appointment, or if you cancel at very short notice, your therapist may also require pre-payment of future appointments to confirm them.

Rescheduling an Appointment

The same policy as above applies if you cancel and reschedule less than 4 hours prior to your appointment as you are effectively canceling an appointment that has been booked and making a new one giving us little time to be able to fill the appointment time.

If clients consistently cancel at the last minute, we will request credit card details to secure their booking.

Confirming Appointments

Text messages are sent 2 days before your appointment, you can reply to the sms and/or email to confirm. Not replying does not mean you have canceled. You need to either cancel online or call us and cancel over the phone.

Appointment Reminders

You can receive reminders of your appointments by email, text, or both when you create your profile. Should you choose not to receive a reminder of your appointment and then miss it this is your responsibility. You can update your preferences at any time by logging into your account and going to your contact section. We automatically tick text reminders when we create a profile for you.

 

Accounts and Membership Policies

For any class packages, the date of activation of the package will occur from the date of the first attendance to a Class using the Online Booking System or otherwise attending a Class.

No refunds, transfers, suspensions, or extensions are offered due to illness, injury, change of address, or other reasons.

 

Expiry Periods

Packs of 5 classes expire 7 weeks after the first class in the pack is attended.

Packs of 10 classes expire 12 weeks after the first class in the pack is attended.

In extenuating circumstances, expiry periods may be extended, or funds remaining on the account may be transferred for use on other services.  This will only occur in extenuating circumstances, and only when the Administration Team is advised as early as possible, and approves this to occur.

For Memberships, unused classes or visits do not roll into the next calendar month.

 

Privacy

We use third-party client management software, “Mindbody Online”. In order to create a client profile, your personal information will be provided to the proprietor of Mindbody Online. The collection and use of personal information by Mindbody Online are governed by Mindbody Online’s privacy policy, which can be viewed at: https://www.mindbodyonline.com/privacy-policy

 

Price Changes

Pricing will generally increase biannually and will take effect on all direct debits, with a notice period of one month provided to all Clients and Members.

 

Sales and Special Offers

From time to time the Studio will have sales and special offers, which will have their own terms and conditions.

 

Children in the Studio

The Body Refinery understands that there are times you may need to bring children to the studio.  Children are not permitted in the Reformer Room. If children do need to attend the Studio with you, they must not be left unattended.  The Administration Team is not trained to supervise children, cannot undertake the administration role effectively if asked to supervise children, and is not insured to supervise children.

 

Food and Drink in the Studio

No food or drink may be consumed by Clients in the Studio, with the exception of water.

 

Membership and direct debit information

Terms and Conditions for our Memberships are provided on the Membership page of our website.

The current guidelines on exercise during pregnancy recommend doing physical activity throughout the pregnancy. However, there are many modifications that might be important as the pregnancy progresses.

These modifications need to be implemented from week 12. Therefore, The Body Refinery reserves the right to ask pregnant women to move from general fitness group classes to a specific pregnancy group class that is led by either a trained physiotherapist or exercise physiologist with an interest in women’s health.

 

Cut off 

In Queensland, the first ultrasound is done between 11-13 weeks into the pregnancy. In this first ultrasound, not only the likelihood of chromosomal abnormalities is checked, but also the anatomical structures are checked in case there are abnormalities. Some places might check as well the risk of preeclampsia during the pregnancy. Therefore, from week 12 into the pregnancy it is recommended that pregnant woman ceases the regular fitness classes and moves into the specific pregnancy classes offered at The Body Refinery.

 

Pre-Class Assessment 

It is mandatory for all pregnant women joining our pregnancy classes to have an initial women’s health assessment prior to starting the classes.

During this assessment, there would be questions about any condition or abnormalities that had been identified during the first-trimester scan in addition to other pelvic health questions.

The reason for making this pre-class assessment mandatory is based, not only on the national and international recommendations but also on the prevalence of specific pains and aches and other pelvic floor dysfunctions that may arise during the pregnancy. For instance, Pregnancy Related Pelvic Girdle Pain (PRPGP) affects 44% of Australian pregnant women. Also, urinary incontinence can start during the pregnancy and there is good evidence showing that starting pelvic floor muscle exercises during pregnancy can decrease the risk of having urinary incontinence during the pregnancy and early postnatally. Hence, part of this initial assessment will include checking the motor control of the pelvic floor muscles and ensuring that everyone who joins our pregnancy classes is aware of how to exercise these muscles correctly.

In the case that the pregnant client has already had an assessment of their pelvic floor muscles by another women’s health physiotherapist elsewhere, the person will need to bring a copy of this for us to have in their folders. TBR will not request this document on behalf of the pregnant woman, it is the client who will get a copy and facilitate it to us.

Finally, for those who are planning to claim these classes under their private health insurance, these companies require an initial assessment as a condition to claim the pregnancy classes.

 

Notice of any changes in conditions 

While the pregnant client is attending the classes, should their health conditions change throughout the pregnancy, they must notify their healthcare practitioner of such changes. For instance, the diagnosis of gestational diabetes or high blood pressure should be discussed so the healthcare practitioner can assess accordingly prior to and during the classes to avoid any adverse events during these classes.

 

Safety concerns 

If the pregnant client and/or the healthcare practitioner have any safety concerns about that pregnant client attending the pregnancy classes, TBR reserves the right to ask the client to cease attending the classes and to attend a 1:1 session when indicated.

 

References 

https://www.qld.gov.au/health/children/pregnancy/antenatal-information/your-care-during-pregnancy/ultrasounds-durin g-pregnancy

https://brochures.mater.org.au/brochures/mater-mothers-hospital/ultrasound-scan-your-18-to-20-week-scan https://qufw.com.au/patient-services/

Ceprnja D, Chipchase L, Fahey P, Liamputtong P, Gupta A. Prevalence and Factors Associated with Pelvic Girdle Pain During Pregnancy in Australian Women: A Cross-Sectional Study. Spine (Phila Pa 1976). 2021 Jul 15;46(14):944-949. doi: 10.1097/BRS.0000000000003954. PMID: 33492087; PMCID: PMC8221721. 

https://www.continence.org.au/about-us/our-work/key-statistics-incontinence#:~:text=Urinary%20incontinence%20aff ects%20up%20to,38%25%20of%20Australian%20women1.

https://australian.physio/sites/default/files/APA_PHI-reforms_A4flyer_vF.PDF

Woodley SJ, Lawrenson P, Boyle R, Cody JD, Mørkved S, Kernohan A, Hay-Smith EJC. Pelvic floor muscle training for preventing and treating urinary and faecal incontinence in antenatal and postnatal women. Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2020 May 6;5(5):CD007471. doi: 10.1002/14651858.CD007471.pub4. PMID: 32378735; PMCID: PMC7203602.

https://www.health.qld.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0022/950503/g-gdm.pdf