Online Terms and Conditions

These Online Trading Terms and Conditions apply to all sales of BlueScope Steel product in Australia

Section A: Ordering and Delivery Part 1

1. Use of Site

a) The bluescopesteelconnect.com website (“Site”) is operated by BlueScope Steel.

b) The information on this Site and these Online Terms and Conditions of Sale have been prepared in accordance with Australian law, but may not satisfy the laws of other countries. If the customer resides in, or accesses this Site from a country other than Australia (“User Country”), the customer acknowledges:

(i) if the information and these Online Terms and Conditions of Sale satisfy the laws of the User Country, then the customer is entitled to use the Site and to order products offered for sale by BlueScope Steel on the Site;

(ii) if the information and these Online Terms and Conditions of Sale do not satisfy the laws of the User Country, then this Site is not intended for the customer’s use and the customer is not entitled to rely on the information contained on this Site or to order any products offered for sale on this Site. If the customer does so, they agree to indemnify BlueScope Steel for any loss of damage which BlueScope Steel may incur as a result.

c) By ordering a product from this Site, the customer expressly agrees to be bound by these Online Terms and Conditions of Sale and the Terms and the Conditions of Use of the bluescopesteelconnect™ website. This agreement is between BlueScope Steel and the customer.

2.  Methods of Conducting Business

a) BlueScope Steel and the customer may conduct business on-line through the Site.

b) BlueScope Steel and the customer agree that payments by Electronic Data Interchange (EDI) will be conducted in accordance with the terms of any BlueScope Electronic Trading Partner Agreement to which they are parties.

c) The application of the United Nations Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods (known as the Vienna Sales Convention 1980) is excluded.

d) The law of the State of New South Wales and the Commonwealth of Australia governs each contract which is established between BlueScope Steel and a customer in accordance with these Online Terms and Conditions of Sale. The parties to such contract submit to the non-exclusive jurisdiction of the Court of New South Wales and the Federal Court of Australia.

3. Auction (applies only to the purchase of Surplus Stock)

(a) BlueScope Steel may in its sole discretion accept or not accept any bid made by a customer in relation to an auctioned item.

(b) BlueScope Steel is under no obligation to accept the highest bid made for an auctioned item and may accept a lower bid for the same item.

(c) If BlueScope Steel accepts a bid made by a customer, the customer must complete the transaction with BlueScope Steel.

(d) By bidding for an item the customer agrees to be bound by these terms and conditions and the Auction Rules.

Part II

1 Basis of Sale - Free into store (FIS)

i) Delivery will be effected by despatch from any one or more company warehouses selected by BlueScope Steel for supply.

ii) The customer shall be responsible at all times for maintaining BlueScope Steel’s property in a secure location and in good condition. The customer must pay for property lost as a result of theft or deterioration or for any other reason.

2 Forwarding, insurance and freight

i) Transport and insurance to points covered in the base price area will be arranged by BlueScope Steel, with carriers and insurers selected by BlueScope Steel.

ii) Product will be transported to the customer's nominated store, but unloading will be the responsibility of the customer. A reasonable time will be allowed for unloading after arrival at the customer's nominated store. Excess waiting time may be charged to the customer’s account. Details of what constitutes excess waiting time and charges applicable, are available from BlueScope Steel State Sales Offices.

iii) Transport to more than one point in the customer's premises will be subject to special negotiation. For sales to ports selected by the BlueScope Steel, other than ports in base price areas, prices are available on application.

3 Liability

i) BlueScope Steel shall not be liable for failure to deliver or for delay in delivery arising from any cause whatsoever beyond the BlueScope Steel’s control without limitation;

a) an act of God;

b) war;

c) fires, explosions, breakdown of machinery or equipment;

d) non delivery or shortage of supplies; or

e) strikes or other industrial disputes or disturbances

and, notwithstanding any written warranty guaranteeing a date of delivery, the time for delivery will be extended for a reasonable period having regard to the effect of the cause of the delay on the manufacture or delivery of the product.

ii) The events in clause 3 (i) do not relieve the customer from any obligation;

a) to pay for any product already delivered; or

b) to accept delivery of any product tendered by BlueScope Steel despite the delaying event or after the delaying event ends.

The customer shall not be relieved from any obligation to accept or pay for material by reason of any delay in delivery or despatch.

iii) In no event, except as provided by law, shall BlueScope Steel be responsible for any loss of profit, penalties, expenditure, damages or losses incurred by the customer arising out of any delay in delivery or caused by or arising out of any use of or dealing with the product whether arising from any defect in the product, unsuitability for the customer's purpose, negligence by BlueScope Steel or its employees or agents or in any other way.

iv) BlueScope Steel shall not be liable at any time for any variation in weight from the item pack mass specified by the customer within the tolerances referred to in Clause 14 or more than sixty (60) days after delivery for any variation in weight from item pack mass specified outside the said tolerances unless the customer has given BlueScope Steel written notice of the alleged weight variation measured in accordance with Standards Australia’s approved weighing measures within sixty (60) days of delivery.

4. Fitness for Purpose and Exclusion of Liability

i) The customer agrees that if the product, which is the subject of an order, is for a particular purpose or is required to possess special or uniform characteristics, the customer will clearly specify that purpose of those characteristics in writing in the order.

ii) If the customer does not specify the particular purpose or the special or uniform characteristics in accordance with clause 4 (i) and BlueScope Steel does not expressly confirm in the order acknowledgment or otherwise in writing that the product is reasonably fit for a specified purpose or that it possesses the specified characteristic, then the customer agrees:

a) that the customer did not rely on the skill or judgement of BlueScope Steel in relation to the suitability of the product for a particular purpose or the special or uniform characteristics possessed by the product;

b) not to use, sell or offer for sale the product as though it was reasonably fit for a particular purpose; and

c) that the product materially complies with the relevant specification for that product.

5. Termination

i) BlueScope Steel may at its option without any liability whatsoever elect not to complete an order if:

a) the customer becomes insolvent, files a voluntary or involuntary petition for bankruptcy, makes an assignment for the benefit of creditors, has an administrator or receiver appointed, initiates reorganisation proceedings or where BlueScope Steel has reasonable grounds for believing that the customer will not be able to meet its payment obligations to BlueScope Steel; or

b) an event listed in clause 3 (i) continues for a period in excess of one month or causes BlueScope Steel to cease production of product for a period of greater than one month.

6. Acceptance of the customer’s order

Orders for BlueScope Steel’s product are accepted from customers in Australia, subject to these terms and conditions of sale.

7. Amendments to orders

Whilst it is desirable that amendments be kept to a minimum, BlueScope Steel will endeavour to satisfy requests for changes provided the order is not in production.

8. Types of orders

Orders may be placed for supply on the basis of Mill Cycle Service or Short Cycle Service.

Separate orders must be placed for each category. Orders in different categories may not be grouped together for determination of order mass.

9. Order close off times

Mill cycle: The order close off time for mill cycle orders is normally 12 noon on the second last working day of the week (usually Thursday).

Other orders: As arranged with the your local BlueScope Steel Sales Office.

10. Order mass

The order mass is the total mass of Steel sheet and coil ordered by one customer at one time for delivery to one destination. Individual items on each order must be for delivery in the delivery lead-time currently applicable.

11. Item mass

The item mass is the mass ordered at one time, on one order, for one quality, one finish, one size, for delivery at one time to one destination.

12. Item mass tolerances

Each item of an order may be supplied within limits of plus or minus 10% of the item mass ordered, subject to notified exceptions.

For items of less than 20 tonnes down to the minimum mill cycle item mass the tolerance is plus or minus 2 tonnes. Where items are supplied at less than the normal mill cycle minimum mass of 5 to 16 tonnes (depending upon product and width) the tolerance is plus or minus 25% of the item mass notified.

13. Sheet pack mass

For each sheet item ordered, the customer shall specify the maximum pack mass acceptable.

In those instances where the customer's acceptable mass exceeds BlueScope Steel limits, the BlueScope Steel limit shall apply.

The maximum pack mass need not bear any relationship to the item mass.

14. Coil pack mass and coil mass

For each coil item ordered, the customer shall specify the maximum pack mass acceptable, the maximum outside diameter acceptable, or both. Where multiple coil packs are required, the maximum individual coil mass shall also be specified.

In those instances where the customer's acceptable mass or outside diameter exceeds those available from BlueScope Steel or is not notified, the BlueScope Steel limit shall apply.

The maximum pack mass need not bear any relationship to the item mass.

See Hot Rolled Steel price list for note re maximum pack mass of hot rolled mill edge product.

15. Pack mass and item mass

For Sheet or Coil, the nominal pack mass, will be determined from the item mass specified by the customer and the maximum pack mass applicable. BlueScope Steel shall be deemed to have delivered the item mass specified by the customer if the weight of the item mass delivered is within the tolerance of the Standards Australia approved weight measures available at the point of production.

The nominal pack mass will be the average mass needed to supply an integral number of packs to make up the item mass. The nominal pack mass will be as close as practicable to the maximum pack mass specified by the customer.

EXAMPLES:

1) A 20 tonne item with a 6 tonne maximum pack mass would be allocated a 5 tonne nominal pack mass.

2) A 20 tonne item with a 7 tonne maximum pack mass would be allocated a 6.7 tonne nominal pack mass.

Mill cycle service

16. Small order volumes

Manufacturers wishing to purchase less than 40 tonnes per month in New South Wales and Victoria, and less than 25 tonnes in South Australia, Queensland, Tasmania and Western Australia, should contact any BlueScope Steel Distributor to arrange supply directly. Contact names of BlueScope Steel Distributors are available on request from your local BlueScope Steel State Sales Office.

17. Normal delivery lead-time

The time from receipt of a customer's order to delivery to the customer's store is dependent on the type of product, quality or finish and delivery destination. Normal lead times are available on enquiry.

18. Delivery Week

Delivery will normally be made by the end of the Delivery Week. The Delivery Week for each item will be notified. Late delivery may occur due to raw material supply, production or transport factors.

19. Item mass options

Mill coil mass (or slab mass) is a function of width. To minimise costs, available item mass options are as shown in the product data section of each Price List.

20. Standard items

BlueScope Steel Standard Items are offered in each of the major product categories, on a shortened lead-time, in item mass down to 2 tonnes. These benefits, and associated inventory cost-saving opportunities, are factors to consider before specifying special sizes for requirements under 20 tonnes per month. Price Lists provide details of this service.

BlueScope Steel Service Centres

21. Supplementary services

BlueScope Steel Service Centres offer a range of services to provide increased supply flexibility. These include SLITTING, SHEARING, and BLANKING on a negotiated supply or contract service basis.

Please enquire for details of services, options and prices.

Short cycle service

22. Availability

Short cycle service is available only when product is available from a BlueScope Steel Service Centre ex-stock. Under these circumstances orders are accepted for despatch in 1 to 7 days.

Surplus stock

23. Orders

Surplus stock (including lesser grade) is offered as and when arising. Acceptance of any order by BlueScope Steel is subject to availability of surplus stock.

Product receiving

24. Acceptance

The customer is to inform BlueScope Steel of receiving hours including planned exceptions such as rostered days off and stocktakes.

25. Early deliveries

All product that is available for early delivery will be referred to the customer for acceptance.