Short courses Terms and Conditions
**Last updated:** 6 August 2026
The terms and conditions that apply to the provision of non-award short courses (“courses” or “webinars) through the Probiotic Advisor or the Microbiome Restoration Centre (ABN 16 163 747 402) ("we", "us" or "our") are set out in these General Terms and Conditions (“Terms”). If the Teachable product page for the short course does not list a set of terms and conditions, then these Terms will apply.
These Terms do not apply to enrolments made for the Microbiome Restoration Centre professional certifying and microcredentialled courses (Naturopathic and Functional Medicine Approaches to Gastrointestinal Disorders; Advanced Microbiome Restoration; Natural Early Life Health). Separate terms and conditions are issued below for these courses.
By purchasing or accessing a Course, you agree to be bound by these Terms. If you do not agree, you must not purchase or access the Course.
1. Acceptance of these Terms
1.1 These Terms constitute a legal contract between you and Probiotic Advisor.
1.2 By checking the acceptance box at the time of purchase, you confirm that:
- you have read and understood these Terms;
- you agree to be bound by them; and
- you have the legal capacity to enter into this agreement (including that you are at least 18 years of age or have parental/guardian consent).
1.3 If you are purchasing on behalf of a company or other entity, you represent that you have authority to bind that entity.
2. What is included and how you access the materials
2.1 Your purchase includes access to the specific short course(s) you select at checkout, including the digital learning materials, videos, resources and any stated bonuses that form part of that Course.
2.2 The Courses are delivered on the Teachable platform. You will need to create (or use an existing) Teachable account to access the Course materials.
2.3 You are responsible for ensuring you have a suitable device, internet connection and any necessary software or applications required to access and view the Course materials on Teachable. Any costs associated with internet access or third-party software are your responsibility unless expressly stated otherwise.
2.4 We will provide login details or access instructions after successful payment.
3. Duration of access
3.1 Access to each short course is granted for a fixed period as specified on the Course sales page or checkout page at the time of purchase (12 months from the date of purchase).
3.2 After the access period ends, your access will automatically expire unless otherwise stated or extended by us in writing.
3.3 These Courses are one-off purchases and do not operate as ongoing memberships or subscriptions. There is no automatic renewal or recurring fee unless clearly stated for a specific product.
4. Fees, payment and charging
4.1 The full price of the Course (including applicable taxes) and the currency in which you will be charged are clearly displayed at checkout before you complete your purchase.
4.2 Payment is due in full at the time of purchase unless an alternative payment plan is expressly offered and selected.
4.3 Payments are processed by third-party payment providers (including, but not limited to, Stripe, PayPal or other processors we may use from time to time). By purchasing, you agree to the relevant payment provider’s terms.
4.4 You authorise us (and our payment providers) to charge the payment method you provide.
4.5 If any payment is declined, delayed or fails, we may suspend or terminate your access to the Course until full payment is received.
4.6 All fees are non-refundable except as expressly provided in these Terms or required by law.
5. Refunds
5.1 Because the Course materials are digital and access is granted immediately (or shortly after) purchase, we do not offer refunds for change of mind, change of circumstance, or if you simply decide the Course is not suitable for you.
5.2 Before purchasing, please carefully review the Course description, learning outcomes and what is included. If you have any questions about the content or suitability, contact us before completing your purchase.
5.3 Nothing in these Terms excludes any rights you may have under applicable consumer law that cannot be excluded (for example, Australian Consumer Law guarantees regarding major failures). Where such rights apply, our liability is limited to the remedies required by law.
5.4 To raise any query or claim regarding your purchase, contact us helene@probioticadvisor.com
6. Certificates of completion and restricted titles
6.1 Upon successful completion of a short course, you will receive a certificate of completion from Teachable.
6.2 Short courses do **not** confer the same certification, microcredential or professional recognition as our 10-week professional courses, specifically:
- Naturopathic and Functional Medicine Approaches to Gastrointestinal Disorders;
- Advanced Microbiome Manipulation;
- Natural Early Life Health.
6.3 Graduates of short courses are **not** permitted to use, and must not represent themselves as holding, any of the following titles or designations (or any substantially similar titles):
- “MRC certified”
- “Probiotic Advisor certified”
- “Healthy Gut practitioner”
- “Certified Healthy Gut practitioner”
- “Healthy Gut Health Coach”
- “Certified Healthy Gut Health Coach”
- “Microbiome Analyst Practitioner”
- “Certified Microbiome Analyst Practitioner”
6.4 Use of any of the above titles or designations by a short-course graduate is strictly prohibited and constitutes a breach of these Terms. We reserve all rights to take action in respect of any unauthorised use.
7. Intellectual property and restrictions on use
7.1 All intellectual property rights in the Course materials (including content, videos, text, graphics, logos, designs, software and any other materials) remain the exclusive property of Probiotic Advisor or the Microbiome Restoration Centre (MRC).
7.2 Your purchase grants you a limited, non-exclusive, non-transferable, revocable licence to access and use the Course materials solely for your personal, non-commercial educational use during the access period.
7.3 You must not:
- copy, reproduce, distribute, publish, share, sell, licence, or make any course materials publicly available;
- provide access to the Course or materials to any third party;
- reverse-engineer, modify or create derivative works from the materials; or
- use the materials for any commercial purpose or to compete with us.
7.4 Any unauthorised use may result in immediate termination of access and may give rise to legal action.
8. Nature of the materials, disclaimers and limitation of liability
8.1 The Courses and materials are provided for general educational and informational purposes only. They are not customised to your individual circumstances, health status, professional requirements or specific needs.
8.2 The content does not constitute medical, clinical, professional or personalised advice. You should exercise your own professional judgement and, wh appropriate, seek independent advice before relying on any information.
8.3 To the maximum extent permitted by law:
- the Courses and materials are provided “as is” and “as available” without warranties of any kind (express or implied);
- we do not warrant that the content is complete, accurate, up-to-date or error-free; and
- we exclude all liability for any loss, damage, cost or expense (including indirect, consequential, special or pure economic loss) arising from your use of or reliance on the Course materials, except to the extent such liability cannot be excluded by law.
8.4 Our total aggregate liability to you in connection with any Course is limited to the amount you paid for that Course.
9. Third-party platforms and continuity
9.1 The Courses are delivered via the Teachable platform. You may be required to accept Teachable’s terms and conditions in order to access the materials.
9.2 We do not control and are not responsible for the availability, performance, security or continuity of Teachable or any other third-party platform or service.
9.3 We do not warrant that Teachable (or any other third-party platform) will remain available or uninterrupted. If Teachable ceases to operate or we are unable to continue delivering the Course via that platform, we will use reasonable efforts to provide alternative access (for example, via another platform or downloadable materials) where practicable. We are not liable for any disruption or inability to access caused by third-party platforms.
9.4 You remain responsible for complying with any applicable third-party terms, including those of Teachable.
10. Privacy
10.1 We collect and handle your personal information in accordance with our Privacy Policy.
10.2 By purchasing a Course, you consent to us collecting, using and disclosing your personal information as described in accordance with Australian laws.
11. Governing law and general
11.1 These Terms are governed by the laws of New South Wales, Australia. The courts of New South Wales have exclusive jurisdiction, subject to any non-excludable consumer rights that may apply in your jurisdiction.
11.2 If any provision of these Terms is found to be invalid or unenforceable, the remaining provisions continue in full force and effect.
11.3 We may update these Terms from time to time. The version that applies to your purchase is the version in force at the time you complete your purchase. Material changes will be notified where required.
11.4 These Terms constitute the entire agreement between you and us in relation to the Course and supersede any prior discussions or representations.
11.5 Our failure to enforce any right under these Terms does not constitute a waiver of that right.
**Contact**
If you have any questions about these Terms or your Course, please contact us admin@probioticadvisor.com OR helene@probioticadvisor.com OR admin@microbiomerestorationcentre.com
Terms and conditions of enrollment & certification for professional MRC certifying courses
Acceptance of Terms
By applying to, registering for, and participating in a MRC certifying online course, you agree to be bound by these terms and conditions. If you do not agree to these terms and conditions, you may not register for or participate in an MRC online course.
Course Enrollment
Our certifying professional development courses are intended for health professionals. In some circumstances, enrolments from final-year students may be considered. Please reach out to helene@probioticadvisor.com to discuss your specific circumstances.
Payment of course fees are for one (1) participant per enrolment only.
Course enrolment is complete when the participant has paid the full fees of the course prior to the commencement date.
Course commencement is effective from the date access to materials and access is granted for a period of 12 months.
Course discounts for prior learning cannot be added to an enrolment retrospectively and must be added at the time of enrolment.
While enrolments are not transferable to other students, course transfers may be available in limited and exceptional circumstances. Please reach out to helene@probioticadvisor.com to discuss your specific circumstances. An incurred administrative fee of AUD$50 applies (as per our deposit, fees and refund policy).
Course prerequisite
All our MRC certifying professional development courses (Naturopathic and Functional Medicine Approaches to Gastrointestinal Disorders; Advanced Microbiome Manipulation & Natural Early Life Health) and the General Bridging course are intended for health professionals with a minimum of a relevant clinical degree. Grandfathered Australian qualifications are also eligible.
Other qualifications are accepted on a case-by-case basis on presentation of qualifications and a detailed transcript providing the hour load per subject.
There are no other prerequisites for the “Naturopathic & Functional Medicine Approaches to Gastrointestinal Disorders” or the Bridging course to the Advanced Microbiome Manipulation and Natural Early Life Health courses.
The UWS bridging course is specifically designed for prospective students who took the gastroenterology unit at UWS in 2023 or later. Graduates of UWS who took the gastroenterology unit prior to 2023 have to take the General Bridging course.
Graduation from the “Naturopathic & Functional Medicine Approaches to Gastrointestinal Disorders” course or the General Bridging course or the UWS Bridging course is a prerequisite for enrollment in the “Advanced Microbiome Analysis” and the “Natural Early Life Health” courses.
Unlimited Access for 12 months
Unlimited access means that your course access does not expire from the commencement date you have enrolled for, for a period of 12 months. Therefore, as long as you are active any time during the 12 months period, your login and password will remain active so that you can access the course content.
All downloadable notes and documents pertaining to the course need to be saved before the 12 months period. Past that date, the MRC will not keep notes pertaining to the study period unless the student enrols in the annual extension.
Access Extension
Access extension will be offered beyond 12 months for $ 300 AUD for one year only.
No extensions will be provided beyond the end date of the one-year extension.
PLEASE NOTE THAT ALTHOUGH STUDENTS HAVE ACCESS FOR A MINIMUM OF 12 MONTHS TO THE COURSE MATERIAL, GRADUATION FROM THE COURSE IS WITHIN 8 WEEKS OF THE FINAL LIFE SESSION.
Course Materials Access
The courses’ materials are supplied exclusively in an online environment on the third party Teachable platform, accessible 24/7, and in weekly live sessions on Zoom at a predetermined date.
Courses notes, supplemental material and transcripts of live sessions may be downloaded and saved. Pre-recorded lectures and live sessions recordings may not be downloaded.
Technical Support and Access
If you are unable to access an online course, MRC will use reasonable endeavours to provide a solution where MRC has direct control over the system, software or settings involved.
If the issue lies with Teachable, you will need to contact their support service for further help. https://sso.teachable.com/secure/teachable_account...
If the issue lies with your hardware, systems, software or settings thereof, MRC may, in its discretion, provide assistance to you to help you resolve the issue but we cannot guarantee that any assistance provided will resolve your issue. If appropriate, you will be referred to your internet service provider.
UNDER NO CIRCUMSTANCE CAN A STUDENT CLAIM A REFUND FOR ISSUES THAT LAY WITH THEIR OWN SYSTEM, SOFTWARE, ISP OR SETTINGS.
You also accept and acknowledge that the MRC cannot be held responsible for any delay or disruptions to your access to the course as a result of such suspension or any of the following:
- Teachable is experiencing a temporary or permanent interruption to their service, from maintenance or other causes. In the event of a permanent interruption, arrangements will be made to host the course on another platform.
- The operation of the internet and the World Wide Web, including but not limited to viruses.
- Any firewall restrictions that have been placed on your network or the computer you are using to access the course.
- Failures of telecommunications links and equipment.
- Browser issues, including due to the lack of updates, or as the result of an update.
The MRC will use reasonable endeavours to make the online course available but cannot guarantee uninterrupted, timely or error free availability or that defects will be corrected. The MRC reserves the right to suspend access to the website for the purpose of scheduled or emergency maintenance, repairs or upgrades to improve the performance or functionality of the website.
You accept and acknowledge that periods of downtime may be required in respect of the information technology infrastructure connected to the website and that technical assistance may not be available during such periods of downtime.
You accept and acknowledge that you have read the terms and conditions of access for the Teachable platform.
Further, you accept that you will not have a claim for breach of contract or otherwise in respect of any period of unavailability.
Intellectual property and copyright
The content of the online course materials, copyright (including future copyright and rights in the nature of, or analogous to, copyright); trade marks, service marks and other related marks; and all other associated goodwill contained therein remain the property of the MRC.
You may not:
- Reproduce, in full or in part, any related confidential information provided in live sessions, such as lecture materialprotocols, know-how or any shared confidential and de-identified case studies.
- Reproduce, scan or copy, alter, modify, translate, in whole or in part, the lecture materials except for the sole purpose of completing the course.
- Permit the course materials, in whole or in part, to be reproduced, scanned, copied, combined with or become incorporated into any other materials, including online material.
- Download, screen or audio capture or record the lecture videos or recorded live session videos, in full or in part; nor use any video in full or in part, to share online, in social media, or in audio format such as podcast or use in your own website or be incorporated in any material.
Condition of certification
To qualify for a certification from the Naturopathic and Functional Medicine Approaches to Gastrointestinal Disorders, the Advanced Microbiome Manipulation, and the Natural Early Life Health course, students are required to complete the nominated course in the time frame and conditions advised by the MRC:
- The courses need to be completed within 8 weeks of the last live session. In limited and exceptional circumstances and on prior agreement with MRC, the courses’ completion period may be extended to up to 6 months maximum.
- All multiple-choice quizzes need to be passed at a minimum grade of 60% or 70% (Early Life Natural Health) (2 attempts permitted).
- All pre-recorded lectures need to have been watched and engaged with.
- All outstanding payments need to be finalised, should there still be any remaining.
To qualify for a bridging course, students are required to:
- Meet the prerequisite minimum qualification
- Complete the course in 12 months or less.
- Watch and engage with all pre-recorded lectures.
- Pass each multiple-choice quiz at 60% minimum (2 attempts permitted).
Certification
Upon meeting the condition of graduation, participants will receive a certificate of completion with nominal hours for CE/CPE purposes; a certification logo for the course undertaken, which may be used on a business website; and a listing as a certified practitioner on the MRC website within 15 business days.
It is the participant’s responsibility to provide accurate information for the MRC website listing and to inform the MRC about any change of details pertaining to the listing.
Certificate
It is strongly discouraged to post your qualifications online to prevent qualification fraud and qualification appropriation by non-graduates.
Should you wish to post despite the risk, it is imperative that your certificate not be posted online without a watermark of your own business logo to prevent qualification theft and fraud and to protect the value of your qualification.
Maintenance of certification
MRC recertification reassures the patients/clients that we serve that MRC-certified practitioners remain the most trusted source for naturopathic and functional GIT care and microbiome analysis. The purpose of MRC maintenance of certification is to promote continued competence through professional development and lifelong learning.
MRC certified practitioners are required to recertify every five to seven years to maintain their credential and listing with the MRC.
Terms and Conditions Breach
A breach of terms and conditions occurs when any person performs an act prohibited by the terms and conditions and includes (but is not limited to):
- The sharing of user IDs and passwords
- Plagiarism and failure to comply with intellectual property and copyright law.
- Users attempting to inappropriately download videos.
- Users making any false or fraudulent declaration or providing false or misleading information, or failing to provide information where there is a requirement to do so.
- Students making any claim for or fraudulent use of logos for certifying courses they are not graduates of.
- Posting qualifications online without a watermark and logos without anti-copy prevention (see Logo usage policy for further information)
- Usage of AI to attempt quizzes
A breach of terms and conditions may lead to instant loss of course access and/or certification rights.
Disclaimer
The Certifying Courses are for training purposes only. The Microbiome Restoration Centre will not accept any responsibility to any party for the use of the content of the course materials for any purpose other than training for educational purposes, including but not limited to, the giving of advice by you to any third party.
Data Protection
When you register with us you will need to provide certain data such as your contact details and demographic information. We will store this data and use it to contact you, provide you with details of the course you have purchased and otherwise as required during the normal provision of the course.
We may also use the above data, and similar data you provide us in response to surveys, to aggregate user profiles and provide you with communications. We will not pass any personal data onto anyone outside of the Microbiome Restoration Centre and its sister company, the Probiotic Advisor.
To enable us to monitor and improve our services, we gather certain aggregated information about you, including details of your operating system, browser version, domain name and IP address, the URL you came from and go to and the parts of the Website you visit.
We use information such as your User ID, session identifiers and password to enable us to identify whether you are using our services, assist with the provision of services and to ensure that you have access to relevant products. We will only read cookies from your cookie file placed there through your web browser's interaction with the Website.
The MRC courses’ content is linked to the Teachable third-party platform, and we are not responsible for their data policies or procedures.
Our practitioner listings may link to third-party websites, and we are not responsible for their data policies or procedures or their content.
The MRC and its sister company Probiotic Advisor endeavour to take all reasonable steps to protect your personal data, including the use of encryption technology, but cannot guarantee the security of any Data you disclose. You accept the inherent security implications of being and transacting online over the internet and will not hold us responsible for any breach of security.
Your financial data
Payments processed via the third-party payment processor Stripe are subject to the terms of use and privacy policies of this payment gateway and are not controlled by the MRC. For payments processed via Stripe, we may receive information related to your payment card type and last four digits, postal code, country of origin, and payment expiration date. For additional information, we recommend that you review the third-party payment processor's Privacy Policy.
Law and Jurisdiction
This Agreement is subject to Australian and NSW laws, and the parties submit to the exclusive jurisdiction of the NSW courts in connection with any dispute hereunder.
Notices
You can contact us by any of the following methods:
Email:helene@probioticadvisor.com or admin@microbiomerestorationcentre.com
Post: P.O Box 69, Ocean Shores 2483 NSW,
ABN: 16 163 747 402
(Version 3.2026)
Fees & Refund Policy for professional MRC certifying courses
Payments
Payments are to be made via the Teachable Platform. Single payment or payment plan options are available.
Deposit
In a course session where the number of prospective students exceeds the number of enrolled student places, a second session may be opened. A non-refundable deposit of $300 may be requested in order to guarantee a place up to 9 months prior to the course commencement
Fees and Charges
- By enrolling in MRC qualifying courses provided on this website, you agree to pay the course fees (plus applicable surcharges from your bank) using the payment method you have selected.
- You are required to pay the total amount of the course fees before the course commences or take a payment plan agreement. You are also required to pay the total amount even if you do not complete your course.
- Student fees include the necessary resources such as pre-recorded videos, PDFs and other resources, live sessions and quizzes dependent upon the course of study chosen as well as administrative support.
Failure by the prospective student to pay any fees after a depositFailure to pay remaining fees when they fall due, or to make contact with helene@probioticadvisor.com for alternative arrangements, may result in:
(a) the allocation of the student’s place in the nominated course to others and
(b) MRC cancelling its agreement with the prospective student to provide the course without incurring any liability.
Payment plans
Payment plans are offered directly on Teachable, whereby the total course fee and additional administrative fees are paid in full before graduation. Payment plans attract an administration fee of $200.
Under special circumstances, payment plans other than those listed on the Teachable website may be arranged. Contact helene@probioticadvisor.com
Honouring recurring payments is a condition for attendance at the course.
Failure to honour any payment will incur a loss of access to the course until the payment is made.
Failure to honour the full amount by the end date of the contract will result in a permanent loss of access to the course and voids any possibility to graduate.
For certifying courses, the MRC certification will NOT be granted until full payment is made and the conditions of graduation met.
In the event of failure to complete the recurrent payment plan, all previous payments made will remain the property of MRC/the Probiotic Advisor.
Refund and Cancellation Policy - Course Fees
- You will be eligible a 100% refund of fees paid (minus $AUD 300 administrative fee) ONLY if the Microbiome Restoration Center (MRC) cancels the nominated course before you have logged in to access the system/course commencement.
- You will be eligible for a 100% refund of fees paid (minus $AUD 300 administrative fee) ONLY if you, the student, decide to cancel 8-days (or more) before the start of the course.
- You will be eligible for a 50% refund of fees paid (minus $AUD 300 administrative fee) ONLY if you, the student, decide to cancel within 7-days of course commencement and up to 7-days after the start of the course.
MRC/the Probiotic Advisor does not offer any refunds under any circumstances once the course is in second week, as we will be unable to replace you in the course at that late point.
Once the course starts and after the second week has started, you can:
- In some limited situations, you may be able to transfer the course to a different practitioner with our prior agreement, if you are less than 2 weeks into the course (incurs a $50 administration fee).
- Completion extensions within the 12-month course access period may be granted under special circumstances with our prior agreement.
MRC/the Probiotic Advisor does not offer any refunds to students experiencing any issue accessing the content, where the technical issue lies with them, rather than the Teachable platform. It is the student’s responsibility to seek help with their ISP (Internet Service Provider).
Course commencement and schedule
The agreed course commencement date will be the date determined on the calendar provided upon enrollment. Under exceptional circumstances, the dates and times of live sessions may have to change and upon payment, you agree that this will not be grounds for a refund.
Non-Completion
- No refund of fees or release from the financial commitment of a payment plan will be granted for the non-completion of studies.
Non-completion of studies within 6 months will void your ability to obtain a MRC certification.