Payout Policy

This Payout Policy explains how and when Organisers receive funds from Events hosted on the Crowdify platform. By creating a paid Event, you agree to this policy in addition to the Crowdify Terms of Service and Organiser Agreement.

Crowdify uses Stripe Connect (Express accounts) to handle all payments. Funds are held by Stripe Payments Australia Pty Ltd (ABN 88 600 314 140, AFS Licence #500105) and Crowdify's platform Stripe account, and are released to Organisers under the rules in this policy.

Crowdify is not a deposit-taking institution, payment service provider, or financial-product issuer. We do not hold an Australian Financial Services Licence in our own right.

Our payout model balances two needs:
1. Organisers need money to actually run their Events. That is the point of crowdfunded events. We pay out quickly once the funding goal is reached and verification is complete.
2. Attendees need protection from rare bad-actor Events. That is why we use a graduated host-trust system that rewards Organisers as they build a track record.

Before you can receive payouts you must:

1. create a Crowdify organiser account
2. complete Stripe Connect Express onboarding (Stripe estimates around 3 minutes)
3. provide a valid Australian bank account in your name or your registered business name
4. complete Stripe's identity verification (driver licence, passport, or other government-issued ID)
5. verify your phone number and email address through Crowdify

Stripe handles identity verification and KYC compliance directly. Crowdify does not see or store your bank-account details or identity documents. Stripe holds and processes that information under Stripe's privacy policy (https://stripe.com/privacy) and the Connected Account Agreement (https://stripe.com/au/legal/connect-account).

You cannot launch a paid Event until Stripe has verified your connected account.

Crowdify operates a three-tier host system. Your tier determines the funding cap on Events you can list and the payout structure that applies. The same naming appears on your host badge, on your profile, and at /account/trust.

New Host (default — your first 3 successfully funded Events)
• Funding cap: $1,000 (Event 1) → $2,500 (Event 2) → $5,000 (Event 3)
• Payout split: 80% on funding / 20% holdback released after the Event date (see section 4)
• Rationale: a short trust-building window. Most Organisers move out of this tier within their first few Events.

Trusted Host (automatic — 3 successfully funded Events, plus identity + phone verification, plus no open dispute, plus a healthy trust score)
• Funding cap: unlimited
• Payout split: 100% on funding (subject to the cool-off — see section 4)

Top Host (admin-approved — verified businesses, partner venues, and high-volume Organisers)
• Funding cap: unlimited
• Payout split: 100% on funding with priority support and the option to negotiate custom payout terms
• Eligibility: ABN-registered businesses, partner venues, or Organisers Crowdify has vetted directly. Email partnerships@crowdify.com.au to apply.

A "successfully funded" Event is one that funded, ran on its scheduled date, and had no chargebacks or unresolved refund disputes within 30 days of the Event.

Tier transitions are governed by the trust system. You may view a transparent summary of your trust position at /account/trust. Crowdify does not publish the raw trust score or specific weights, to reduce gaming. Tier promotions are velocity-capped (one promotion per 30 days, by default) and an open dispute blocks any promotion until it is closed.

Payout timing depends on Event type and your tier.

For all paid Events — the cool-off
Once the conditions to capture funds are met:
1. Within 24 hours: Attendee cards are charged (Crowdfunded) or are already charged from the time of purchase (Ticketed).
2. A 24-hour cool-off period begins. The cool-off is a fraud-protection window.
3. After cool-off ends, funds become eligible for payout under the tier rules below.

If you need a faster payout for a genuine business reason, email hello@crowdify.com.au to request manual fast-track approval.

Crowdfunded Events — New Host (80/20 split)
• Goal reached → cards charged within 24 hours
• 24-hour cool-off → funds eligible for payout
• Within 1 business day → 80% of net funds released (Stripe typically deposits within 1–3 business days after release)
• 7 days after the Event date → remaining 20% released, provided no chargebacks or disputes are open

For a $1,000 Event, that is approximately $700 immediately to run the Event and $175 a week after the Event date (the remaining $125 is platform + Stripe fees; see section 6 for worked numbers).

Crowdfunded Events — Trusted Host and Top Host (100% payout)
• Goal reached → cards charged within 24 hours
• 24-hour cool-off → funds eligible for payout
• Within 1 business day → 100% of net funds released

Ticketed Events — all tiers
• Cards are charged at the time of purchase. Funds sit on the Crowdify platform account.
• 24 hours after the Event end_date (or start_date if no end_date), Crowdify queues a payout transfer for the Event's net revenue.
• The transfer is executed at the next payout-job run (typically the same business day).
• Stripe deposits funds to your bank account in 1–3 business days.

Free Events — no payout (no funds to release).

Crowdify reserves the right to delay or pause any payout where Stripe flags the connected account, where the Event is subject to a dispute, where Crowdify is investigating a possible breach of these Terms, or where required by law.

Your first three successfully funded Events as a New Host have caps on the maximum funding goal:

Event 1 — $1,000
Event 2 — $2,500
Event 3 — $5,000
Event 4 onward — unlimited (subject to graduation to Trusted Host)

These caps exist for two reasons: (a) genuinely most Organisers benefit from starting small while learning the platform and building an audience, and (b) capping initial Event size limits Crowdify's exposure to fraud during the trust-building period.

If your business genuinely needs to exceed these caps before you have completed three Events, apply for Top Host status (see section 3).

Here is the breakdown for a $50 ticket sale:

Ticket price (paid by Attendee, after Crowdify and Stripe fee uplift in the price-build): $50.00
Stripe processing fee (1.75% + A$0.30, AU domestic card): -$1.18
Crowdify platform fee (12%): -$6.00
Net to Organiser: ~$42.82

International cards typically incur a higher Stripe fee (e.g. 3.25% + A$0.30). The difference is deducted from your share of the affected transaction.

Crowdify is currently not registered for GST and does not include a GST component in its 12% fee. If you (the Organiser) are registered for GST and the supply is taxable, you remain responsible for declaring and remitting GST on the ticket price; see section 9 of the Organiser Agreement.

You will see a full breakdown of every transaction in your Crowdify dashboard, including transfer ID, application fee, Stripe fee, net amount, and date.

If the funding deadline passes and a Crowdfunded Event has not reached its goal:
• the Event is automatically cancelled in the Crowdify system
• all Attendee pre-authorisations are released; no charge occurs
• you receive nothing; there is no fee for unsuccessful Events
• the Event listing is moved to "Did not fund" status
• the Event does not count toward your tier progression

You can re-launch the same Event with adjusted parameters at any time.

If you cancel an Event after the funding goal has been reached or after tickets have been charged (Ticketed):
• all Attendees receive a full refund within 5 business days
• any payout already released to you must be returned to Crowdify
• Crowdify will deduct the refund amount from your held funds and from any future events you run
• you will be invoiced for any Stripe processing fees that cannot be reversed (typically 1.75% of total funds raised)
• repeated cancellations of funded Events will result in suspension of your organiser account
• the Event does not count toward your tier progression
• your trust score will be reduced

If your Event must be cancelled due to circumstances genuinely outside your control (force majeure, illness, venue insolvency, government order), contact hello@crowdify.com.au — Crowdify may reduce or waive recovery fees on a case-by-case basis.

A chargeback is when an Attendee disputes a charge directly with their bank. Chargebacks can be filed up to 120 days after the Event date under card-scheme rules.

If a chargeback is filed against an Event you organised:
1. Crowdify will notify you immediately and request evidence (Event delivery records, communication history, ticketing data).
2. Crowdify will respond to the chargeback on its own behalf and on your behalf.
3. If the chargeback is lost (Attendee wins), the disputed amount plus a A$25 chargeback fee is deducted from your held funds or from future payouts.
4. If the chargeback amount exceeds your held funds, you are personally liable for the difference (see section 11 — Negative balances).

You can reduce chargeback risk by:
• communicating clearly with Attendees before, during, and after the Event
• honouring your stated refund policy
• keeping the Event description accurate and current
• responding to Attendee enquiries within 48 hours
• approving genuine refund requests promptly

If your chargeback rate exceeds 1% of transactions over a rolling 30-day period, Crowdify may flag or suspend your account. Stripe applies its own (lower) thresholds at the network level.

You can issue full or partial refunds to individual Attendees through your Crowdify dashboard at any time before the Event.

For each voluntary refund:
• the refund amount is debited from your held Event balance (and from future payouts if necessary)
• the Stripe processing fee is not returned by Stripe; it is borne by you for that transaction
• the Crowdify platform fee on a fully refunded ticket is refunded to you where the refund is processed before payout

Issuing voluntary refunds is one of the best ways to keep Attendees happy and reduce chargeback risk.

If your Event ends with a negative balance (for example, chargebacks exceeding held funds), Crowdify will:
1. notify you with a breakdown of the balance
2. give you 14 days to settle by bank transfer
3. deduct the amount from any future payouts owed to you
4. pursue recovery through standard debt-collection processes if unsettled after 60 days

This is a worst-case scenario. The trust system, funding caps, cool-off, and split-payout structure are designed to prevent it.

Crowdify does not withhold tax from your payouts. You are responsible for:
• declaring income from your Events to the Australian Taxation Office
• registering for GST if your turnover exceeds A$75,000 in any 12-month period
• issuing tax invoices to Attendees on request where you are GST-registered and the supply is taxable

A Recipient-Created Tax Invoice (RCTI) arrangement is available to GST-registered Organisers; see section 9 of the Organiser Agreement.

We provide downloadable transaction reports in your dashboard to help with tax reporting. If you are running Events as a registered business with an ABN, add your ABN during Stripe onboarding so invoicing functions correctly.

From 1 July 2024, Crowdify is obliged under the Sharing Economy Reporting Regime to report taxable supplies of services facilitated through the Platform to the ATO biannually.

Crowdify may suspend your account or freeze your held funds where:
• Crowdify detects potential fraud or money laundering
• your account receives an unusually high rate of chargebacks or refund requests
• you violate the Crowdify Terms of Service or Organiser Agreement
• Stripe suspends your connected account
• Crowdify is required to do so by law or court order

Where Crowdify freezes funds, we will hold them for the maximum chargeback window (currently 120 days under card-scheme rules) and then release them, less any deductions, unless the suspension is for confirmed fraud.

Where Stripe restricts or closes your connected account, Crowdify cannot override the restriction. You will need to resolve the underlying issue directly with Stripe before payouts can resume.

Crowdify may update this Payout Policy from time to time. Material changes will be notified to Organiser accounts by email at least 14 days before they take effect.

Material changes do not affect Events that have already been funded under the previous policy — those Events complete under the policy in effect at the time of funding.

For payout questions, disputes, or concerns:

General Organiser support: hello@crowdify.com.au
Top Host (partner) applications: partnerships@crowdify.com.au
Legal notices and disputes: legal@crowdify.com.au

Response time target: 2 business days.
For urgent payout issues, prefix your subject line with [URGENT — PAYOUT].