Your privacy matters to us, and in this industry, trust is everything. This Privacy Policy explains what personal information we collect when you use the Acenda mobile application and platform (the “App”), why we collect it, how we use it, who we share it with, and what rights you have over it.
Acenda is operated by HSEC Industries Pty Ltd (“we”, “us”, “our”). We are based in Western Australia and we handle personal information in accordance with the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth) and the Australian Privacy Principles (APPs).
If you don’t agree with this Policy, don’t use the App.
1. The Promises Up Front
Before the detail, here are the commitments that shape everything else in this Policy:
- We never keep copies of your identity documents. Verification is handled by Stripe, and once you’re verified, we hold the outcome, not your ID.
- Your platform data is hosted in Australia.
- We do not track your location. Roster and site details are entered by you, and location sharing exists only as an opt-in for specific mutual aid features.
- A site that pays for its crew sees aggregate data only. Your employer never sees your individual activity by name.
- Crisis support is never logged. Using it leaves no record on your account and affects nothing.
- We do not sell your personal information. Full stop.
2. What We Collect
2.1 Information you give us
When you create an account and use Acenda, you may provide:
- Your name, date of birth, and contact details (email, phone)
- Your employer, role, industry, site or region, and roster details (entered by you)
- Your qualifications, tickets, and training credentials, including uploaded certificate copies
- A profile photo and bio
- Content you post: messages, images, events, comments, quiz and competition answers, Group activity, and discussions
- Billing details needed to invoice your subscription (or your site’s subscription)
- Any other information you choose to share with us or other members
2.2 Identity verification
Verification is optional, but it unlocks the features where trust matters. When you choose to verify:
- You provide a government-issued photo ID and a selfie through our verification provider, Stripe
- Stripe checks the documents and confirms the result to us
- We record the outcome (verified or not) and the basic details needed to maintain your verified status
- We do not keep copies of your identity documents. They are processed by Stripe under Stripe’s own privacy policy, not stored by Acenda
2.3 Credentials
When you upload a qualification to your credential passport, we keep the uploaded certificate or ticket copy along with its verified status. This is what makes your credential passport real and portable. You can remove uploaded credentials from your profile at any time, subject to our retention obligations in Section 8.
2.4 Information we collect automatically
When you use the App, we may automatically collect:
- Device information (device type, operating system, unique identifiers)
- Log data (IP address, access times, app features used, crash reports)
- Usage analytics (what you engage with and how long you spend in different parts of the App)
What we don’t collect: your location.
Acenda does not track your GPS location day to day. Your site, region, and roster are details you enter yourself. The only exception is specific mutual aid features that offer opt-in location sharing, which work only when you actively turn them on, and stop when you turn them off.
2.5 Information from others
We may receive information about you from:
- Your employer or site, if they sponsor your subscription (limited to what’s needed to set up and manage the arrangement)
- SME Partners and Group hosts, in connection with Groups you join or courses you attend
- Event organisers, if you register for an Acenda-linked event
- Stripe, being the outcome of your identity verification
2.6 Sensitive and health-related information
Some content on Acenda involves health, medical, and incident-related information. Where you choose to share health-related information about yourself or engage with medical training content, we treat this with extra care and in line with the Privacy Act’s requirements for sensitive information.
Do not post identifiable patient, casualty, or incident information on Acenda. Ever.
If you post content describing a real incident, de-identify it properly. Remove names, dates, locations, and any detail that could identify a patient, casualty, colleague, or third party. If you’re not sure whether something is identifiable, don’t post it.
3. Why We Collect It and How We Use It
We use your personal information to:
- Create and manage your account, your subscription, and your credential passport
- Deliver the App’s features: community, learning content, Groups, events, messaging, competitions, mentoring, and mutual aid
- Verify that you are who you say you are, and that your stated role and credentials are legitimate
- Tailor content delivery to your roster, so the right content lands at the right time in your swing
- Run competitions, award prizes, and confirm winner eligibility
- Communicate with you about the App, updates, events, and relevant opportunities
- Improve the App: understand what works, what doesn’t, and where to invest next
- Investigate breaches of our Terms and protect the safety of the community
- Comply with our legal, regulatory, and reporting obligations
- Invoice and manage subscriptions
4. Site-Paid Accounts: What Your Employer Sees
If your employer or site pays for your subscription, here is exactly what they get:
- Aggregate, crew-level statistics: overall readiness, participation rates, and training coverage across the team
And here is what they never get:
- Your individual activity by name. Not your quiz scores, not your posts, not your messages, not your streaks, not when you were last online
Your employer paying for your subscription buys the crew visibility. It does not buy visibility of you. Your account is yours, and if the site arrangement ends, your account and your credential passport stay with you.
5. Crisis Support
Acenda includes one-tap access to crisis support services such as MATES in Mining, Lifeline, and 000.
Using crisis support is never logged.
No record is kept on your account. It does not appear in any analytics tied to you. It does not affect your streaks, your standing, or anything else. No employer, no site, no Group host, and no Acenda admin can see that you used it. It is there when you need it, and it leaves no trace. That is the whole point.
6. Who We Share It With
We do not sell your personal information. Full stop.
We may share your personal information with:
- Other Acenda members: your profile, posts, comments, and activity are visible to other members in line with your privacy settings and the spaces you choose to participate in
- Group hosts and their moderators: activity inside a Group is visible to that Group’s host and moderators, the same way it’s visible to other Group members
- Your employer or site: aggregate data only, as set out in Section 4
- Service providers who help us run the App (hosting, verification, analytics, email, customer support) under confidentiality obligations
- SME Partners and event organisers, where you register for their course or event through Acenda (limited to what they need to deliver it)
- Regulators, law enforcement, or courts where we are legally required to do so, or where we reasonably believe disclosure is necessary to prevent serious harm
- A successor entity, in the event of a business sale, merger, or restructure, subject to confidentiality and privacy protections
7. Where Your Information Is Stored
Acenda’s platform data is hosted in Australia. That is a deliberate choice, not an accident.
A small number of named service providers process specific data offshore as part of delivering their service, most notably Stripe for identity verification and payments. Where any provider handles your information outside Australia, we take reasonable steps to ensure it is protected consistently with the Australian Privacy Principles.
8. How Long We Keep It
We keep personal information for as long as is reasonably necessary to operate the App, comply with our legal obligations, resolve disputes, and enforce our Terms. When personal information is no longer needed, we either delete it or de-identify it.
Uploaded credentials stay in your credential passport until you remove them or close your account. If you close your account, we will retain certain information for legal, auditing, and dispute-resolution purposes for a reasonable period, after which it will be deleted or de-identified.
9. How We Protect It
We take reasonable steps to protect your personal information from misuse, loss, unauthorised access, modification, and disclosure, including:
- Encryption in transit and at rest
- Access controls and authentication requirements
- Row-level security on platform data
- Regular security reviews
- Staff and contractor confidentiality obligations
No system is 100% secure. If we ever become aware of a data breach that is likely to result in serious harm, we will notify affected users and the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC) in line with the Notifiable Data Breaches scheme.
10. Your Rights
Under the Privacy Act and Australian Privacy Principles, you have the right to:
- Access the personal information we hold about you
- Ask us to correct information that is inaccurate, out of date, incomplete, irrelevant, or misleading
- Ask us to delete your personal information, subject to our legal and operational requirements
- Withdraw any consent you have given us, including turning off opt-in location sharing at any time
- Make a complaint if you think we have mishandled your information
To exercise any of these rights, contact us at support@acenda.online.
If you’re not satisfied with how we respond, you can lodge a complaint with the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC) at oaic.gov.au or on 1300 363 992.
11. Cookies and Tracking
The App may use cookies, device identifiers, and similar technologies to operate features, remember your preferences, understand how the App is used, and improve the experience. You can usually control these through your device settings, though some features may not work properly if you disable them.
12. Third-Party Services
The App may contain links to third-party websites, services, or content (for example, training resource links, event pages, regulator websites). We don’t control those third parties and we’re not responsible for their privacy practices. Read their own privacy policies before sharing information with them. This includes Stripe, whose handling of your verification documents is governed by Stripe’s privacy policy.
13. Children
Acenda is not intended for people under 18. We do not knowingly collect personal information from anyone under 18. If you believe we have collected information from someone under 18, contact us and we will delete it.
14. Marketing
We may send you information about Acenda updates, new features, events, partner opportunities, and content we think you’ll find useful. You can opt out of marketing communications at any time by using the unsubscribe link in our emails or by contacting us directly. We will still send you essential service communications (account, security, billing, and legal notices) regardless of your marketing preferences.
15. Changes to This Policy
We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. If we make material changes, we’ll let you know through the App or by email. The “Last updated” date at the top of this Policy tells you when it was last changed. Continued use of the App after changes means you accept the updated Policy.
16. Contact Us
Questions, requests, or complaints about privacy?
Email: support@acenda.online
Operator: HSEC Industries Pty Ltd
App Name: Acenda
Jurisdiction: Western Australia, Australia