Welcome to Acenda. These Terms and Conditions (“Terms”) govern your use of the Acenda mobile application and platform (the “App”). By accessing or using Acenda, you agree to be bound by these Terms and by our Privacy Policy. If you don’t agree, don’t use the App. Simple.
Acenda is operated by HSEC Industries Pty Ltd (“we”, “us”, “our”) from Western Australia. The Acenda platform is owned by Lockhart Industries Pty Ltd, which licenses it to us and publishes the App on the App Store and Google Play, so the stores show Lockhart Industries as the seller. We run the service, its content and your account.
1. Who This App Is For
Acenda is a community, learning and readiness platform built for emergency response professionals, medical responders, and personnel working in mining and other high-risk industries. It is designed for people who already operate within a defined scope of practice, training, and regulatory framework.
You must be at least 18 years old to create an account. You confirm this when you sign up, and by using the App you confirm you meet this requirement and have the legal capacity to agree to these Terms.
If you are not working in, training for, or professionally connected to these industries, this platform is probably not built for you, and the content here is not intended for your use.
2. The Big One: Medical, Rescue, and Training Content
Read this section properly. It matters.
Acenda hosts content that includes medical procedures, emergency response techniques, rescue methods, drill scenarios, training material, competition scenarios, live training sessions, and discussion of real-world incidents.
None of this content authorises you to perform anything.
Watching a video, reading a post, completing a quiz, winning a competition, attending a live session, getting an answer from Ask the Library, or having a conversation with another member on Acenda does NOT:
- Qualify you to perform any medical, rescue, or emergency procedure
- Extend, expand, or substitute for your scope of practice
- Replace formal training delivered by a Registered Training Organisation (RTO)
- Replace competency assessment, authorisation, or sign-off from your employer, supervisor, or clinical governance structure
- Give you any credential, ticket, or qualification recognised under Australian law, Work Health and Safety regulations, the requirements of the Department of Energy, Mines, Industry Regulation and Safety (DEMIRS), or any equivalent regulatory body
Stay in your lane.
You agree to operate strictly within your current scope of practice, your current training, your current authorisations, and the clinical or operational governance of your workplace. If a procedure, drug, technique, or decision sits outside what you are trained, authorised, and competent to do, you don’t do it. Not because you saw it here. Not because someone in the community did it. Not because your quiz streak says you’re ready. Not ever.
We do not support heroes on Acenda.
Heroes get people killed. Themselves, their patients, their teammates. This platform exists to raise standards, share knowledge, and build competent, humble, safe responders. It does not exist to produce cowboys who think a scroll through a feed equals a ticket to act.
If you use information obtained from Acenda to perform a procedure outside your scope, authorisation, or competence, that is your decision and your liability. Not ours. Not the content creator’s. Not another member’s. Yours.
Clinical and operational judgement always sits with you and your employer.
Every workplace, every patient, every incident, every site is different. Content on Acenda is general in nature and cannot account for the specific circumstances you are facing. Use your training. Use your procedures. Use your chain of command. If in doubt, escalate.
3. Not Medical Advice
Nothing on Acenda constitutes medical advice, clinical advice, diagnosis, or treatment, whether to you personally, to a patient, or to anyone else. This applies to platform content, Group content, live sessions, community posts and direct messages equally. If you or someone else needs medical help, contact 000 (in Australia) or your local emergency number. If you need clinical guidance, talk to a qualified medical practitioner.
Automated answers. Ask the Library, the coach on your Home screen, the debrief writer and the competition drafter use an artificial intelligence model from Anthropic, in the United States, to write their answers. They are off until you allow them, and you can turn them off again in Settings. The Privacy Policy says exactly what is sent. Ask the Library answers only from library documents a named person has signed off, and names its source, but an automated summary can still be wrong or incomplete. Check the source document, and never rely on an automated answer for a patient or an emergency.
4. Accounts, Verification, and Your Credentials
You are responsible for:
- Keeping your login details confidential
- Providing accurate, truthful, and complete information about yourself, your qualifications, and your role
- Everything that happens under your account
Identity check. You can join Acenda without checking your identity. If you choose to, the check is done by Stripe Identity, using a photo of your government issued ID and a selfie. We receive the result, not your documents. Some features may need a checked identity.
Qualifications and tickets. Qualifications and tickets you submit are reviewed by Acenda staff before they show as verified, so allow reasonable time. A verified credential can be issued to you as a digitally signed copy and shown on a resume link you control.
Your credentials are your responsibility. Uploading a qualification to Acenda means representing that it is genuine, current, and yours. We may verify credentials with issuing bodies. Verified status can be revoked at any time if we have reason to doubt a credential.
Misrepresenting your qualifications, training, credentials, employer, or role on Acenda is a serious breach of these Terms and will result in immediate termination.
We built this platform partly because credential fraud is a genuine problem in this industry. Don’t bring that here.
5. Cost
Acenda is free for members. There are no purchases in the App. If your site or employer has an agreement with us to use Acenda, that agreement is between them and us, and it does not change these Terms or give them any more access to you than the Privacy Policy describes.
Consumer rights. Nothing in these Terms excludes, restricts, or modifies any consumer guarantee, right, or remedy that cannot lawfully be excluded under the Australian Consumer Law.
6. What Your Site and Employer See
This one is important enough to get its own section.
Your site sees aggregate figures, not you.
A site can see crew level figures: overall readiness, participation, and training coverage across the team. Where fewer than five people are behind a figure, the figure is withheld. Your site never sees your quiz scores, your posts, your messages, or anything about crisis support or wellbeing.
There is one deliberate exception. If you are on a site’s emergency response team in the App, your on call status and your responses to callouts are shown by name to that team and to the people who run its callouts. The Privacy Policy sets out every case where your name is shown.
Your account is always yours, not your employer’s. If you leave a site, your account and your credential record stay with you.
7. User Content
Acenda allows users to post on the wall, share images, comment, send direct messages, share knowledge, and take part in community activity, including inside Groups.
You retain ownership of what you post. By posting it, you grant Acenda a non-exclusive, royalty-free, worldwide licence to host, display, reproduce, and distribute that content within the App and in connection with operating and promoting the platform.
Anonymous posts. You can post some things, such as a near miss, anonymously. Your name is not shown, and the link between you and the post is sealed: no member, site, moderator or Acenda administrator can look it up in the App or the console. We would only unseal it if a court or tribunal orders us to. Anonymous posts are still bound by these Terms.
You agree not to post content that:
- Is illegal, harmful, abusive, defamatory, or discriminatory
- Violates intellectual property rights, including copying RTO training materials, employer-owned procedures, or copyrighted medical resources without permission
- Contains spam, misleading claims, or fraudulent material
- Infringes on the privacy or rights of others
- Identifies patients, casualties, or incident subjects without proper authorisation and de-identification
- Breaches confidentiality obligations you owe to your employer, client, or regulator
- Presents unsafe, non-compliant, or out-of-scope practice as acceptable
- Encourages others to act outside their scope of practice or training
Zero tolerance for objectionable content and abusive users.
There is no place on Acenda for objectionable or abusive content, or for people who abuse, harass or threaten others. Every post, comment and message can be reported from the App, and reports are reviewed by our moderators. Content that breaks these Terms is removed, and the people who post it can be suspended or removed from Acenda, without warning for serious breaches.
Blocking. You can block another member from one of their posts or comments, or from a direct message thread. Their posts and comments are hidden from you, and neither of you can message the other. They are not told. You can undo every block at once in Settings, Blocked people.
Don’t be an idiot.
If you’re about to post something and a small voice in your head is asking “should I really post this?”, the answer is probably no. If it would get you in trouble with your employer, your regulator, your RTO, or a court, it will get you in trouble here too.
8. Groups
Groups are spaces within Acenda for a crew, a site, a discipline, or an approved partner.
- Groups are moderated by people Acenda appoints
- Acenda sets the platform rules, and those rules apply inside every Group, no exceptions
- Group moderators are held to the same standards as Acenda’s own moderation, and Acenda can step into any Group at any time
- Content inside Groups is still content under these Terms, everything in Sections 2, 3, and 7 applies
- Joining a Group may be open, or may need approval
A Group partner’s expertise in their discipline is why they have a Group. It does not make their Group a private kingdom, and it does not exempt anyone in it from these Terms.
9. Community Standards
Acenda is built on a human-first philosophy. That means:
- Treat other members with respect, even when you disagree
- Disagree with ideas, not people
- No harassment, bullying, racism, sexism, homophobia, or any other flavour of being a dickhead
- No gatekeeping new or junior members. We were all new once
- No shaming people for asking questions. Asking is how people learn, and learning is why we’re here
- Share knowledge generously, credit sources honestly
- If you see something that breaches these standards, report it. If someone is bothering you, block them
- If you are worried about a mate, tell us in the App. That goes to a support person, not to a moderator
We reserve the right to remove content and suspend or terminate accounts that breach these standards. No warnings required for serious breaches.
10. Events, Competitions, and Prizes
Acenda hosts events, drills, quizzes, and competitions, some of which carry real prizes such as gear, course spots, and vouchers supplied by Acenda or our partners.
- Each competition runs under its own competition terms (entry, eligibility, judging, prizes), published with the competition. By entering, you accept those terms
- Acenda competitions are skill-based. Winners are determined by knowledge, speed, accuracy, or performance as stated in the competition terms, not by chance
- Your display name, score and placing appear on competition boards, which may be shown on a screen at an event
- Prizes are as described, have no cash alternative unless stated, and are not transferable unless stated
- Cheating, account sharing, exploit abuse, or gaming the scoring in any competition gets you disqualified and may get you removed from the platform
- Acenda reserves the right to modify, postpone, or cancel events and competitions, and to verify the eligibility and identity of any winner before awarding a prize
- Some prizes (like course spots) are delivered by partner organisations, and their delivery terms apply once awarded
Any physical training, drill, or simulation activity organised via Acenda is the responsibility of the organising party and participants. Acenda is a platform, not an event operator, training provider, or WHS duty holder for your activity.
11. The Library and Regulations
The Acenda library includes reference material, learning content, and copies of legislation and regulations, including offline packs you can read with no signal.
- Library content is provided for reference and learning. It is not legal advice, and it is not a substitute for the official published versions of any legislation or regulation
- Regulations change. We work to keep library content current, but the authoritative version of any law is always the one published by the relevant government body
- Offline packs are snapshots. If you are relying on a regulation for a real decision, check the current official version
- Your site’s procedures, your employer’s documents, and any official directive always take precedence over anything in the Acenda library
12. Callouts, Alarms and Emergency Broadcasts
Acenda lets a site’s emergency response team call its members out, mark who is on call, and see who has responded, and lets a site send emergency broadcasts. These can arrive on your phone as alarms that sound through silent mode, if you allow critical alerts.
Read this carefully, because it is the most important boundary in these Terms.
Acenda does not replace 000 or any official emergency service.
It is not a triple zero replacement and not a dispatch service, and it does not replace your site’s emergency alarm or notification systems. In any emergency, call 000 first and follow your site’s emergency response procedures. Always.
- Callouts and broadcasts are a communication tool that helps the right people reach each other faster. Nothing more
- We do not guarantee that any callout, alarm, broadcast, message, or notification will be delivered, heard, seen, or acted on. Delivery depends on mobile coverage, on your phone being on and signed in, on your phone’s settings, and on Apple’s and Google’s push services, and coverage on remote sites makes that guarantee impossible for anyone to give
- Every decision to call out, respond, deploy, or stand down sits entirely with the site, its emergency response team, and the people involved, under their own emergency management plans, protocols, and statutory obligations
- Nothing in the App replaces, modifies, or overrides any site’s emergency management plan, any agreement between organisations, or any obligation under WHS or mines safety legislation
- Sites remain fully responsible for their own emergency response arrangements, and for the competence, safety, and conduct of any personnel they deploy
If your site’s emergency plan and something in this App ever appear to point in different directions, your site’s plan wins. Every time.
13. Direct Messages
Acenda provides direct messaging between members. Use it responsibly.
Harassment, abuse, threats, unsolicited sexual content, or using messaging to misrepresent yourself, solicit clinical advice, or extract information you’re not entitled to will result in account suspension or termination.
You can block a member from a direct message thread, which stops messages both ways. Direct messages are between you and the people in the conversation. Acenda may access messages where required by law, to investigate breaches of these Terms, or to protect the safety of the community.
14. Prohibited Activities
You agree not to:
- Use the App for any unlawful purpose
- Attempt to gain unauthorised access to systems, accounts, or data
- Interfere with the App’s functionality or security
- Impersonate another person, employer, regulator, or entity
- Misrepresent your qualifications, role, or credentials
- Send a false or test callout or emergency broadcast to people who have not agreed to it
- Scrape, harvest, or extract data from the App without written permission, including member details from Groups, events, or competitions
- Share your account or use another member’s account, including in competitions
- Use the App to recruit members away from their current employers in breach of any agreement they hold
- Use Acenda content to deliver commercial training without a licence from us
- Use the App in any way that could bring Acenda, HSEC Industries, or the broader emergency response community into disrepute
15. Closing Your Account, Suspension and Termination
You can delete your own account at any time in the App, under Settings, Delete account, or by emailing support@acenda.online. There is a 30 day cool off before anything is erased, and you can cancel during it. Once the erasure runs, you can no longer sign in. Our Delete your account page explains what is erased and what is kept.
We reserve the right to suspend or terminate your account at any time, with or without notice, if you:
- Breach these Terms
- Engage in behaviour that harms the community, the App, or other members
- Misrepresent your credentials or identity
- Cheat in competitions or abuse platform features
- Use the platform to encourage unsafe or out-of-scope practice
16. Intellectual Property
All trademarks, logos, designs, and app content (excluding user-generated content) are the property of Acenda and HSEC Industries Pty Ltd and may not be used without prior written permission. Content contributed by subject matter experts and partners remains theirs, licensed to us for use on the platform.
17. Disclaimer of Warranties
Acenda is provided on an “as is” and “as available” basis. We don’t guarantee uninterrupted or error-free operation. We don’t guarantee that content, including automated answers, is accurate, current, complete, or suitable for any particular purpose. We don’t guarantee message delivery, notification or alarm timing, or offline availability, particularly in areas with limited coverage.
To the maximum extent permitted by the Australian Consumer Law and other applicable law, we exclude all warranties, express or implied.
Nothing in these Terms excludes, restricts, or modifies any consumer guarantee, right, or remedy that cannot lawfully be excluded under the Australian Consumer Law.
18. Limitation of Liability
To the maximum extent permitted by law, Acenda, HSEC Industries Pty Ltd, Lockhart Industries Pty Ltd, their directors, officers, employees, contractors, partners, and content contributors shall not be liable for any direct, indirect, incidental, consequential, special, or punitive damages arising from:
- Your use of, or inability to use, the App
- Any content posted on the App by users, partners, or third parties
- Any action you take, or fail to take, based on content accessed through the App, including automated answers
- Any procedure, technique, or decision you perform or make in reliance on App content, Group content, or conversations with other members
- Any callout, alarm, emergency broadcast, response, non-response, deployment, or stand down connected with the App
- Any reliance on library content, including regulatory material, in place of official published versions
- Any interruption, loss, or corruption of data, or any failure of message, notification, or alarm delivery
Where liability cannot be excluded, our total liability to you is limited to the amount you have paid us (if any) in the 12 months before the event giving rise to the claim.
19. Indemnity
You agree to indemnify and hold harmless Acenda, HSEC Industries Pty Ltd and Lockhart Industries Pty Ltd from any claims, damages, losses, or costs arising from:
- Your breach of these Terms
- Your content
- Your actions taken in reliance on content accessed through the App, particularly any action taken outside your scope of practice, training, or authorisation
- Your misrepresentation of qualifications, credentials, or identity
- Your conduct in any callout, competition, or Group
20. Changes to These Terms
We may update these Terms from time to time. If we make material changes, we’ll let you know through the App. The effective date at the top tells you when they last changed. Continued use after changes means you accept the updated Terms.
21. Governing Law
These Terms are governed by the laws of Western Australia, Australia. You agree to submit to the exclusive jurisdiction of the courts of Western Australia for any dispute arising under these Terms.
22. Contact Us
Questions about these Terms?
Email: support@acenda.online
Operator: HSEC Industries Pty Ltd
Platform owner and store publisher: Lockhart Industries Pty Ltd
App Name: Acenda