Acceptable Use Policy

1. Purpose of this policy

Gumshoe exists to help businesses verify suppliers and conduct legitimate due diligence. Because our data includes information about real people — particularly sole traders, whose ABN records contain personal names and addresses — responsible use is essential. This policy sets out what you may and may not do with the service.

This policy forms part of Gumshoe's Terms of Service. By using Gumshoe, you agree to both documents.

2. Permitted uses

Gumshoe is designed and permitted for:

• Legitimate business due diligence before entering into supplier relationships
• Supplier onboarding and procurement compliance checks
• Fraud prevention and internal risk management
• Checking that a business entity is active, validly registered, and located where represented
• Compliance with internal procurement or risk policies
• Verifying contact details before making payment to a new supplier

3. Prohibited uses

You must not use Gumshoe to:

• Stalk, harass, or surveil individuals — including sole traders. The fact that a person's name and address appear in a public register does not make it acceptable to use that information to locate, monitor, or contact them outside of a genuine business context.
• Scrape Gumshoe's own platform — bulk or automated extraction of data from gumshoe.au using scripts, bots, or any method that mimics or bypasses normal use is prohibited.
• Resell or redistribute verification results commercially — you may share a report internally for procurement purposes, but you may not sell, licence, or redistribute Gumshoe reports or underlying data to third parties.
• Use Phone checks for any purpose other than good-faith supplier verification — Phone checks place an automated recorded call to a supplier's published number. They must not be used to harass, impersonate, or gather information outside of a legitimate verification context.
• Circumvent rate limits or access controls — attempting to exceed your account's allocated usage, bypass authentication, or otherwise subvert the service's technical controls is prohibited.
• Compile lists of individuals for unsolicited contact — Gumshoe must not be used to build contact lists, mailing lists, or databases of individuals (including sole traders) for the purpose of cold outreach, marketing, or canvassing.
• Breach the Privacy Act — any use that would constitute an interference with the privacy of an individual under the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth) is prohibited.
• Any unlawful purpose — including identity fraud, competitor intelligence gathering disguised as supplier verification, or any use that violates Australian law.

4. Sole trader records and the Privacy Act

ABN records for sole traders may include personal names and business addresses registered with the Australian Business Register. Gumshoe treats this as personal information under the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth).

If your verification result relates to a sole trader, you must:

• Use the information only for the stated procurement or due-diligence purpose
• Not share it beyond the internal team members who need it for that purpose
• Store it securely and delete it when no longer needed for that purpose
• Not use it for any secondary purpose without the individual's consent

5. Rate limits and enterprise bulk use

API and verify requests are rate-limited per account to ensure fair access and prevent systematic bulk extraction. Rate limits are enforced server-side and will not be removed for individual accounts.

If you have a legitimate enterprise need for higher-volume bulk verification, contact us at hello@gumshoe.au to discuss an Enterprise arrangement. We will not grant higher limits for purposes that conflict with this policy.

6. Report sharing

Gumshoe allows you to generate shareable report links. Shared links should only be sent to colleagues or stakeholders who need the information for the same legitimate business purpose. Do not post shared report links publicly or share them with parties who have no legitimate need for the information.

7. Consequences of misuse

Breaching this policy may result in:

• Immediate suspension or termination of your account without refund
• Demand for return or destruction of data obtained in breach of this policy
• Notification to relevant authorities, including the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC), the Australian Federal Police, or ASIC, where the breach involves serious or criminal conduct
• Civil action to recover loss or damage

8. Reporting misuse

If you become aware of, or suspect, misuse of Gumshoe's platform — including by another user — please report it to abuse@gumshoe.au. Reports are treated confidentially.