Acceptable Use Policy

1. Purpose and scope

This Policy forms part of the agreement for Alder telecommunications services. It applies to the Account Holder, Authorised Users and anyone who uses an Alder service with the Account Holder’s permission or through equipment connected to that service.

It is not intended to restrict ordinary web browsing, streaming, gaming, cloud services, remote work, backups, software updates, self-hosting that is compatible with the selected service, or other legitimate uses merely because they consume substantial data. Where a plan is sold as unlimited, Alder does not impose an undisclosed routine data cap.

2. Responsibility for use

The Account Holder is responsible for taking reasonable steps to secure account credentials, customer-controlled network equipment and devices. You are not automatically responsible for sophisticated third-party attacks you could not reasonably prevent, but you must cooperate with reasonable remediation where a device or service is compromised and creating a material risk.

Business customers must ensure staff and guests using the service are subject to appropriate internal access and security controls.

3. Unlawful and seriously harmful activity

You must not knowingly use an Alder service to commit, facilitate or materially assist unlawful conduct. This includes fraud, extortion, unlawful threats, trafficking, distribution of unlawful child-abuse material, serious harassment, unlawful surveillance, deliberate interference with another person’s systems, or other conduct prohibited by Australian law.

Alder does not monitor all customer communications for legality. We may act when we become aware of credible evidence, a lawful direction, a valid abuse report or technical indicators that reasonably require intervention.

4. Security attacks and unauthorised access

You must not use the service to:

• gain or attempt to gain unauthorised access to accounts, systems, networks or data;
• conduct denial-of-service attacks or deliberate resource exhaustion;
• scan or probe systems in a manner intended to exploit or disrupt them without authorisation;
• circumvent authentication, access controls or security restrictions for an unlawful or unauthorised purpose;
• spoof source information for fraud or malicious activity; or
• operate infrastructure whose principal purpose is credential theft, malware distribution or command-and-control.

Legitimate security testing of systems you own or are authorised to test is not prohibited merely because it uses scanning or penetration-testing tools, provided it does not materially disrupt Alder or third-party networks.

5. Malware, botnets and compromised devices

If Alder reasonably believes a service or connected device is participating in malware distribution, command-and-control, botnet traffic or another material security incident, we may notify the customer, block specific malicious destinations, restrict affected traffic or take another proportionate protective action.

Where customer action can remediate the problem, we will explain the required action where reasonably practicable. Persistent compromised traffic after reasonable notice may justify broader restriction if needed to protect customers or networks.

6. Spam, phishing, scams and messaging abuse

You must not use an Alder service to send unlawful unsolicited commercial electronic messages, phishing communications, fraudulent messages, scam traffic or bulk messages that breach applicable spam or telecommunications rules. You must not deliberately evade reasonable anti-spam or abuse controls.

High-volume legitimate communications should use a service designed for that purpose and comply with applicable consent, sender-identification and unsubscribe requirements.

7. Intellectual property and unlawful content

You must not knowingly use the service to distribute content in a manner that infringes intellectual-property rights or breaches a lawful court order or statutory restriction. Alder will respond to legally valid notices and directions in accordance with applicable law.

Alder does not adjudicate private copyright disputes merely because a third party makes an unsupported allegation. We may refer complainants to the appropriate legal process where evidence or authority is insufficient.

8. Network resource abuse and fair use

Heavy data use is not, by itself, abuse of an unlimited plan. However, a customer must not deliberately use a consumer service in a way that materially and persistently degrades shared network stability for other users, attempts to defeat technical limits disclosed for the service, or uses automated traffic primarily to create network load without a legitimate purpose.

If unusual use creates a genuine technical risk, Alder will investigate the cause and, where reasonably possible, contact the customer before imposing a persistent restriction. Network-management practices are described separately in the Network Management & Fair Use Policy.

9. Hosting, servers and business use

Alder does not prohibit a customer from using ordinary remote-access, VPN, home-automation, camera, gaming-server or development services merely because they accept inbound connections. Whether public hosting is suitable depends on the plan, addressing, security and technical design.

Customers running publicly reachable services are responsible for patching, authentication, access control and legal compliance. Services that need business-grade availability, static addressing, inbound policy control or higher support commitments should use an appropriate Alder business product.

10. Identity, SIM, eSIM and account abuse

You must not misuse SIMs, eSIM credentials, mobile numbers, support PINs, authentication codes or another customer’s identity. Prohibited conduct includes unauthorised SIM replacement, fraudulent mobile-number porting, account takeover, impersonating an authorised customer, or inducing Alder staff to bypass identity controls.

Alder may apply stronger verification or temporarily block a high-risk account action where fraud is suspected.

11. Alder-managed equipment and configuration

You must not intentionally disable, bypass or tamper with a security or management control on Alder-managed equipment where doing so creates a material network, security or support risk. This does not prevent a customer from asking Alder to change supported settings or from using customer-owned equipment where the service permits it.

If a customer chooses to operate outside the managed configuration, Alder may explain that particular managed features or support outcomes can no longer be provided.

12. Investigation and proportionate enforcement

When investigating suspected abuse, Alder may review network metadata, service logs, security alerts, abuse reports and other information permitted by law and our Privacy Policy. We aim to use the least disruptive effective response.

Possible responses include:

1. customer notification and advice;
2. requesting remediation within a reasonable timeframe;
3. blocking a specific malicious destination, port or traffic pattern;
4. temporarily restricting the affected function;
5. suspending a service where lesser measures are inadequate; or
6. terminating a service in serious or persistent cases where permitted by law and the contract.

We take customer vulnerability, safety, payment-assistance and complaint protections into account before action where they are relevant.

13. Immediate protective action

Alder may take immediate action without prior notice where delay would create an unreasonable risk of serious harm, active fraud, significant network disruption, ongoing cyberattack, unlawful activity, emergency risk or breach of a lawful direction. We will document the reason and notify the affected customer as soon as reasonably appropriate unless prohibited by law.

14. Reporting abuse or security concerns

Report suspected network abuse, fraudulent use, compromised accounts, phishing or other security concerns to [email protected] or through Alder support. Include enough information to identify the affected service, time and nature of the issue, but do not send passwords or full payment-card details.

15. Review, disputed enforcement and complaints

If you believe Alder has incorrectly restricted or suspended a service under this Policy, contact support and provide the relevant details. We will review available evidence and reverse an incorrect restriction where appropriate. You may make a complaint under the Complaints Handling Policy.