Internet & Online Safety · Australia
Online safety & content laws in Australia (2026)
Australia shaded by its internet & online safety status
Online safety rules in Australia: comprehensive law, under Online Safety Act 2021 (Cth), administered by the eSafety Commissioner, as amended by the Online Safety Amendment (Social Media Minimum Age) Act 2024.
Australia has a comprehensive, regulator-led online safety regime under the Online Safety Act 2021, enforced by the independent eSafety Commissioner with takedown powers, statutory complaint schemes, Basic Online Safety Expectations and mandatory industry codes/standards. As of 10 December 2025 a world-first social media minimum age of 16 requires designated platforms to take 'reasonable steps' to prevent under-16 accounts, and Phase 2 'Age-Restricted Material Codes' impose age-assurance defaults across search engines, app stores and adult-content services.
Key points
The Online Safety Act 2021 gives the eSafety Commissioner powers to investigate complaints and order removal of cyberbullying of children, adult cyber abuse, image-based abuse, and illegal/restricted content, backed by the Basic Online Safety Expectations applying to social media, messaging, gaming and app services.
The Online Safety Amendment (Social Media Minimum Age) Act 2024 requires age-restricted platforms (including Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, TikTok, X, YouTube, Reddit, Twitch, Kick, Threads) to take 'reasonable steps' to stop under-16s holding accounts; the obligation took effect 10 December 2025.
Platforms that fail to take reasonable steps to prevent under-16 accounts face court-ordered civil penalties of up to 150,000 penalty units (about AUD 49.5 million); there are no penalties for children or their parents.
eSafety released regulatory guidance on reasonable steps on 16 September 2025 and reported that age-restricted platforms removed access to about 4.7 million under-16 accounts across Australia by mid-December 2025.
Phase 2 Age-Restricted Material Codes require age assurance and safety defaults: search-engine codes (in effect 27 December 2025) blur pornography and high-impact violence by default, and a further six codes covering app stores, social media, messaging and adult-content sites take effect from 9 March 2026, replacing 'click I am 18' self-declaration.
The Act lets eSafety register industry-developed codes for managing illegal and restricted (class 1/class 2) content and, where codes are inadequate, impose mandatory industry standards, covering carriage, hosting, search, app distribution, social media, electronic and internet services.
Timeline - major decisions & events
Age-restricted platforms (Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, Snapchat, X, YouTube, Reddit and others) must take reasonable steps to stop under-16s from holding accounts, with fines up to ~A$50 million. Australia became the first country to enforce a minimum social media age.
eSafety Commissioner ↗eSafety registered six additional industry codes covering app distribution platforms, social media services, equipment providers and other services to limit children's access to online pornography and high-impact (Class 1C/Class 2) material, commencing 9 March 2026.
eSafety Commissioner ↗Codes for internet carriage, hosting and search engine services regarding Class 1C and Class 2 material were added to the register, commencing 27 December 2025, extending the co-regulatory scheme to age-restricted content.
eSafety Commissioner ↗Parliament passed legislation establishing a minimum age of 16 for accounts on age-restricted social media platforms, amending the Online Safety Act 2021 and setting up the world-first ban that later took effect in December 2025.
Federal Register of Legislation ↗After a court refused a longer-term injunction, the Commissioner dropped proceedings seeking global removal of the Wakeley church stabbing video, opting instead for merits review, a high-profile test of the limits of Australia's removal-notice powers.
eSafety Commissioner ↗In [2024] FCA 499 the Federal Court declined to extend an injunction requiring X to globally block 65 links to the Wakeley stabbing footage, finding eSafety had not established that worldwide removal was a 'reasonable step.'
eSafety Commissioner ↗The Act took effect, giving eSafety stronger removal powers (including a new adult cyber-abuse scheme and faster takedown times), and the Basic Online Safety Expectations Determination set enforceable transparency obligations on platforms.
eSafety Commissioner ↗Parliament passed the Online Safety Act 2021, consolidating eSafety's powers into a single modern statute and expanding its remit to image-based abuse and serious adult cyber-abuse alongside child cyberbullying.
Federal Register of Legislation ↗The government expanded the office's remit beyond children to protect all Australians from online harm, renaming it the eSafety Commissioner, a key step toward today's whole-of-population regulator.
Dept of Infrastructure (Australian Govt) ↗The Enhancing Online Safety for Children Act 2015 created Australia's first dedicated online safety regulator and a complaints-based scheme to require removal of serious cyberbullying material targeting children.
Dept of Infrastructure (Australian Govt) ↗Australia's foundational internet content law amended the Broadcasting Services Act 1992 to create a co-regulatory complaints and classification regime (administered by ACMA), establishing the model later modernised by the Online Safety Act.
Federal Register of Legislation ↗Australia - other topics
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Last verified 5/23/2026 · Orientation, not legal advice - verify against the primary sources linked above. Methodology & how to cite · Explore the full world map →