Australia Digital Duty of Care Bill
Introduced in the House October 15, 2026; second reading moved; Senate committee report due November 20, 2026
Makes social media and sites with porn check ages, which means checking every user, and lets the eSafety Commissioner run fake accounts.
Latest update
Introduced and read a first time in the House of Representatives by Communications Minister Anika Wells; second reading moved
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Read the full billOfficial bill recordKey facts
- Where
- Australia
- Bill number
- r7553 (48th Parliament)
- Status
- In progress
- Introduced
- October 15, 2026
- Threat
- High
- Last update
- October 15, 2026
Topics
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What it does
Filed October 15, 2026 by Communications Minister Anika Wells. It puts a broad "duty of care" on online services, from social media to search engines and AI tools. Sites where a child could reach porn must check ages and block anyone not confirmed as an adult. Social media must keep feeds, like counts and disappearing posts from under-16s. eSafety can run fake accounts, order search engines to delete links within 24 hours, and becomes a Privacy Act "enforcement body". Fines reach about A$109.2 million.
What’s at stake
To keep features from under-16s, a platform must first know who is under 16. That means checking the age of every user, adults included. Platforms must also police a vague category of material that "may cause serious harm to children" and, by law, cannot weigh cost when deciding what to do. That pushes them to remove lawful speech.
Our take
We oppose this bill. It makes age checks the price of using social media and reaching lawful adult material, lets a regulator operate under false names, and backs vague rules with nine-figure fines. The final version drops the Minister's power to invent new harms, and that does not fix the rest.
Timeline
Senate Environment and Communications Legislation Committee report dueUpcoming
Introduced and read a first time in the House of Representatives by Communications Minister Anika Wells; second reading movedLatest
Referred to the Senate Environment and Communications Legislation Committee; report due November 20, 2026
Opposition Sen. Sarah Henderson released a statement calling the draft a political censorship bill that opens the door to covert surveillance
Consultation on the exposure draft closed
Government announced draft legislation for targeted consultation
The record
Sponsor
Anika Wells, Minister for Communications (Australian Labor Party)
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