Australia Digital Duty of Care (Consultation Draft)
Exposure draft consultation closed September 22, 2026; not yet introduced
A government draft that makes platforms determine users' ages, lets the eSafety Commissioner, Australia's online censor, run fake accounts on social media, and lets the Minister widen the list of material platforms must police.
Latest update
Opposition Sen. Sarah Henderson released a statement calling the draft a political censorship bill that opens the door to covert surveillance
The bill
Official bill recordKey facts
- Where
- Australia
- Status
- Draft
- Threat
- High
- Last update
- September 28, 2026
Topics
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What it does
The Online Safety Amendment (Digital Duty of Care) Bill 2026 was released as an exposure draft on September 8, 2026, and comments closed September 22. It requires certain design features to be switched off for users under 16, which means platforms must determine the age of all their users. New sections 205G to 205L let the eSafety Commissioner and "approved researchers" create accounts under false identities, record material and engage with users, and let the Commissioner generate content, including with AI; these powers apply "despite anything to the contrary in any other law" and come with civil immunity for good-faith acts. Section 25C(2) lets the Minister add, by instrument, any material "that the Minister is satisfied may cause serious harm" to the harms platforms must address. The government's announcement also describes a choice of personalized or followed-account feeds, documented risk controls, eSafety enforcement and penalties up to A$109.2 million, with parliamentary introduction planned for later in 2026.
What’s at stake
The under-16 feature duty turns into an age check on adults, since a platform cannot switch features off for minors without sorting everyone first. The sock-puppet powers put a government regulator inside ordinary online conversations under false names, and the Minister's power to add harms by instrument lets the scope of policed speech grow without a new act of Parliament. Broad duties backed by nine-figure penalties push platforms to remove lawful speech to limit enforcement risk.
Our take
We oppose this draft. A regulator allowed to pose as ordinary users, generate content and override any other law has become a covert surveillance operation, and a Minister who can declare new categories of harm by instrument controls what platforms take down. Feed choice does not offset any of it. The draft is separate from the private senator's Fix Our Feeds bill.
Timeline
Opposition Sen. Sarah Henderson released a statement calling the draft a political censorship bill that opens the door to covert surveillanceLatest
Consultation on the exposure draft closed
Government announced draft legislation for targeted consultation
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