The minimum age law: what it asks, and of whom

Where the law sits

The rules are an amendment to the Online Safety Act 2021, made by the Online Safety Amendment (Social Media Minimum Age) Act, which received Royal Assent in December 2024. They now sit in Part 4A of the Online Safety Act. eSafety calls the duty they create the Social Media Minimum Age obligation.

The law applies to age-restricted platforms with material accessible to users in Australia, and the duty is to keep out under-16s who are “ordinarily resident in Australia”. The Act doesn’t define that phrase or set a time threshold, so eSafety notes that international students under 16 living here may find their accounts flagged for an age check.

What platforms are expected to do

eSafety expects age-restricted platforms to take reasonable steps to:

• track down accounts that under-16s already hold, and switch them off or delete them
• prevent under-16s from opening new accounts
• prevent workarounds that would let under-16s get past the restrictions
• correct mistakes, so that no one’s account is removed unfairly.

Platforms should also give people a clear way to report an underage account, and a way to ask for a review if they were restricted by mistake. Before an account is deactivated or removed, a platform is expected to tell its under-16 user how to download their account information.

“Reasonable steps”, in eSafety’s words, means platforms “have to act to enforce the restrictions in a way that is just and appropriate in the circumstances”. eSafety accepts that fair and accurate age checks may take days or even weeks, and may need more than one check over time. The details for platforms are in eSafety’s regulatory guidance.

What it does not ask of families

An under-16 with an account on an age-restricted platform has done nothing unlawful, and neither the child nor the family can be fined or charged with a crime over it. eSafety’s FAQ is plain about the purpose: “This is about protecting young people, not punishing or isolating them.”

Nobody has to report an under-16 who is on social media: there is no mandatory reporting for parents, educators or police. Anyone may still report an account to the platform, which can help it see how age checks are being got around.

Because no fines apply to children or families, eSafety says any request to pay a fine for being on social media under 16 is a scam, and not to pay.

Penalties

For conduct from 12 September 2026, when the Strengthening Enforcement Act took effect, a court that finds a platform has not taken reasonable steps can order civil penalties of up to 300,000 penalty units for a corporation. eSafety’s FAQs, updated 30 September 2026, put that at $109.2 million.

The “Online Safety Amendment (Strengthening Enforcement for the Social Media Minimum Age) Bill 2026” passed both Houses on 10 September 2026 and received assent on 11 September 2026. The Act took effect the day after assent. Parliament describes it as widening the information eSafety can demand and raising the civil penalties for platforms that fall short. eSafety adds that it can now require information from platforms and from relevant third parties such as age assurance providers and app store operators, and can require people to answer questions in a compliance investigation.

The dates that matter

1. November 2024The Social Media Minimum Age Bill is introduced to Parliament and passed.
2. December 2024The Bill receives Royal Assent and becomes an Act.
3. 30 July 2025The Minister for Communications makes the legislative rules setting out which kinds of service are excluded.
4. 16 September 2025eSafety publishes its regulatory guidance for platforms.
5. November 2025eSafety publishes lists of services it considers are, and are not, age-restricted.
6. 10 December 2025The age restrictions come into effect.
7. 16 January 2026eSafety reports that, by the middle of December 2025, age-restricted platforms had removed access to 4.7 million accounts held by under-16s in Australia.
8. 25 March 2026The Minister amends the rules. eSafety re-assesses the platforms already identified and finds its view unchanged.
9. 31 March 2026eSafety publishes a compliance update on the first three months.
10. 31 July 2026eSafety publishes Early days, early insights, on the experiences of children and parents three months in.
11. 10–12 September 2026The strengthening enforcement Bill passes both Houses and receives assent, and the Act takes effect the next day, raising the maximum civil penalty.
12. By 10 December 2027Within two years of the law taking effect, the Minister must initiate an independent review of how it operates.

What sits alongside it

The age restrictions are one of several protections. Separate industry codes registered by eSafety aim to keep pornography and other material unsuitable for their age away from under-18s; the last of them came into effect on 9 March 2026. eSafety also investigates complaints about cyberbullying of children, adult cyber abuse, image-based abuse and illegal and restricted content. Mark 5 of this guide covers the cyberbullying scheme.

“The social media age restrictions will not eliminate every risk that children face online, and the risks will not simply disappear when a child turns 16.”

That is eSafety’s own line, and it goes on to say it will keep helping people of all ages use online services as safely as possible, and get help if they are harmed.