Overview
- The government this week moved to amend the Online Safety Act to let eSafety demand documents from platforms and third‑party age‑assurance providers and to raise the maximum fine to A$99 million.
- Coalition and Greens senators referred those amendments to an eight‑week Senate inquiry, creating a formal delay and prompting public criticism from Prime Minister Anthony Albanese.
- Regulator and academic reports show wide non‑compliance since the ban took effect in December 2025, with studies finding roughly 80–85% of under‑16s still accessing major platforms using self‑declared ages, shared accounts, VPNs or private browsers.
- Julie Inman‑Grant, the eSafety commissioner, has said current powers are insufficient, has signalled possible court action against platforms, and the government warns the inquiry pause could let companies avoid scrutiny.
- The debate highlights a wider trade‑off between stronger enforcement that may require invasive age checks and alternative approaches such as limiting addictive features, with other countries and polls closely watching Australia’s experiment.