The Albanese Government is taking significant steps towards online safety by legislating a digital duty of care. This initiative aims to place the responsibility of proactively ensuring the safety of Australians on digital platforms, thereby preventing online harms. The duty of care model is a key recommendation of the independent statutory review of the Online Safety Act 2021, undertaken by Ms Delia Rickard PSM.

The legislated duty is designed to future-proof the Online Safety Act, placing legal responsibility on tech companies to ensure the safety of Australians. The duty of care aligns with approaches in the United Kingdom and the European Union, requiring digital platforms to take reasonable steps to prevent foreseeable harms on their platforms and services.

The framework will be underpinned by risk assessment and risk mitigation, and informed by safety-by-design principles. The changes will place proactive obligations on platforms under the Online Safety Act, and work with the existing complaint and removal schemes for illegal and harmful material that currently exists under the Act.

The Albanese Government has also decided to legislate a minimum age of 16 for access to social media, complementing the duty of care. The Government is considering the recommendations made as part of the independent statutory review to ensure appropriate protections are in place to combat new and emerging online harms.

Minister for Communications, the Hon Michelle Rowland MP, stated, "The Albanese Government is committed to keeping Australians safe online. Online services operating in Australia can do more to proactively protect their users – which is why our Government is developing a Digital Duty of Care. The duty of care will put the onus on industry to prevent online harms at a systemic level, instead of individuals having to 'enter at their own risk'. Australia’s online safety laws are world-leading, but they aren’t a set-and-forget. We brought forward the review of the Online Safety Act to ensure it is fit-for-purpose. Legislating a duty of care is a key step in delivering on the review and ensuring greater protections for all Australians online."