More than ever, Australians are connecting online to work, stay in touch with friends and family and to access a variety of online services and content.

While there are many benefits offered by the online world, there are also risks. The types of harms people can encounter online include: cyberbullying and serious online abuse, image-based abuse and exposure to illegal or harmful content.

Everyone has a role to play in maintaining online safety.

We lead policy development for online safety, with the aim of supporting Australians to have safe online experiences and putting protections in place to mitigate the risks of Australians being exposed to harmful online material.

The eSafety Commissioner is the main point of contact for the public on online safety. eSafety works to promote safer, more positive online experiences and has powers to protect all Australians from serious online abuse.

The Australian Government takes a coordinated approach to protecting Australians from all online harms, including cyber security and online safety matters. To find out more about where to go for advice or how to report an issue, visit the Department of Home Affairs’ directory.

Current legislation

Australia’s online safety framework changed in January 2022 with the commencement of the Online Safety Act 2021.

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Support for online safety

The Australian Government seeks to promote an online environment in which Australians have positive online interactions, and to put measures in place that address harmful online content and behaviours.

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eSafety Commissioner

The eSafety Commissioner supports individuals and promotes online safety for all Australians.

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Policies

6 January 2023
Certain types of developments may be exempt from the requirements to install fibre-ready pit and pipe under Part 20A of the Telecommunications Act 1997.
19 October 2020
The ACCC has declared a layer 2-bitstream service. This service is called the local bitstream access service (LBAS). The ACCC declared the LBAS in February 2012, and subsequently made a final access determination for the LBAS declaration.
16 December 2015
Before You Dig is Australia’s free referral service for information on the location of underground infrastructure.
15 November 2013
Illegal and offensive online content is regulated through the Online Content Scheme under Schedule 5 and 7 of the Broadcasting Services Act 1992 through a complaints-based mechanism.