MDDI’s Response to PQ on Review of Australia’s Social Media Minimum Age Regulations

Parliament Sitting on 13 January 2026

Question for Oral Answer

11. Mr Vikram Nair: To ask the Minister for Digital Development and Information (a) whether the Ministry has completed its review of the Australian government's move to ban social media access for individuals under the age of 16 through legislation; and (b) if so, whether the Ministry will consider introducing similar legislation.

Answer
Australia's social media minimum age regulations came into effect on 10 December 2025. MDDI is actively engaging our Australian counterparts and assessing the effectiveness of the measures in Australia.

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   Meanwhile, we have progressively introduced measures to better protect our children when they go online.

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   We have imposed age assurance requirements on designated app stores, to reduce the likelihood of under-18 users accessing and downloading age-inappropriate apps of all types, beyond just social media apps. Designated app stores are expected to implement these age assurance measures by 31 March 2026.

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   We also plan to extend age assurance requirements to designated social media services to reduce children's exposure to age-inappropriate content on social media platforms. The age assurance measures will come on top of the existing protective measures for children under the current Code of Practice for Online Safety - Social Media Services. Consultations with designated social media services are ongoing.

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   We acknowledge parental concerns about the impact of social media on their children as well as the potential implementation challenges of age assurance requirements. There is no silver bullet. A child can still circumvent these measures, such as through using an adult's account to access age-inappropriate content. This is why MDDI will continue to work with partners from the people, private, and public sectors, to co-create resources and programmes that are convenient and accessible for parents, to help them guide their children to foster healthy digital habits from young.