Age Verification at the Center of Australia’s New eSafety Industry Codes

Herbert Smith Freehills Kramer reports that Australia’s eSafety Commissioner has registered nine new industry codes aimed at reducing children’s exposure to harmful online content, including the implementation of age verification. The measures expand existing frameworks, which already addressed illegal material such as child exploitation and pro-terrorism content, to cover class 1C and class 2 material now. This includes pornography, deepfakes, simulated gambling, and content depicting self-harm.

The nine Codes apply across different online sectors, including hosting services, internet carriage services, search engines, social media platforms (both core and messaging functions), app stores, equipment providers, and designated internet services. Each sector faces obligations tailored to its role and risk profile, but all must adopt stronger safeguards to ensure effective protection.

A central feature is the requirement for robust age assurance. The eSafety Commissioner has stated that self-declaration is insufficient; instead, acceptable methods include photo ID checks, credit card verification, or the use of AI-based age estimation tools. Additional obligations include restricting downloads of apps containing class 1C or class 2 material, providing accessible parental controls with appropriate default settings, and employing filtering, blocking, or blurring tools to intercept harmful content before it reaches users.

The Codes take effect in two phases: hosting, carriage, and search services must comply by December 27, 2025, while the remaining six sectors must comply by March 9, 2026. Non-compliance carries penalties of up to AUD$9.9 million.

For compliance teams, the immediate priority is assessing readiness to implement age verification technologies while balancing obligations under the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth). As Herbert Smith Freehills Kramer highlights, alignment with privacy requirements will be essential, particularly given ongoing concerns about the intrusiveness of age assurance tools.