Australia Senate reviews Digital Duty of Care Bill 2026

The Australian Senate is reviewing the Online Safety Amendment (Digital Duty of Care) Bill 2026, which proposes significant changes to online safety regulations. The legislation includes targeted measures to allow the eSafety Commissioner to order the removal of apps designed to generate fake nude images and require search engines to delist abusive or intimate material.

Beyond these targeted changes, the bill introduces a broad “digital duty of care” framework intended to replace existing online content codes and standards. This new framework would apply to most online services used in Australia and could carry civil penalties of up to approximately $109 million per contravention.

Stakeholders have provided feedback on the bill. The Consumer Choice Center expressed support for measures against non-consensual intimate images and child sexual abuse material but voiced skepticism regarding the broad, open-ended nature of the duty of care model, citing concerns over regulatory discretion. Meanwhile, Scarlet Alliance, the national peak body for sex workers in Australia, submitted feedback as part of a broader inquiry involving health and civil liberties organizations.