This bill is currently before Parliament.
Transport & communications
The bill would repeal and reverse the changes made by the Online Safety Amendment (Social Media Minimum Age) Act 2024The existing law the repeal bill targets. It created the social media minimum age framework that this bill would unwind. to the Online Safety Act 2021The main Commonwealth law this bill would amend. The 2024 social media minimum age law inserted the under-16 framework into it, and this bill would remove those changes. and the Age Discrimination Act 2004A Commonwealth anti-discrimination law. The repeal bill would remove the related amendment made to it by the 2024 social media minimum age law..
The bill was introduced to unwind the 2024 social media minimum age law before, or around, its practical rollout. The explanatory memorandum says the bill's purpose is to repeal and reverse the 2024 amendments to the Online Safety ActThe main Commonwealth law this bill would amend. The 2024 social media minimum age law inserted the under-16 framework into it, and this bill would remove those changes. and Age Discrimination ActA Commonwealth anti-discrimination law. The repeal bill would remove the related amendment made to it by the 2024 social media minimum age law., while Senator Babet's speech framed repeal as a response to privacy, data-security, rights and enforceability concerns about requiring platforms to identify and remove under-16 users.
The bill sits in the dispute over Australia's world-first social media minimum age law, which was announced in 2024 and aimed to keep children under 16 off major platforms. As implementation approached, public reporting focused on platform obligations, age-assurance technology, account deactivation, uncertainty about scope and later enforcement problems; the repeal bill responded from the opposite direction by proposing to remove the 2024 scheme altogether.
The collected material does not include later parliamentary debate against this repeal bill, divisions, amendments or a committee report. The main policy tension in the source bundle is indirect: supporters of the existing under-16 ban wanted platforms held to account, while the bill's sponsor argued the ban itself was unworkable and harmful to rights and privacy.
Senator Ralph Babet introduced this bill. Supportive speeches so far have come from UAP.
Did it become law?
Not yet
Final passage
No final vote yet
The bill has not yet completed passage through Parliament.
Days since introduction
197 days
Updated 10 June 2026.
Meaning
The bill would repeal and reverse the changes made by the Online Safety Amendment (Social Media Minimum Age) Act 2024The existing law the repeal bill targets. It created the social media minimum age framework that this bill would unwind. to the Online Safety Act 2021The main Commonwealth law this bill would amend. The 2024 social media minimum age law inserted the under-16 framework into it, and this bill would remove those changes. and the Age Discrimination Act 2004A Commonwealth anti-discrimination law. The repeal bill would remove the related amendment made to it by the 2024 social media minimum age law..
It would remove the Online Safety ActThe main Commonwealth law this bill would amend. The 2024 social media minimum age law inserted the under-16 framework into it, and this bill would remove those changes. definitions of an age-restricted social media platformA platform covered by the social media minimum age rules. The bill would remove this definition from the Online Safety Act. and an age-restricted userA user covered by the social media minimum age rules. The bill would remove this definition from the Online Safety Act..
It would repeal Part 4AThe part of the Online Safety Act that contains the main social media minimum age restrictions and penalties. The bill would repeal it. of the Online Safety ActThe main Commonwealth law this bill would amend. The 2024 social media minimum age law inserted the under-16 framework into it, and this bill would remove those changes., which is the main part containing the social media minimum age restrictions and penalties.
It would remove related minimum-age functions and powers from the eSafety CommissionerThe online safety regulator responsible for administering parts of the Online Safety Act, including the social media minimum age scheme the bill seeks to repeal., including provisions that refer to age-restricted social media platforms.
It would repeal the related Age Discrimination ActA Commonwealth anti-discrimination law. The repeal bill would remove the related amendment made to it by the 2024 social media minimum age law. amendment made for the social media minimum age scheme.
If passed, the whole repeal Act would start on the day it receives Royal AssentThe final formal approval needed after both houses pass a bill. This bill says its repeal would start on the day it receives Royal Assent.. The collected APH material records the bill as before the Senate, not as passed or assented to.
The purpose of this bill is to repeal and reverse all the amendments made to the Online Safety Act 2021 and the Age Discrimination Act 2004 by the Online Safety Amendment (Social Media Minimum Age) Act 2024.Social Media Minimum Age Repeal explanatory memorandum
Section 5 (definition of age-restricted social media platform) Repeal the definition. Section 5 (definition of age-restricted user) Repeal the definition.Social Media Minimum Age Repeal introduced bill text
Part 1 of Schedule 1 repeals each of the amendments which the Online Safety Amendment (Social Media Minimum Age) Act 2024 made to the Online Safety Act 2021, including repealing Part 4A of that Act which sets out the main social media minimum age restrictions and penalties.Social Media Minimum Age Repeal explanatory memorandum
performing various functions relating to the social media minimum age provisions in Part 4A ... Paragraphs 27(1)(qa) and (qb) Repeal the paragraphs ... Section 222A Repeal the section ... Section 239B Repeal the section.Social Media Minimum Age Repeal introduced bill text
Part 2 of Schedule 1 repeals the consequential amendment which the Online Safety Amendment (Social Media Minimum Age) Act 2024 made to the Age Discrimination Act 2004.Social Media Minimum Age Repeal explanatory memorandum
This clause provides that the whole of this Act will commence on the day the Act receives the Royal Assent.Social Media Minimum Age Repeal explanatory memorandum
Context
The bill sits in the dispute over Australia's world-first social media minimum age law, which was announced in 2024 and aimed to keep children under 16 off major platforms. As implementation approached, public reporting focused on platform obligations, age-assurance technology, account deactivation, uncertainty about scope and later enforcement problems; the repeal bill responded from the opposite direction by proposing to remove the 2024 scheme altogether.
Government announces an under-16 social media ban
The Prime Minister and Communications Minister announced world-first rules intended to stop children under 16 accessing social media, with platforms given a year to prepare and facing large fines for non-compliance.
Australian Financial Review ↗Parliament passes the 2024 minimum age lawThe existing law the repeal bill targets. It created the social media minimum age framework that this bill would unwind.
Senator Babet's second-reading speech says Parliament passed the Online Safety Amendment (Social Media Minimum Age) Bill 2024 late in 2024 after curtailed debate.
Second reading speech ↗Government sets platform compliance expectations
The government outlined expectations that platforms detect underage users, stop users bypassing the ban and provide appeals for people wrongly deactivated.
Australian Financial Review ↗Implementation concerns grow before commencement
Public reporting described the ban as criticised for being unworkable and unclear, with less than 60 days before commencement and uncertainty about the final platform list.
Australian Financial Review ↗Platforms describe account-deactivation plans
Meta, TikTok and Snap executives outlined high-level compliance steps at a Senate hearing, including account-freezing options and mechanisms for reporting underage users.
Australian Financial Review ↗Repeal bill introduced in the Senate
Senator Ralph Babet introduced the Social Media Minimum Age Repeal Bill 2025 to reverse the 2024 amendments to the Online Safety ActThe main Commonwealth law this bill would amend. The 2024 social media minimum age law inserted the under-16 framework into it, and this bill would remove those changes. and Age Discrimination ActA Commonwealth anti-discrimination law. The repeal bill would remove the related amendment made to it by the 2024 social media minimum age law..
Parliament of Australia ↗Existing minimum age law begins operating
The collected public-context articles described Australia's social media age restrictions as starting on 10 December 2025, with age-gate technology intended to block under-16 users ordinarily resident in Australia.
Australian Financial Review ↗Enforcement problems remain in public debate
Later reporting said the government acknowledged more work was needed and that the eSafety CommissionerThe online safety regulator responsible for administering parts of the Online Safety Act, including the social media minimum age scheme the bill seeks to repeal. was investigating whether platforms were taking reasonable steps to detect and deactivate under-16 accounts.
Australian Financial Review ↗Legislative route
Senator Ralph Babet introduced the private senator's billA bill introduced by a senator who is not introducing it as a government minister. It can become law only if both houses pass it and it receives Royal Assent. in the Senate.
Introduced and read a first time
The Senate opened second-reading proceedings and an incorporated speech set out the case for repealing the 2024 social media minimum age law.
Second reading moved
Key criticism
The collected material does not include later parliamentary debate against this repeal bill, divisions, amendments or a committee report. The main policy tension in the source bundle is indirect: supporters of the existing under-16 ban wanted platforms held to account, while the bill's sponsor argued the ban itself was unworkable and harmful to rights and privacy.
This page does not infer formal opposition to the repeal bill beyond the collected sources.
Repeal would remove a child-safety framework
The existing law was announced as a world-first attempt to keep children under 16 off major social media platforms, with platforms given time to comply and facing large fines. A full repeal would remove that framework rather than adjust its implementation.
Enforcement advocates wanted penalties, not repeal
The advocacy group 36 Months, which supported lifting the minimum age to 16, warned that platforms might exploit confusion around implementation and called for swift penalties for non-compliance.
Further sources
Votes
No recorded votes have been found yet for this bill.
Parliamentary debate
Start here — lead voices
Ralph Babet supports the bill as a full repeal of the 2024 social media minimum age law.
Read in Hansard ↗All speeches by bloc
1 speaker · 1 support
“The Online Safety Amendment (Social Media Minimum Age) Act 2024 is not fit for purpose and presents substantial risks to human rights, privacy and data security ... Education, parental empowerment, and corporate responsibility, rather than coercion, are the real tools of online safety.”Read the full speech in Hansard ↗
Record
Senate · Introduced and read a first time
Introduced
Senator Ralph Babet introduced the private senator's billA bill introduced by a senator who is not introducing it as a government minister. It can become law only if both houses pass it and it receives Royal Assent. in the Senate.
Senate · Second reading moved
Second reading opened
The Senate opened second-reading proceedings and an incorporated speech set out the case for repealing the 2024 social media minimum age law.
