Jodie Belyea (Dunkley, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Minister for Communications. How is the Albanese Labor government making the online environment safer for all Australians?

Michelle Rowland (Greenway, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Communications) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I thank the member for her question. The Albanese government takes seriously its commitment to keeping all Australians safe online. We know that parents are concerned about the harms to children, and we have taken a decision to support them. This House has passed our world-leading legislation for an age limit for access to social media. I thank the members from all sides who joined the government in supporting this vital bill. As I said yesterday, the government is committed to working with young people and other key stakeholders as we implement this legislation.

I also thank the members who have shown an interest in this bill. Some of their statements and proposed amendments pointed to the need for a legislative digital duty of care. Earlier this month, I announced that the Albanese government would do precisely that. The duty of care will deliver a more systemic and preventive approach to making online services safer. It has widespread support, including from the International Justice Mission, ReachOut, the Black Dog Institute, Beyond Blue, the Butterfly foundation and many others. It was an important recommendation from the Online Safety Act review and the report of the Joint Select Committee on Social Media and Australian Society.

The duty of care will complement the ongoing work across government to help keep all Australians safe online. This includes the Assistant Treasurer delivering important reforms to tackle the financial and economic harms faced by too many Australians as a result of scams. The Attorney-General is leading work to safeguard the privacy of Australians and has legislated to criminalise the non-consensual sharing of sexually explicit deepfakes. As we mark the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women, I acknowledge the work being delivered to help keep women and children safe online. This includes work done by the Minister for Social Services, who has worked with me to deliver a world-leading dating app code to tackle tech facilitated abuse that particularly targets women. The eSafety Commissioner recently launched more grants to develop innovative projects to address the root causes of tech facilitated abuse. The Albanese government has funded the Alannah and Madeline Foundation to make practical resources and learning tools available to all schools across Australia for free to better equip young people to navigate online environments. We know that keeping Australians safe online requires decisive action, and the Albanese government is delivering exactly that.