Bill
Online Safety Amendment (Broadening Adult Cyber Abuse Protections) Bill 2026
before parliament, as at 2026-03-03.
- Sponsor
- Payman
- Portfolio
- Not recorded
Recorded stages
- introduced — 2026-03-03
- second reading — 2026-03-03
Divisions
No divisions recorded. Most questions are decided on the voices; this does not establish that a bill was unopposed.
Plain-language summary
Written by a model from the explanatory memorandum; not the record, as at 2026-03-03.
This bill would make it easier for the eSafety Commissioner to order the removal of online material targeting an adult.
It would lower the threshold so that a reasonable person need only think material was likely intended to affect an Australian adult, while raising the offensiveness standard to 'seriously offensive'.
The changes would apply to material provided on or after the day after Royal Assent, including material already accessible before that date.
- Replaces the existing 'serious harm' test with a lower 'effect' test for adult cyber abuse material.
- Raises the offensiveness requirement from 'offensive' to 'seriously offensive'.
- Requires material to represent a 'significant departure' from accepted standards of morality, decency and propriety.
Adult Australians who experience online abuse, the eSafety Commissioner, and providers of online material.
Sources
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