Australia: eSafety Commissioner published guidance on assessing application of online safety codes and standards

On 1 April 2026, the eSafety Commissioner published guidance on assessing the application of online safety codes and standards under the Online Safety Act 2021 to help electronic service providers assess which online safety codes and standards apply to their services in respect of unlawful and age-restricted material. As the first step, providers must confirm they offer an electronic service or manufacture or supply related equipment. As the second step, providers must identify whether they offer more than one distinct service, with each service to be assessed separately through the remaining steps. As the third step, providers must confirm their service is accessible to end-users in Australia, at which point they are likely subject to both the unlawful material codes and standards and the age-restricted material codes. As the fourth step, providers must determine whether their service meets the definition of a "relevant electronic service", including email, instant messaging or online gaming, in which case the online safety (relevant electronic services – class 1A and 1B material) Industry standard 2024 applies regardless of the service's predominant purpose. As the fifth and final step, providers must identify the predominant purpose of their service from eight defined categories, which determines the applicable code for age-restricted material, social media services with a messaging feature must comply with both the social media services (core features) code and the social media services (messaging features) code, treated as a single code for age-restricted material purposes.