Digital duty of care bill clears House, heads to Senate with internet access providers in scope
The Online Safety Amendment (Digital Duty of Care) Bill 2026 has moved from the House of Representatives to the Senate, where the government needs the Greens, and a 12-month transition is expected once it becomes law.
The House of Representatives passed the Online Safety Amendment (Digital Duty of Care) Bill 2026 with amendments on 28 October, and the legislation now sits with the Senate, law firm Ashurst Perkins Coie reported. The government expects to get it through in late November 2026, while a Senate committee is taking submissions and is due to report by 20 November 2026. A 12-month transition period is expected to follow passage.
Coverage is wide, taking in social media, app stores, websites, hosting, search engines and internet access supplied to the public. Generative AI services and businesses that make, supply, maintain or install equipment are also named in the bill. State and Territory authorities and agencies that provide or control an online service fall outside it. Ashurst Perkins Coie said most businesses operating online will be affected in some way, not only the big platforms.
The bill shifts the emphasis from reacting to harmful content with removal notices and industry codes towards managing risk of harm in advance. Whoever is responsible for a service must take appropriate action to keep the online environment safe, including effective steps to reduce risks found in risk assessments. Cost cannot be weighed when deciding whether an action is needed, although proportionality to the risk of harm stays a mandatory factor.
The top civil penalty is A$109.2 million, with a mid-level penalty of A$10.92 million and infringement notices of A$218,400. Skipping risk assessments carries the same maximum penalty as breaching the duty itself. The eSafety Commissioner would also be able to question individuals under oath, and non-compliance could mean 12 months' imprisonment.
news24 reported that Communications Minister Anika Wells dropped a planned ministerial power to define new harms after free speech concerns were raised during consultation. New harms can now be added only by parliament through amendment, and the final bill is to include an exemption for professional news material. The Coalition party room resolved to oppose the bill, and Shadow Communications Minister Sarah Henderson called the definitions "dangerously vague". The government therefore needs the Greens to get the bill through the Senate.
Independent MP Sophie Scamps put forward an amendment for an industry-funded online ombudsman within the remit of the Telecommunications Industry Ombudsman, an idea the Greens also back. TIO Cynthia Gebert said the TIO "stands ready to expand our role to help people when things go wrong online". Wells did not take up the proposal, saying the codes are voluntary and the next step is to make them enforceable before "jumping several steps ahead". Greens communications spokeswoman Sarah Hanson-Young wants tougher fines and a right to sue big tech privately, and Wells said she is still negotiating in good faith.