Draft Online Safety (Basic Online Safety Expectations) Determination 2021 consultation

The Online Safety Act 2021 was passed by Parliament on 23 June 2021 and came into effect on 23 January 2022. The Department sought feedback on an exposure draft of the Online Safety (Basic Online Safety Expectations) Determination 2021 that set out the expectations the Government has for social media services, relevant electronic services and designated internet services.

We sought feedback on:

• a set of additional expectations for social media services, relevant electronic services and designated internet services
• reasonable steps that could be taken to meet certain expectations.

The draft Determination also included a set of core Basic Online Safety Expectations for social media services, relevant electronic services and designated internet services, clearly stating community expectations. These core expectations are prescribed by the Online Safety Act 2021 and cannot be amended in the Determination.

For more information on the Online Safety Act 2021, including previous consultation outcomes, see the following:

• Online Safety Act 2021—Federal Register of Legislation
• Parliamentary history of the Online Safety Bill 2021
• Outcomes from the consultation on the Exposure Draft of the Online Safety Bill
• Outcomes from the consultation on the Online Safety Legislative Reform Discussion Paper

The Draft Online Safety (Basic Online Safety Expectations) Determination consultation process ran from 8 August 2021 to 12 November 2021. Public submissions made to the process can be found below.

After considering submissions received, the Minister for Communications, Urban Infrastructure, Cities and the Arts, the Hon Paul Fletcher MP, made a final Determination which was registered on 23 January 2022 and commenced on 24 January 2022.

Several changes were made to the final Determination, including:

• clarifying that service providers are not expected to build systemic weakness or vulnerability into encrypted services while undertaking actions to comply with Section 8 of the Determination;
• a new note that provides that the Commissioner may publish relevant guidance materials on the eSafety website following consultations that take place under Section 7 of the Determination;
• an additional expectation that allows the Commissioner to ask service providers for reports about the performance of safety measures that have been announced publicly; and
• clarifying that service providers are expected to communicate changes to policies and terms of use to users in plain and accessible language.

The final Online Safety (Basic Online Safety Expectations) Determination 2022 and associated Explanatory Statement can be found at www.legislation.gov.au.

Relevant documentation

Frequently Asked Questions—Basic Online Safety Expectations

Published 7 October 2021

This document will be updated during consultation on the Basic Online Safety Expectations as the Department receives submissions and engages with stakeholders.

Draft Online Safety (Basic Online Safety Expectations) Determination 2021—consultation paper

Published 8 August 2021

On 23 June 2021, the Australian Parliament passed the Online Safety Act 2021 (the Act). The Act will commence on 23 January 2022. A key principle underlying the Act is that the rules and protections we enjoy offline should also apply online. The Act creates a modern regulatory framework that builds on and strengthens existing arrangements and holds industry to greater account for the safety of their users.

Draft Online Safety (Basic Online Safety Expectations) Determination 2021—consultation paper—PDF (293.34 KB)

Draft Online Safety (Basic Online Safety Expectations) Determination 2021—consultation paper—DOC (184.62 KB)

Draft Online Safety (Basic Online Safety Expectations) Determination 2021

Published 8 August 2021

This instrument is the Online Safety (Basic Online Safety Expectations) Determination 2021. This document may not meet WCAG 2.0 requirements. For an accessible copy, please email OnlineSafety@infrastructure.gov.au.

Draft Online Safety (Basic Online Safety Expectations) Determination 2021—PDF (268.8 KB)

Draft Online Safety (Basic Online Safety Expectations) Determination 2021—DOC (106.04 KB)