Australia’s under-16 rule and advertisers
From 10 December 2025, age-restricted social media platforms must take reasonable steps to stop Australians under 16 from creating or keeping accounts. eSafety named TikTok, Snapchat, Instagram, Facebook, YouTube, X and Twitch among the platforms the law is intended to capture; fines reach A$49.5 million. Advertisers lose logged-in under-16 audiences on those services and should expect shifts in reach estimates. Gaming, messaging, education and health services sit outside the restriction.
Executive findings
- 1
As of 10 December 2025, age-restricted social media platforms must take reasonable steps to prevent Australians under 16 from creating or keeping an account.
Documented: official source. Scope: Australia; eSafety Commissioner, as of . [1]
- 2
eSafety said the law is intended to capture TikTok, Snapchat, Instagram, Facebook, YouTube, X and Twitch, while services for gaming, messaging, education and health support are excluded.
Documented: official source. Scope: Australia; eSafety factsheet, as of . [2]
- 3
Platforms that fail to comply face fines of up to A$49.5 million.
Documented: official source. Scope: Australia; Minister for Communications, as of . [3]
- 4
eSafety’s March 2026 compliance update recorded 23 information-gathering notices and found that some platforms let under-16s retry age checks until they passed.
Documented: official source. Scope: Australia; eSafety compliance update, as of . [5]
Method and limitations
- Question
- How does Australia’s social media minimum age change who advertisers can reach on social platforms?
- Written for
- Brand and media managers planning Australian social campaigns.
- Decision at stake
- How to re-plan youth and family campaigns after the minimum age took effect.
- Sources
- eSafety guidance and factsheet, the Minister for Communications’ release on platform assessments and the amending Act.
- Period
- Official and legal sources as published and opened on 18 October 2026.
- Markets
- Australia, national rules and the platform policies that apply there.
- Definitions
- Age-restricted social media platform: a service whose sole or significant purpose is online social interaction, as defined in the Act, unless excluded by rules.
- Limitations
- eSafety’s platform list is dynamic; check it before planning.
- This is not legal or tax advice. Confirm obligations for your business with qualified counsel in the market.
What the law requires
Documented: official source
The Online Safety Amendment (Social Media Minimum Age) Act 2024 added a minimum age of 16 for accounts on age-restricted social media platforms. Platforms carry the duty; young people and parents face no penalty. eSafety assesses platforms on an ongoing basis.
Which platforms are in scope
Documented: official source
eSafety’s factsheet lists TikTok, Snapchat, Instagram, Facebook, YouTube, X and Twitch as major platforms the law is intended to capture. Services whose sole or primary purpose is online gaming or messaging, and professional, education and health services, are excluded.
Effect on advertising
FOCUSADS view
Under-16 accounts were already restricted from most personalised advertising, so the immediate change is reach and context: fewer logged-in teenagers on these services, and reach estimates that need rebuilding. Youth brands should plan for audiences on excluded services, in-venue and out-of-home media, and through parents.
- Re-check age targeting floors and audience size estimates on each platform.
- Avoid creative that appeals mainly to under-16s on restricted platforms.
- Move family purchase messages to parents, who make most of those decisions.
How FOCUSADS applies this
FOCUSADS view
Australian plans with a youth audience screen restricted platforms first, then weigh excluded services, out-of-home and search for the same goal.
How this connects to our method: How FOCUSADS screens channels by market
References
- Social media age restrictions, eSafety Commissioner, accessed
- Stay social off socials: factsheet on the social media minimum age, eSafety Commissioner, accessed
- Social media minimum age platform assessments, Minister for Communications (Australia), accessed
- Online Safety Amendment (Social Media Minimum Age) Act 2024, Federal Register of Legislation (Australia), accessed
- Social Media Minimum Age: compliance update, March 2026, eSafety Commissioner, accessed