From 10 December 2025, the Online Safety Amendment (Social Media Minimum Age) Act 2024 will require social media platforms to:

• prevent children and young people under 16 from having a social media account
• deactivate or freeze existing accounts held by people under 16.

Delaying access to social media protects the health and wellbeing of young people and gives them extra time to build real world connections and digital literacy skills.

The responsibility will be on the social media platforms, not parents, carers, children or schools, to implement these new restrictions.

Most popular social media platforms will be age restricted. These include Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, TikTok, X (formerly Twitter), Reddit and YouTube.

Messaging services and online games, as well as apps and platforms that support health and education, can still be used.

How to help under 16s prepare for the change

Parents and carers play an important role in supporting their children to be safe online.

To help get under 16s ready for the social media minimum age requirements, you can go to the eSafety website to learn more about the social media age restrictions and find tips on how to talk about social media age restrictions with young people.

What the change means for our school

[For schools who block YouTube] At our school, all age-restricted social media platforms are blocked for student use on the school network.

[For schools who allow YouTube] At our school, most age-restricted social media platforms are blocked for student use on the school network. Our school allows student access to YouTube in a logged-out state. However, this access is restricted so mature content cannot be viewed.

To keep up to date about the new social media age restrictions, visit the eSafety website and subscribe to their newsletter.