The Office of the eSafety Commissioner was established in 2015 to promote online safety. Initially established to protect and promote online safety for children only, the eSafety Commissioner's scope and powers have expanded since 2015, with further legislative powers granted under the Online Safety Act 2021 (Cth) to cover adults as well as children, and include:

Further, the eSafety Commissioner can apply to the Federal Court, where a person may be ordered to cease providing a social media service if civil penalty provisions of the Act continue to be breached, and the continued operation of the social media service represents a significant community safety risk [s 156].

More information can be found on the Office of the eSafety Commissioner's website. This includes tips about cyber safety on social networking sites, search engines and online games, information about protections against cyber bullying, how to report cyber bullying to in relation to popular internet sites as well as many other useful features, such as explaining information about privacy settings and who has access to social networking sites.

Social media services, relevant electronic services and designated internet services are required to adhere to Basic Online Safety Expectations. The provider of the service must take reasonable steps to ensure that end-users are able to use the service in a safe manner, and it must proactively minimise the extent to which material or activity on the service is unlawful or harmful. The provider of a social media service, relevant electronic service or designated internet service may also be required to give the Commissioner reports about compliance with the applicable basic online safety expectations.

Harmful content related to cyber bullying (of children) or adult cyber abuse must be reported to the relevant online or electronic service or platform first, before making a complaint to eSafety. If the provider does not remove the harmful content within 48 hours a report can then be made to eSafety. Image-based abuse or complaints about illegal and restricted online content, including child sexual exploitation material, should be reported to eSafety immediately. People who have experienced serious online abuse usually want harmful content removed immediately, however it is important to preserve evidence first- please visit the eSafety Commissioner's dedicated web page How to Collect Evidence for practical guidance. Evidence can be useful if you plan to report serious online abuse to the site or social media service used to send or share it. For illegal and restricted content, providing eSafety evidence of where the harmful material is located will help eSafety find and remove it quickly.

The Compliance and Enforcement Policy explains the powers available to eSafety Commissioner to encourage and enforce compliance with the Online Safety Act 2021(Cth). These powers come from both the principal Act and the Regulatory Powers (Standard Provisions) Act 2014 (Cth) ('Regulatory Powers Act').

People who have experienced serious online abuse can make a report to eSafety, or may wish to report it to police or take legal action. The eSafety Commissioner's web page How to Get Police and Legal Help for Adult Cyber Abuse explains how many forms of serious adult cyber abuse may be illegal under other state or federal laws, as well as the Online Safety Act 2021 (Cth) itself.

Powers to remove image-based abuse material

The eSafety Commissioner is empowered under the Online Safety Act 2021 (Cth) to require the removal of certain image-based abuse material that is shared without consent, and in some instances to take action against the person(s) who shared the image or video without the consent of the person who is the subject of the image or video.

Any person depicted in an intimate image or video which has been shared without their consent can make a complaint to the eSafety Commissioner, as can certain authorised persons, such as a parent/guardian on behalf of a child who is under 16, or a parent/guardian of a person who has a mental or physical incapacity that renders them incapable of managing their own affairs [see s 32(3)].

Where consent has been given to share the intimate image or video, an objection notice may still be lodged with the eSafety Commissioner. This is different to a complaint [see s 33(5)]. An objection notice could be lodged, for example, where a person depicted in an intimate image or video initially consented to its sharing, but then changed their mind.

After a person lodges a complaint or objection notice, the eSafety Commissioner can issue a removal notice to the site where the intimate image or video has been published, to the hosting service provider, or to the individual who posted the image or video, requiring the image or video to be removed within 24 hours or a longer time period specified by eSafety [see ss 77, 78, 79]. Failure to comply with a removal notice may result in a civil penalty, enforceable undertaking or court injunction being sought, see Civil Penalties below.

The sharing of intimate images may also be a criminal offence under State or Commonwealth law. For information on criminal offences relating to image-based abuse, please refer to Distribution of invasive images (image-based abuse).

Review of decisions

The eSafety Commissioner's decision to issue a removal notice (and other prescribed notices under the Act) is subject to both internal review (by the eSafety Commissioner, or a person nominated by the Commissioner not substantially involved in the original decision) and external review (Administrative Review Tribunal (ART) merits review). The application for internal review must be made within 30 days after notice of the reviewable decision was received by the person to whom it was given, or such longer time as the Commissioner allows. The eSafety Commissioner has established an internal review scheme, where the Commissioner may affirm, vary or revoke the decision concerned.

If the eSafety Commissioner refuses to issue a removal notice following a valid complaint, this decision is also subject to internal review and ART merits review (this does not apply in relation to the Online Content Scheme) [ss 220-220A].

Further information about the external review process through the ART can be found on the Commonwealth ART website. Legal advice should be sought before making such an application.

Civil penalties

The eSafety Commissioner can seek civil penalties in a number of circumstances, which can be enforced in the Federal Court or Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia. The penalties can be significant. The circumstances where a civil penalty can be sought, and the maximum amount that can be sought, are as follows:

In circumstances where a person has breached section 77, section 78, or section 79 they may be given a formal warning prior to a civil penalty being sought [see ss 81]. An infringement notice may also be issued for any breaches of those sections [s 163(1)]. In addition to seeking civil penalties, the eSafety Commissioner is also able to seek an enforceable undertaking or injunction from the Federal Court or Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia [ss 164(1) and 165(1)].