Age Verification in Australia
Meet Australia's under-16 social media ban and Online Safety Act requirements with privacy-preserving age assurance.
Regulatory Context
Australia enacted the world's most aggressive social media age restriction: an under-16 ban effective 10 December 2025, with penalties up to AUD $49.5 million. In the first month, 4.7 million accounts were deactivated or restricted.
Australia conducted the most comprehensive age assurance technology trial ever: 60+ solutions from 48 providers evaluated in the Age Assurance Technology Trial (AATT, September 2025). The key finding: age assurance can be done privately, efficiently and effectively with no single solution fitting all contexts.
The eSafety Commissioner requires reasonable steps plus a layered approach. Section 63F(1) imposes strict purpose limitation on verification data, and OAIC guidance requires prompt destruction. Phase 2 covering adult sites and AI chatbots is expected in 2026.
How Passtru Complies
Passtru's privacy-preserving approach aligns with the AATT finding that age assurance can be done privately and effectively. The attestation model satisfies the strict purpose limitation requirements of Section 63F(1) by transferring only the age verification result.
The architecture supports the layered approach recommended by the eSafety Commissioner, providing a high-assurance verification method that can complement other age estimation techniques.
Technical Implementation
Integration follows the standard Passtru SDK pattern. The age verification endpoint returns a signed attestation confirming age eligibility. The verification data is not retained beyond the verification event, satisfying OAIC prompt destruction guidance.
For platforms subject to both the social media ban and future adult content requirements, a single Passtru integration covers both use cases.
Ready to deploy age verification in Australia?
Get started with Passtru's privacy-first verification for Australia.