In September 2026, the Australian government released an exposure draft of the Online Safety Amendment (Digital Duty of Care) Bill 2026. The Bill extends recent efforts to mitigate the harms that can be associated with online environments (such as social media) by creating a ‘safe online environment’. The Bill does this in a range of ways including by proposing a positive duty of care for organisations to create safe online environments and sustain them.
A ‘safe online environment’ is described as one that protects people from being exposed to ‘seriously harmful material and conduct’. ‘Seriously harmful material and conduct’ is defined to include ‘material or conduct that encourages, promotes, urges or instructs illicit drug use’.
The Bill therefore has important implications for drug use and information about drug use that appears online. Professor Kate Seear and her colleague from the Deakin Law School’s Centre for Law as Protection, Professor Shiri Krebs, recently made a submission on the Bill. Their submission outlines range of concerns about it, including its likely implications for vital health and harm reduction information, as well as issues concerning human rights, privacy and surveillance.
You can read the full submission below.