Digital duty of care bill is an important step in strengthening online safety for children
International Justice Mission Australia
15 October 2026
International Justice Mission (IJM), the world’s largest anti-slavery organisation, welcomes Minister Wells’ introduction of the Digital Duty of Care bill today.
IJM has called for a digital duty of care law for five years and we acknowledge this important milestone.
We appreciate this bill includes provisions that specifically address child sexual exploitation material and conduct.
To ensure the bill effectively prevents the online sexual exploitation of children, it should clearly stipulate that smart devices sold in Australia must be incompatible with child sexual abuse material.
We have campaigned together with survivor leaders and thousands of Australians for the federal government to legally oblige tech companies to incorporate on-device safeguards that detect and prevent livestreamed child sexual abuse.
IJM Australia CEO David Braga said the introduction of this legislation is a significant milestone in strengthening online safety policy settings for children.
"Australia’s existing online safety laws are yet to deliver protection for children from being sexually abused online in real-time. They need to be strengthened,” Mr Braga said.
“Livestreamed child sexual abuse is one of the fastest growing and least detected forms of child abuse globally. It is high volume illegal content that must be prevented.
“Most tech companies are still not preventing adult offenders from using everyday apps like Facebook Messenger, WhatsApp and Telegram to access and direct the live sexual abuse of children in their video call services - often in countries like the Philippines.
“Requiring tech companies to proactively prevent their products from creating, storing and sharing illegal child sexual abuse materials should be a mandatory minimum safeguard for all online platforms and smart devices under a digital duty of care in this important reform."
The confronting issues and crimes this bill has been designed to address have been largely missing from the political debate. The livestreamed abuse of children is the fastest growing form of child abuse globally and should be front and centre.
One in 15 Australian men surveyed said they have, or would, livestream sexually with a child if offered, according to a report by Childlight and IJM.
Australian Federal Police data reveals reports of online child sexual exploitation (OCSE) rising exponentially. Figures released in September revealed the AFP received more than 100,000 reports of OCSE in the 2025-26 financial year. This equates to an average of 275 reports a day.
The eSafety Commissioner’s transparency reporting regime has consistently uncovered that most tech companies are still not detecting and disrupting live online child sexual exploitation and abuse despite years of warnings and industry regulations. It’s clear that stronger laws requiring a proactive approach are now required.
"Big tech companies are among the most influential and well-resourced in the world. If they are unwilling to voluntarily crack down on livestreamed child sexual abuse, then they must be compelled to do so under legislation,” Mr Braga said.
“Safeguarding and protecting the dignity and wellbeing of children is above politics and should unify all sides of the political aisle.
“We will review the legislation before providing more detailed feedback to the Government and look forward to engaging in the parliamentary process with a view to protecting children from livestreamed sexual abuse by offenders in Australia.”
Media contact – William Sparling [email protected] 0416 628 276