Skip to content
Landfall
AU OSA · AU-OSA-RESTRICTED-ACCESS

AU OSA Online Safety Act 2021 (Cth), s 108 - Restricted access system (declared by the Commissioner)

Implement a restricted access system with age verification to prevent children from accessing age-inappropriate content

HIGHRequirementAge verificationBinding regulationIn forceApplies from 23 January 2022

Where this comes from

Provision: Online Safety Act 2021 (Cth), s 108 - Restricted access system (declared by the Commissioner); s 119 - Remedial notice: remove or restrict access; BOSE s 12 - Prevent children's access to class 2 material

Instrument: Australia Online Safety Act 2021

Citation: Online Safety Act 2021 (Cth), s 108 (restricted access system), s 119 (remedial notice given to the provider), s 107(1)(f)-(l); Online Safety (Restricted Access Systems) Declaration 2022 (Cth) (not retrieved); Online Safety (Basic Online Safety Expectations) Determination 2022 (Cth), s 12

Text version: Online Safety Act 2021 (Cth), compilation of 12 September 2026 (includes the Online Safety Amendment (Social Media Minimum Age) Act 2024 and Act No. 83 of 2026, whose title and commencement were not established from the retrieved text), and Online Safety (Basic Online Safety Expectations) Determination 2022, compilation of 31 May 2024 (includes the Amendment (No. 1) Determination 2024); both retrieved from legislation.gov.au on 2026-09-21.

Read the official text ↗

Who it applies to

It applies when all of these are true:

  • Service is likely to be accessed by children under 18
  • Youngest user age is Under 13, 13-15 or 16-17
  • Service allows user-generated content

What engineering work it implies

Sample acceptance criteria Landfall generates for this obligation:

  • Age gate appears before accessing age-restricted content/features
  • DOB input uses dropdowns (not free text) to reduce typos
  • System calculates age from DOB, not from user-entered age
  • Age is stored and doesn't need to be re-entered on each visit
  • Age verification cannot be bypassed by direct URL access

Questions people ask

Does AU OSA Online Safety Act 2021 (Cth), s 108 - Restricted access system (declar… apply to my service?
It applies when Service is likely to be accessed by children under 18; Youngest user age is Under 13, 13-15 or 16-17; Service allows user-generated content.
From when does this apply?
AU OSA Online Safety Act 2021 (Cth), s 108 - Restricted access system (declar… applies from 23 January 2022. Its current status is: in force.

Find out whether this one lands on you

Landfall's pre-scan answers the applicability question above for your product in minutes, then turns every obligation that applies into traceable engineering tickets with a citation chain your auditors can follow.

Run the pre-scanAll AU OSA obligations

Not legal advice. Landfall maps regulatory obligations to engineering work for planning purposes. Its verdicts are not legal advice and create no attorney-client relationship — verify with qualified counsel before relying on them.

What Landfall Is NOT

Critical Boundaries

Understanding these boundaries is essential before using this product. Misuse of this tool for purposes outside its scope may create legal, regulatory, or commercial risk for your organization.

NOT Legal Advice

This product does not provide legal advice and does not create an attorney-client relationship.

Interpretations are informational analysis, not legal counsel. Always consult qualified legal professionals for compliance decisions.

NOT a Risk Score

We do not quantify, calculate, or certify your compliance risk level.

No numerical risk rating, compliance percentage, or safety score. Risk assessment requires human judgment about your specific context.

NOT Runtime Enforcement

This is a planning and mapping tool, not a runtime enforcement system.

Does not integrate with your production systems. Does not block, filter, or enforce compliance in real-time. Implementation is your responsibility.

NOT Regulatory Approval

Using this tool does not mean you are compliant with any regulation.

No certification, seal of approval, or compliance guarantee. Regulators will evaluate your actual implementation, not your use of this tool.

NOT Authoritative Interpretation

Our interpretations are not binding and may differ from regulatory guidance.

Only regulators and courts provide authoritative interpretation. Our analysis reflects our reading of requirements, which may be incomplete or incorrect.

NOT a Safe Harbor

This tool does not shield you from enforcement actions or liability.

Documentation of your process is valuable, but does not constitute a legal defense. Compliance is ultimately your organization's responsibility.

NOT an AI Compliance Agent

AI features assist analysis but do not make compliance decisions for you.

AI-generated interpretations require human review and approval. Automated suggestions are starting points, not final answers.

NOT Complete Coverage

We do not cover all regulations, all obligations, or all jurisdictions.

Regulatory landscape is vast and evolving. Gaps in our coverage do not mean those requirements don't apply to you.

What This Tool IS:

  • A structured workflow for mapping regulatory requirements to implementation tasks
  • A documentation system for compliance decisions (audit trail)
  • A collaboration platform for compliance, legal, and engineering teams
  • An informational resource for understanding regulatory obligations