US & International
New Zealand
United Kingdom
– February 2026
Protecting our Children in the Digital World
Why the eSafety reforms matter!
Australia’s online safety framework has entered a decisive new phase.
With the eSafety Commissioner releasing updated online safety codes, the message is unmistakable: protecting children online is no longer optional, it is also enforceable.
At the heart of these reforms is a simple but powerful principle: the protections we expect in the physical world must also exist online.
The Commissioner’s new Age-Restricted Material Codes place clear obligations on digital platforms to prevent children from accessing harmful content. These rules apply across the digital ecosystem, from social media and search engines to app stores, gaming platforms, and emerging technologies like generative AI and chatbots.
What sets these reforms apart is a critical shift in approach: moving from reactive moderation to proactive prevention. Platforms are no longer expected to simply respond to harm, they must design systems that stop it from happening in the first place.
Why this matters now
These changes come at a pivotal moment.
The Commissioner’s Basic Online Safety Expectations (BOSE) Report, released in August 2025, exposed a troubling reality: many technology companies are not consistently using the safety tools already available to them. The report highlighted systemic gaps in how children are protected online, not due to a lack of capability, but a lack of implementation.
The new eSafety Codes aim to close these gaps by setting clearer expectations, stronger accountability, and real consequences for inaction.
However, the urgency goes beyond compliance.
The growing threat of OSEC
The Online Sexual Exploitation of Children (OSEC) is rapidly expanding into one of the most pressing global child protection challenges. Digital platforms are increasingly being exploited by offenders to groom, coerce, and abuse children, globally and at scale.
Destiny Rescue’s frontline operations are seeing this shift in real time. Children are being targeted through social platforms, gaming environments, and encrypted channels, with perpetrators using technology to extend their reach and evade detection.
In our 2026–27 Federal Pre-Budget Submission, Destiny Rescue calls for coordinated, urgent action to address the structural gaps that allow this exploitation to thrive, particularly across jurisdictions and digital systems.
From safer platforms to safer systems
The eSafety Commissioner’s reforms are a critical step forward. However, regulation alone is not enough.
Addressing OSEC requires collective action, from governments, industry, and civil society to ensure safety is embedded by design, not treated as an afterthought.
The goal is not just safer platforms.
It is a safer digital environment where our children are protected.
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