Voluntary online safety standards frequently fail to be implemented and there is concern across civil society that proposed reforms will fall short of driving up safety standards in practice. This paper reflects discussions from a roundtable of 22 policy experts prompted by proposals to grow and expand Australia’s online safety standards. While these gradual expansions of expectations may be welcome, there was no clear path identified towards making these standards enforceable. 

Key recommendations

1. Ensuring that a comprehensive breadth of systems and elements are addressed under Australia’s safety framework.
2. Ensuring meaningful transparency by introducing a suite of compulsory transparency measures.
3. Ensuring effective compliance by enhancing regulators’ powers.
4. Given Australia already has a world-class public facing complaints mechanism under the Online Safety Act, this mechanism should be extended to basic online safety standards.