New federal reforms to prevent Australians under 16 from creating or maintaining accounts on age-restricted social media platforms have generated understandable concern among schools, teachers and support staff, particularly about whether educators are expected to police students’ use of these platforms, as Thomson’s Rachel Drew writes.
This article explains what the new law requires, what it doesn’t require and what IEU members should do if issues arise in their school communities.
We want to be absolutely clear:
- You are not responsible for enforcing this ban.
- You cannot be disciplined for failing to enforce it.
- You should not feel pressured, anxious or burdened by this change.
Which platforms are age-restricted?
The law applies to major social media platforms including:
- Kick
- Snapchat
- Threads
- TikTok
- Twitch
- X (formerly Twitter)
- YouTube
These platforms must ensure that children under the age of 16 cannot create or maintain an account.
Who is responsible for implementing the ban?
This point cannot be overstated: it is the social media platforms – not teachers, not schools, not parents – that are legally responsible for enforcing the age restriction.
The law places obligations solely on the social media companies to identify and deactivate under-age accounts.
Importantly:
- There are no penalties for students who continue to use these platforms.
- There are no penalties for parents or carers who allow them to do so.
- There are no compliance obligations on schools or teachers.
- The legislation does not require teachers to monitor, report, discipline or intervene in students’ private social-media use outside the classroom.
What does this mean for teachers and school staff?
Some members have expressed concern that they may be asked to:
- check student devices;
- report students seen using these apps;
- enforce disciplinary action; or
- take on additional supervision or compliance duties.
None of these expectations is appropriate.
The law creates no such duty for teachers, school leaders or school staff.
School policies remain focused on safe and appropriate device use during school activities.
Those policies have not changed.
What a student does with a personal social media account outside school hours is not a matter for teachers or school officers, and the new legislation does not alter this.
If a student is seen using a banned platform at school, the matter should be treated like any other instance of using a phone or device contrary to existing school rules – not as a legal compliance issue relating to the national social media restrictions.
Educators are not investigators for social media companies.
You are not the “police” of the internet.
You cannot and should not be disciplined for failing to enforce a ban that does not apply to you.
Communicating with students and families
If your school or extracurricular program uses one of these platforms to communicate with students or parents, leadership teams may consider shifting to alternative channels.
This is an administrative matter for the school, not an obligation on members.
The legislation explicitly places responsibility on the platforms, not on schools, educators, sporting clubs or volunteers.
If pressure is placed on you
If any member is directed to enforce the social media age restriction, or if disciplinary action is threatened because a student accessed a banned platform, contact our union immediately.
Such directions are improper, outside your role, and not supported by law.
The bottom line
These laws regulate social media companies, not teachers or school staff.
You are not required to enforce the age ban; you cannot be penalised for students’ private use of social media, and any suggestion that staff should discipline students for using these apps misunderstands the legislation entirely.
As always, if you have concerns, reach out to your IEU branch for advice and support.
