Penalties and enforcement
What is a penalty unit?
A penalty unit is a fixed dollar amount that federal law uses to set fines. One penalty unit is currently $364. A law states a fine as a number of units, and the dollar figure is that number multiplied by the unit value.
The unit value is set by the Crimes Act 1914 and rises with inflation every three years. This lets fines keep their value without Parliament amending each law. It also means the dollar figures on this site will change when the unit is next indexed.
Example: 60,000 penalty units is 60,000 × $364, which is $21.84 million.
What is a civil penalty?
A civil penalty is a fine ordered by a court in a civil case, not a criminal one. There is no conviction and no criminal record. The regulator has to prove the breach, and the court decides the amount up to the maximum.
For a company, the court can order up to five times the stated maximum. That is how 60,000 penalty units becomes a maximum of $109.2 million for a company.
What is an infringement notice?
An infringement notice is a fixed fine issued by the regulator without going to court, much like a parking fine. Paying it ends the matter. If you do not pay, the regulator can take the matter to court instead.
Under the Bill, a notice for one breach would be 12 penalty units for an individual ($4,368) and 600 for a company ($218,400). Notices would be available for some breaches, including not having a risk assessment, but not for a breach of the general duty itself.
What is a formal warning?
A formal warning is a written notice from the eSafety Commissioner saying it believes you have breached a requirement. It carries no fine. It puts the problem on record.
What is a remedial direction?
A remedial direction is a written order from the eSafety Commissioner to take specific action to fix a breach. Ignoring one is a separate breach, with a maximum civil penalty of 6,000 penalty units.
Who is the eSafety Commissioner?
The eSafety Commissioner is Australia's online safety regulator, an independent statutory office. It would enforce the Digital Duty of Care.
How a law is made
What is the difference between a Bill and an Act?
A Bill is a proposed law. It becomes an Act, which is a law, only after both houses of Parliament pass it and it receives Royal Assent.
What is Royal Assent?
Royal Assent is the Governor-General's formal approval of a Bill that Parliament has passed. It is the moment a Bill becomes an Act. Many parts of the Digital Duty of Care Bill are timed from that day.
What is a third reading?
A third reading is the final vote on a Bill in one house of Parliament. The Bill then goes to the other house. The "third reading" text is the Bill as that house passed it, including any amendments.
What is an exposure draft?
An exposure draft is an early version of a Bill that the Government releases for public comment before introducing it to Parliament.
What is an explanatory memorandum?
An explanatory memorandum is the Government's own explanation of a Bill, published alongside it. It says what each section is meant to do. Courts can look at it when the meaning of a law is unclear.
What is a legislative instrument?
A legislative instrument is a rule made by a Minister or regulator under powers an Act gives them, without a new Act. Parliament can usually overturn one. Under the Bill, any exemption for low-risk services would be made this way.
Who and what is covered
What is an online service?
In the Bill, an online service is any of nine kinds of service listed in section 25B. They range from internet providers and social media to hosting, search engines, AI services and designated internet services.
What is a designated internet service?
A designated internet service is a broad category in the Online Safety Act 2021. It covers services that let people access material over the internet and that are not one of the other named categories. eSafety says it includes most websites and apps.
What is a relevant electronic service?
A relevant electronic service is one that lets people communicate with each other, such as email, messaging, chat and online games with chat.
What is a hosting service?
A hosting service stores material so that it can be provided on other online services. Companies that host websites for others fall into this category.
Who is a person responsible for an online service?
Under the Bill, it is the person who provides the service, and also the person who exercises the greatest degree of day-to-day control over it. "Person" includes a company.
What is a safe online environment?
It is the outcome the duty aims for. Section 25C defines it as an online environment where people in Australia are protected from seriously harmful material and conduct, and children are also protected from material and conduct that is harmful to them.
What is excluded material?
Excluded material is content the duty does not treat as harmful. It includes professional news, material for research, education or art, public health and harm-reduction material, and material in the public interest.
What is age assurance?
Age assurance means steps a service takes to check or estimate a user's age. The Bill would require it in some cases, such as stopping children from accessing pornography.
Sources
Last updated 14 November 2026