Western Australia has this week intervened in the High Court challenge to Australia’s new social media age restrictions. The state government has joined New South Wales and South Australia in backing the national initiative to limit social media access for young people.
The national laws introduce a minimum age of 16 for social media accounts, requiring platforms to verify users’ ages and implement stricter parental consent measures for younger users. The reforms were passed to address growing concerns about the mental health impacts of social media on children and young teenagers, as well as to reduce exposure to harmful content and cyberbullying, according to the government.
WA’s Attorney General, Dr Tony Buti MLA, has spoken out in support of the intervention. “This is groundbreaking national legislation to help safeguard young Australians from the impact and harm generated by social media”, he said.
“The Cook Government strongly supports the new national social media minimum age laws to better protect our young people. This legislation is a critical step toward creating safer online environments and ensuring national consistency in protecting children.”
The restrictions were introduced by the Online Safety Amendment (Social Media Minimum Age) Act 2024, which amends the Online Safety Act 2021 to establish a minimum age for social media use and an obligation on providers of an age-restricted social media platform to take reasonable steps to prevent age-restricted users from having an account with the platform. The restrictions come into force today, 10 December 2025.
The High Court challenge in which the WA government has intervened was brought by two teenagers backed by the Digital Freedom Project, which claims the ban disproportionately burdens the implied freedom of political communication. The case is being argued as a matter of constitutional law, meaning it can be heard at first instance by the High Court as a special case.
Following a Directions Hearing on 4 December, it is expected the matter will be heard by the High Court in February 2026.
Dr Buti called on Western Australian parents to back the ban. “We know this transition may be a challenging time for families with young teenagers who regularly using these apps”, he said on Tuesday. “I would implore Western Australian parents to support this important global-leading initiative, monitor what their children are doing and don’t support them in finding ways to circumvent it.”
