Australia rarely blocks political content, but courts order piracy sites blocked, regulators block illegal gambling sites, and since December 2025 under-16s can’t hold accounts on major social media platforms.
Every day we open 67 of the world’s biggest sites and apps from home internet connections in Australia, and record what’s blocked, since when and how.
0 of 67 testedsites and apps with a confirmed block in Australia
67 of 67 results confirmed in the last 48 hours.
Tests are requested on Telstra and Optus home connections.
Freedom House rated Australia’s internet “Free” in 2025, at 75 out of 100, and says political and social content is rarely blocked. Piracy sites are the exception, “blocked with some regularity” under Federal Court orders won by rights holders. In February 2022 one order made 48 providers block 34 streaming sites, and since 2018 orders can be extended to a site’s new addresses without a new court order.
Since November 2019 the media regulator, ACMA, has also had providers block illegal gambling sites under the Telecommunications Act: 785 gambling and affiliate sites by June 2023. Under the Online Safety Act, the eSafety Commissioner can order material taken down within 24 hours and have providers block sites hosting abhorrent violent material for up to three months at a time.
eSafety’s orders stop at the border, though. When it tried to make X hide videos of an April 2024 church stabbing in Sydney worldwide, the Federal Court ruled in May that the Online Safety Act didn’t allow orders with a global reach, and eSafety dropped the case in June 2024.
Since 10 December 2025, ten platforms, among them Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, Reddit and Twitch, have had to take reasonable steps to keep under-16s from holding accounts, or face fines of up to 49.5 million Australian dollars; more than 4.7 million accounts were deactivated, removed or restricted within days. Since 9 March 2026, new industry codes have also required age checks on pornography sites, R18+ games and some AI chatbots.
Are VPNs legal in Australia?
Using a VPN is legal in Australia. Platforms covered by the under-16 rule are expected to watch for VPN use by young users trying to appear to be overseas, but children and parents face no penalty for getting around it.
Key dates
eSafety investigates Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, TikTok and YouTube over how well they keep under-16s off their platforms.
New industry codes require age checks on pornography sites, R18+ games and some AI chatbots, and make search engines blur explicit results for logged-out users.
The social media minimum age takes effect: ten platforms, including Facebook, TikTok, YouTube and Reddit, must keep under-16s from holding accounts.
Parliament passes the law barring under-16s from holding social media accounts, with the ban to start a year later.
eSafety drops its Federal Court case against X over church stabbing videos, after losing its bid to have them hidden worldwide.
Australia starts blocking illegal gambling sites, with the media regulator, ACMA, asking internet providers to block them.
Get past a block
Blocked in Australia?
A VPN connects you through a server in another country, so the blocks in Australia no longer apply. Where VPNs themselves are blocked, you need one that can disguise its traffic.
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History
Changes in Australia
No confirmed changes since monitoring began on 29 Sep 2026. When a block appears or lifts, and a re-check on several machines agrees, it shows up here.
Method
How we test
Test machines on Telstra and Optus home connections open each site’s homepage every day.
A failure counts only when it happens twice on the same network, while the site opens from other countries.
A change is published only after re-checks a few hours later and again the next day, on several machines per provider, confirm it. It’s dated from the first sighting.
Test machines caught getting around blocks, through a VPN or a filter-dodging tool, are set aside.
We test websites, mostly over home broadband. Apps, calls and mobile networks can behave differently.
Since 10 December 2025, under-16s can’t hold accounts on Facebook, Instagram, Threads, Snapchat, TikTok, X, YouTube, Reddit, Kick or Twitch. The list is expected to grow, while messaging apps and online games were left out of the law.
Can Under-16s Still Watch YouTube in Australia?
Yes, without an account. The law stops under-16s holding accounts on covered platforms such as YouTube, but they can still see publicly available content that doesn’t require a login. Neither they nor their parents face a penalty if they get around the ban.
Does Australia Block Piracy Websites?
Yes, by court order. Rights holders can ask the Federal Court to make internet providers block piracy sites: in February 2022 it ordered 48 providers to block 34 streaming sites. Since 2018 orders can also cover search engines, and be extended to a site’s new addresses without a new court order.
