Question Time AU

Bill Debate · Second Reading

Major Sporting Events (Indicia and Images) Protection Amendment Bill 2026, Online Safety Amendment (Strengthening Enforcement for the Social Media Minimum Age) Bill 2026; Second Reading

Senate · Wednesday 1 July 2026

Official Hansard for this day (APH) · Read this debate on OpenAustralia

At a glance

The Minister for Youth introduced two bills to modernise sporting event protections and strengthen online safety enforcement. The first bill replaces legislative schedules with a rules-based framework for protecting major sporting event intellectual property. The second bill increases penalties for social media platforms failing to enforce age restrictions and expands the eSafety Commissioner's information-gathering powers. Both bills were supported by the government, with the Minister highlighting recent successes in reducing underage social media access and boosting sports participation. The debate concluded with the consideration of both bills being adjourned to future dates.

Outcome

Further consideration of the Major Sporting Events bill was adjourned until 11 August 2026, and the Online Safety bill was adjourned until 25 August 2026.

Summary in reported speech - not a transcript. AI-generated, so check the official record before quoting.

How the debate unfolded

Opened the debate

Jess Walsh (VIC) (Australian Labor Party) ALP

Walsh argued that the Major Sporting Events bill modernises the protection of commercial rights by allowing the Minister to prescribe events via legislative instrument rather than amending primary legislation for each event. Walsh stated this approach ensures transparent, consistent protections against ambush marketing while maintaining parliamentary scrutiny through disallowance provisions. Regarding the Online Safety bill, Walsh contended that current enforcement is insufficient and that tech companies are deliberately failing to comply with the minimum age law. Walsh proposed increasing the maximum civil penalty for non-compliance to 60,000 penalty units, equivalent to approximately $99 million, and doubling penalties for ignoring information notices. Walsh also highlighted that the existing laws had already led to the removal of over 5 million underage accounts and improvements in youth wellbeing metrics.