Melbourne 22 April 2026 – The Age Verification Providers Association (AVPA), the global trade body for providers of age assurance technology, has today published a new report on the early implementation of Australia’s Social Media Minimum Age regime, concluding that the central challenge is not the capability of age assurance technology, but the limited and inconsistent use of it by social media platforms.
The report finds that early implementation experience supports Australia’s outcomes-based regulatory approach, with effectiveness measured by reductions in under-age access over time. However, emerging evidence indicates that many platforms are not yet applying age assurance consistently or at sufficient scale to meet those policy goals.
The AVPA emphasises that this is not a failure of the technology itself. Independent evidence, including the Australian Age Assurance Technology Trial, has already demonstrated that age assurance can be delivered accurately, privately and at scale.
Instead, the report concludes that current outcomes are being driven by gaps in deployment, over-reliance on weaker signals such as internal age inference models, and insufficient coverage of checks across user journeys.
Iain Corby, Executive Director of the AVPA said:
“As the Australian Government’s own trial demonstrated, age assurance technology works and is ready to be deployed at scale. The issue is not capability – it is application. As recently reported statistics about continued underage access to accounts reveal, too many platforms do not yet appear to be carrying out age checks to a consistent standard or at the points where they matter most, particularly for new accounts.”
“The Australian regulatory model is the right one: it focuses on achieving reasonably effective outcomes, not mandating specific technologies. But that also means platforms must demonstrate that what they are doing is actually reducing under-age access in practice by making full use of the layered, effective age assurance solutions our members provide.”
The report highlights that a privacy-preserving, layered approach – combining age verification, estimation and other signals progressively to meet the required outcome – is already well established, but warns that no single method is sufficient when used in isolation.
Ryan Bessemer, chair of the ANZ chapter of the AVPA said:
“There is no single ‘silver bullet’, but there is also no shortage of effective tools. The trial evidence already shows that a range of age assurance methods can deliver high levels of accuracy while protecting user privacy.”
“What matters now is that platforms use these tools properly. That means more frequent checks which make use of the full capabilities of age assurance technology to prevent underage access and circumvention. The gap we are seeing is not technical – it is operational.”
Key recommendations from the report include:
• Establishing a clear baseline for “Reasonably Effective Age Assurance”, giving regulators and platforms a shared understanding of what good looks like in practice
• Expanding the use of independent third-party audit and certification to ensure that age assurance systems are delivering effective outcomes in real-world deployment
• Increasing the consistency and coverage of age checks across the user lifecycle, including at sign-up and high-risk interaction points, with periodic re-authentication to make sure the same user is still operating the account.
The report calls for the next phase of implementation to focus on clearer expectations, independent assurance and measurable outcomes, while preserving flexibility in how platforms meet their obligations.
It also emphasises that findings from early implementation should not be interpreted as evidence that age assurance is ineffective. Rather, they reflect the fact that current deployments are not yet consistently meeting the level of effectiveness anticipated by policymakers.
Iain Corby added:
“No-one expected perfection overnight, and regulators accept there are some limits to what can be achieved and how fast it is delivered. But there is a clear expectation that platforms make a good faith effort to comply. Where there is a will, there is a way.
Feedback from our members on the volumes of checks they are being asked to perform, and KJR’s new research into new account opening procedures, suggests there is still significant room for improvement by leading social media platforms.”
The AVPA stands ready to work with the eSafety Commissioner, government and industry to support the continued development of a privacy-preserving, standards-based, interoperable age assurance ecosystem that protects children and minimises friction while maintaining user trust.
ENDS
About The Age Verification Providers Association
The AVPA is the global trade body for 35 independent providers of privacy-protecting, standards-based, age assurance technology. Our mission is to make the Internet “age-aware”
As an association, we work to:
• Inform and educate the public, industry and media on age verification and age estimation solutions and technology.
• Promote a positive image of privacy-preserving age assurance and the independent sector which delivers it.
• Represent the industry to regulators and law makers for the advancement of best practice.
The AVPA was formed in 2018 and is growing rapidly as the age and identity provider industry takes off. It established an Australia and New Zealand Chapter in 2025.
The AVPA is a non-profit organisation, governed by a representative Board drawn from its member organisations.
www.avpassociation.com
Contact: Iain Corby
press@avpassociation.com