22nd Jun 2021, 10:11 PM – Senate Online Safety Bill 2021 - Second Reading - Industry standards

The majority voted in favour of amendments introduced by the Australian Labor Party, which means they will now form part of the bill. After passing the Senate, the bill will need to return to the House of Representatives for our MPs to consider.

Amendments text

(1) Page 121 (after line 9), after clause 141, insert:

141A Publication of notice where no body or association represents a section of the online industry

(1) If the Commissioner is satisfied that a particular section of the online industry is not represented by a body or association, the Commissioner may publish a notice in the Gazette:

(a) stating that, if such a body or association were to come into existence within a specified period, the Commissioner would be likely to give a notice to that body or association under subsection 141(1); and

(b) setting out the matter or matters relating to online activities that would be likely to be specified in the subsection 141(1) notice.

(2) The period specified in a notice under subsection (1) must run for at least 60 days.

(2) Clause 145, page 122 (line 12), at the end of subclause (1), add:

if:

(a) the Commissioner has made a request under section 141 in relation to the development of an industry code and one or more of the following conditions is satisfied:

(i) the request is not complied with;

(ii) if a draft code is developed by the body or association—the draft does not contain appropriate community safeguards to deal with one or more matters specified in the request;

(iii) if indicative targets for achieving progress in the development of the code were specified in the notice of request—any of those indicative targets were not met;

(iv) the request is complied with, but the Commissioner subsequently refuses to register the code; or

(b) the Commissioner has published a notice under subsection 141A(1) in relation to a particular section of the online industry that is not represented by a body or association and all of the following conditions are satisfied:

(i) the notice states that, if such a body or association were to come into existence within a specified period, the Commissioner would be likely to give a notice to that body or association under subsection 141(1);

(ii) the notice sets out one or more matters relating to the online activities of the participants in that section of the industry that would be specified in a notice under subsection 141(1);

(iii) no such body or association comes into existence within the period specified in the notice; or

(c) an industry code that applies to participants in a particular section of an online industry has been registered under section 140 for at least 180 days and all of the following conditions are met:

(i) the Commissioner is satisfied that the code is deficient;

(ii) the Commissioner has given the body or association that developed the code a written notice requesting that deficiencies in the code be addressed within a specified period;

(iii) the period specified under subparagraph (ii) ends and the Commissioner is satisfied that the deficiencies in the code have not been adequately addressed.

(3) Clause 145, page 122 (after line 14), after subclause (1), insert:

(1A) For the purposes of subparagraph (1)(c)(i), an industry code that applies to participants in a particular section of an online industry and deals with one or more matters relating to the online activities of those participants is deficient if:

(a) the code is not operating to provide appropriate community safeguards in relation to one or more of those matters; or

(b) the code is not otherwise operating to regulate adequately participants in that section of the online industry in relation to that matter or those matters.

(1B) The Commissioner must not determine a standard under subsection (1) that applies to participants in a particular section of the online industry unless the Commissioner is satisfied that it is necessary or convenient for the Commissioner to determine a standard in order to:

(a) provide appropriate community safeguards in relation to one or more matters relating to the online activities of those participants; or

(b) otherwise regulate adequately participants in that section of the online industry in relation to that matter or those matters.