Age assurance trial on track amid sweeping online regulatory changes in Australia

Australia’s Age Assurance Technology Trial is going well, thank you very much. That’s the gist of a post from the organization, which says it’s on track to submit its final report to the Australian government at the end of June – a polite pushback against reports that it had gone off track.

“All the participants have now submitted their Practice Statements, and we’ve almost finished Vendor Interviews with each of them,” says a post on LinkedIn. “We’ll conclude our field testing in schools and with mystery shoppers on the 15th June and will be submitting our final report to the Australian Government on time, at the end of this month.”

The age assurance tech trial “recently shared our preliminary findings with government and key regulators, based on the significant quantity of evidence gathered already,” and although it has yet to “illustrate” these findings with results of tests on selected applications, it looks forward to “publishing the first comprehensive, audited assessment of the state of the art of age assurance in the coming weeks.” It is even hosting an online event to share preliminary findings with the public.

Timing on publication of both the preliminary and final reports, however, is in the hands of the government.

Scrutiny on the trial process has noted that “only one type of technology has been tested on children so far.” This should raise a flag – not that the trial is lagging, but that certain stakeholders may not have a comprehensive understanding of the stated approach and methods, and could raise ruckus about its outcomes for political ends.

Others have taken issue with timelines, increasing pressure on timely delivery, which opponents have noted increases the risk of sacrificing quality in the interest of speed – a particular concern given how closely governments around the world are watching the proceedings in Australia.

For its part, the Age Check Certification Scheme (ACCS), which is overseeing the trial, has been clear about how it is going about things. The model was always to interview participants based on a practice statement, then test technologies deemed to be sufficiently mature. No specific number or quota of solutions has been put on practical testing.

For those products that do make it to the testing stage, the trial’s website says it takes “a holistic end-to-end product quality approach with the systems under test, which means both analysis of characteristics of the product, but also the underlying software capabilities and reliability.”

Its four-layer evaluation model incorporates an accreditation layer in ISO/IEC 17065:2012; a software and systems engineering product quality model in ISO/IEC 25010:2023; a layer for core characteristics of age assurance technology based on the in-progress age assurance systems framework standard ISO/IEC DIS 27566-1:2025; and online age assurance implementation standards in IEEE 2089.1.

“For the underlying software, we apply ISO/IEC 29119 software testing design, procedures and reporting to feed into our ISO/IEC 25010 product quality evaluation. Testing will involve a combination of automated functional and non-functional tests, manual usability and acceptance tests, manual functional tests and static reviews.”

Surfing on a wave of regulation

The Age Assurance Technology Trial is just one part of what Andrew Black, managing director of ConnectID at Australian Payment Plus, calls “a wave of regulatory change” that is “poised to reshape the digital environment for young people in the country, from gaming to educational apps.

Headlines have tended to focus on the rule banning users under 16 from creating social media accounts, which is set to be enforced by the end of 2025. But, writing for InnovationAus, Black notes that “alongside the age ban, industry codes designed to restrict children’s access to online pornography and other harmful content are under review and expected to be finalised by the eSafety Commissioner in late 2025.”

The government is planning to legislate a Digital Duty of Care, which will “legally oblige digital platforms to take reasonable steps to prevent harm to any users, particularly kids, shifting the focus from reactive to proactive, systemic safety.”

And “the Children’s Online Privacy Code, currently under development by the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC), will introduce in 2026 strict requirements for how platforms collect, use, and store children’s data.

In his role representing ConnectID, Black makes the argument that there is already tech that makes handling all these regulations possible. He posits bank ID, which ConnectID uses, as “an approach that is simple, privacy-first, and based on consent.”

For now, the whirlwind continues. But with time, things will clarify and standardize – with effort. “Australia has both the tools and the momentum to lead in this space,” Black says. “What we need now is a clear framework for online protections, backed by clear standards and guidance to help platforms apply age assurance in a way that reflects how children actually use the internet.”

Repeatedly-rejected safety codes from private tech get final review

InnovationAus also recently reported on a set of revised online safety codes that private tech groups have put forward, designed to protect children from exposure to pornography and age-inappropriate content. A previous draft of the codes was roundly rejected in April – following previous rejections – prompting a final rewrite.

Julie Inman Grant, Australia’s eSafety commissioner, says the codes “did not provide sufficient safeguards for different forms of pornography and violent material” or “sufficiently address harms relating to AI chatbot and companion services simulating sexualised interactions”.

She also noted a “concerning absence of age assurance measures across key codes.”

The final draft codes will now undergo review. Where the online safety regulator is not satisfied, it could move to develop its own industry standards.

Article Topics

Age Assurance Technology Trial  |  Age Check Certification Scheme (ACCS)  |  age verification  |  Australia age verification  |  biometrics  |  children  |  connectID  |  regulation