Around the world, age-verification laws keep running into the same obstacle: VPNs. New Zealand recently looked at restricting them and then ruled it out. Australia is taking the opposite approach. Documents released under freedom of information laws show its regulator does not want to ban VPNs outright, but does expect the platforms you use to detect and block them as part of enforcing age checks. Here is the honest version of what is going on.
What the FOI documents reveal
According to documents obtained by The Guardian under freedom of information laws, and prepared for Australian Senate estimates hearings, the eSafety Commissioner expects service providers to take "reasonable steps to prevent workarounds like VPNs" under the country's industry Codes. In plain terms, the regulator views VPN detection as one of the "reasonable steps" it expects tech companies to take when enforcing age limits.
This follows Australia's broader online safety rules. After requirements took effect in March 2026, the documents note that around 90% of the 30 most visited adult websites used by Australians had introduced age assurance measures for users. eSafety is now reviewing whether those sites are effectively stopping people from bypassing the checks with a VPN.
This is pressure on platforms, not a VPN ban
It is worth being precise, because headlines can blur this. Nothing in the documents bans you from using a VPN, and VPNs remain legal in Australia. The obligation lands on platforms and service providers: they are expected to take reasonable steps, potentially including VPN detection, so that age rules cannot be trivially sidestepped. The difference matters. A ban on using VPNs would be a blunt, hard-to-enforce law that hits banking, remote work and journalism. Pushing platforms to detect VPNs is a quieter, more targeted lever, and it is the one Australia is reaching for.
What it means for you
If you are in Australia, two things are true at once. Your VPN is still legal and still useful for privacy, for security on public Wi-Fi, and for accessing your own services while travelling. But if platforms increasingly detect and block VPN connections for age-gated content, a VPN becomes a less reliable way to get around those specific checks.
It is also worth being honest about what a VPN was ever going to do here. A VPN changes your network location. It does not prove or disguise your age. Where age verification asks for government ID, a bank card or a face scan, a VPN answers none of that. So even before any blocking, a VPN was never a clean "skip the age check" button - it only ever masked which country you appeared to connect from.
The bigger picture
Australia is part of a wider pattern. Across the UK, New Zealand and now Australia, age-verification rules keep colliding with the fact that VPNs exist. The responses differ: New Zealand pulled back from restricting VPNs, while Australia is leaning on platforms to detect and block them. Expect more of this tension, not less, as more governments roll out age checks. For everyday privacy, a reputable VPN remains a legitimate, legal tool - just not a magic key to age-gated content.
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