Thank you for wanting to help. Here is everything you need to email or call the Senators who will decide whether AI companion apps get an 18+ age check in Australia.

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Please send it this week. The Senate committee examining the bill reports on 20 November, then the Senate votes. Your email in a Senator's inbox before then is what counts. It takes about three minutes.

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Why this matters

The Digital Duty of Care bill passed the House of Representatives on 28 October and is now before the Senate. It requires an 18+ age check for pornography. It does not require one for AI companion and roleplay apps: chatbots built to act as a friend, confidant or romantic partner.

The industry codes this bill replaces require age assurance for high-risk AI companion chatbots, including where the risk is self-harm material. The bill does not carry that protection over. The House did add "simulated emotional intimacy" that fosters a child's dependence to the list of harms to children, but the member who moved it said herself that it "doesn't restrict AI chatbots or companions being used by children".

One change fixes it: extend the age check the bill already has (section 27D) to AI companion and roleplay services, with the same penalty.

How to do it

1. Copy the subject line and the email below. The copy button is at the top right of each grey box.
2. Fill in the parts in square brackets. Use "Dear Senators," if you are sending to several at once. If you can, add one sentence in your own words: a personal line is what gets read.
3. Send it from your own email to the Senators below and to your own state's Senators.

Subject line

Digital Duty of Care: please add AI companion apps to the 18+ age check

The email

Dear Senator,

I am writing as a [parent / grandparent / teacher / concerned Australian] in [suburb, state] about the Online Safety Amendment (Digital Duty of Care) Bill 2026, now before the Senate.

The bill requires an 18+ age check for pornography (section 27D). It does not require one for AI companion and roleplay apps, the chatbots built to act as a friend, confidant or romantic partner. The industry codes the bill replaces require age assurance for high-risk AI companion chatbots, including where the risk is self-harm material, and the bill does not carry that protection over.

The House added simulated emotional intimacy that fosters a child's dependence to the list of harms to children. But the member who moved that amendment said herself that it "doesn't restrict AI chatbots or companions being used by children".

Please support an amendment that extends the section 27D age check to AI companion and roleplay services, with the same penalty.

[Optional: one sentence in your own words about why this matters to you.]

Thank you for your time.

[Your full name]
[Suburb, state, postcode]

Who to send it to

The Senate committee examining the bill, and two crossbench Senators. The committee reports on 20 November. The two crossbench Senators will help decide the vote.

Prefer to call? Ring the Canberra office or the state office; either is fine. Say your name and where you live, then: "I'm calling to ask the Senator to support an amendment to the Digital Duty of Care bill that extends the section 27D age check to AI companion and roleplay services." That is all you need to say.

Your own state's Senators. Senators give priority to people in their own state, so this is where your email counts most. Find yours on the Parliament House website: Senators. Click a Senator's name to open their profile, where their email address and phone numbers are listed.

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