Does Australia have a right to be forgotten?

Not as a general right. Europe’s delisting regime does not apply here. Australians use defamation, privacy, copyright, the Online Safety Act and platform policy instead.

Do I need a solicitor before I report to eSafety?

Not for the image-based abuse and adult cyber-abuse schemes. You do need one before you threaten defamation proceedings or send a concerns notice you cannot stand behind.

Statute, not slogans

Australian law

Defamation after the 2021 reforms, the Online Safety Act, the Privacy Act and copyright — what Australian law can actually make a publisher, platform or search engine do.

The High Court of Australia building in Canberra — Photograph: Bidgee. Licensed CC BY-SA 3.0. See all image credits.

Australian removal work sits on a small shelf of statutes that are stronger than most people think and narrower than most agencies advertise. This hub is the legal map: defamation after the 2021 reforms, the eSafety Commissioner’s actual orders, image-based abuse, Privacy Act APP 13 corrections, and the standing warning not to dress a reputation problem up as a copyright claim.

Nothing here is legal advice. It is journalism about the machinery so that you can brief a solicitor, or decide you do not yet need one. For platform forms, use the platform takedowns hub. For court lists and company records, use records and brokers.

Guides in this hub

Rows of bound law reports on shelves in a court library

Australian law

Copyright takedowns versus reputation takedowns

Copyright protects original expression you own, not a story about you. Filing a false copyright claim to sink a review or a news article is the wrong shortcut, and it is a risky one. Here is when the tool is honest — and when it is not.

Daniel Okoye · 9 June 2025 · 12 min read

A close stack of worn hardcover books with cracked spines

Australian law

Privacy Act APP 13 and getting personal information corrected

APP 13 is a correction right against APP entities, not a deletion right and not a right to unpublish journalism. This is what the principle can make a bank, an agency or a credit file do — and why a newspaper and a forum are usually out of reach.

Daniel Okoye · 11 May 2025 · 12 min read

The High Court of Australia building seen across the lawn in Canberra

Australian law

Image-based abuse: the Australian reporting playbook

Image-based abuse is a defined statutory wrong, not a synonym for embarrassment. Consent, threats to share, and the order of platform then eSafety are the whole method. Do not send the image to a journalist.

Daniel Okoye · 15 April 2025 · 12 min read

Parliament House in Canberra seen across the forecourt

Australian law

What the eSafety Commissioner can actually order taken down

The Online Safety Act 2021 is a removal machine with a narrow hopper. Image-based abuse, adult cyber-abuse, the child scheme and class-1 content can draw a notice. Ordinary rudeness and political speech cannot. Here is the difference.

Daniel Okoye · 8 April 2025 · 12 min read

The colonnaded front entrance of the Supreme Court of Victoria

Australian law

Defamation after the 2021 reforms: the digital pathway

The 2021 Model Defamation Amendment Provisions raised the floor. Serious harm, a mandatory concerns notice and a single-publication rule now sit between a hurtful URL and a writ. This is the digital pathway — and when not to start it.

Daniel Okoye · 26 March 2025 · 12 min read

Frequently asked questions

Does Australia have a right to be forgotten?: Not as a general right. Europe’s delisting regime does not apply here. Australians use defamation, privacy, copyright, the Online Safety Act and platform policy instead.
Do I need a solicitor before I report to eSafety?: Not for the image-based abuse and adult cyber-abuse schemes. You do need one before you threaten defamation proceedings or send a concerns notice you cannot stand behind.