The Harmful Digital Communications Act 2015 (the Act) received Royal Assent on 2 July 2015. Certain offences under the Act have already come into force, such as causing harm by posting digital communications (section 22), while the rest of the Act, such as the complaint and take down procedure, don’t come into force until either 2 July 2017 or a date appointed by the Governor-General by Order in Council.
The purpose of the Act is to address cyberbullying and other modern forms of damaging electronic communications, which can be spread via e-mail, texts, and social media posts. Before the Act, it was difficult for victims of cyberbullying to remove abusive, distressing or intimidating material from the internet. The Act has sought to counter this problem by introducing Communication Principles, similar to the Privacy Act’s Information Privacy Principles, which will apply to all forms of electronic communications. The Act also introduces new enforcement provisions and an Approved Agency to provide quick and efficient ways to resolve complaints about harmful digital communications.