Event: Digital Duty of Care Design Dialogue
On 10 August, TPDi convened two connected events across Canberra: a substantive Design Dialogue on Australia’s proposed Digital Duty of Care at Parliament House, followed by the fourth annual Tech Futures at Old Parliament House, marking 40 years of .au
Together, the two events brought Australia’s tech policy community into conversation about the policy choices shaping the next phase of Australia’s digital future.
Explore the Duty of Care Design Dialogue gallery below, or visit the Tech Futures gallery here
At Parliament House, our Digital Duty of Care Design Dialogue brought together parliamentarians, government, regulators, industry, civil society, researchers and youth voices for a day of substantive policy design.
Then, at Old Parliament House, Tech Futures 2026 continued the conversation. Supported by auDA and marking 40 years of the .au domain, the evening looked back at four decades of Australia’s digital development while bringing together the people and institutions helping shape what comes next.
Two very different events with one connected idea: nothing about tech is inevitable, a principle at the heart of TPDi’s work: humans shape technology. The choices we make in regulation and governance will determine how technology develops, and who it serves.
It was wonderful to have The Hon Anika Wells MP, Minister for Communications, join us at the Design Dialogue.
Convening Australia’s tech policy community
Digital Duty of Care Design Dialogue
𝗧𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗸𝘀 𝘁𝗼 𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗗𝗲𝘀𝗶𝗴𝗻 𝗗𝗶𝗮𝗹𝗼𝗴𝘂𝗲 𝘀𝗽𝗲𝗮𝗸𝗲𝗿𝘀 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗿𝗶𝗯𝘂𝘁𝗼𝗿𝘀:
- Professor Lyndon Ormond-Parker, Co-Chair, First Nations Digital Inclusion Advisory Group
- Sarah Vandenbroek, First Assistant Secretary, Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development, Communications, Sport and the Arts
- Delia Rickard PSM, Independent Reviewer of the Online Safety Act 2021
- Bianca Kendrick, TPDi Tech Policy Youth Ambassador and Youth Programs & Policy Advisor, Alannah & Madeline Foundation
- Kate Chaney MP, Member for Curtin and Co-Chair, Parliamentary Friends of Tech Policy
- Dr Rys Farthing, Director of Policy & Research, Reset.Tech Australia
- Senator David Shoebridge, Senator for New South Wales and Co-Chair, Parliamentary Friends of Tech Policy
- Zoe McKenzie MP, Member for Flinders and Co-Chair, Parliamentary Friends of Tech Policy
- Elizabeth Tydd, Australian Information Commissioner
- Kathryn King, General Manager, Corporate and Strategy, eSafety
- Jenny Duxbury, Director, Policy, Regulatory Affairs & Research, DIGI
- Pnina Hagege, Head of Policy, Teach Us Consent
- Professor Nic Carah, Australian Internet Observatory and the University of Queensland
- The Hon Anika Wells MP, Minister for Communications
Held under the Chatham House Rule, the Dialogue was designed not to manufacture consensus, but to find common ground and expose the design choices that will determine whether the Duty is effective, coherent and implementable.
Despite deeply held and diverse views, three clear points of convergence emerged:
- There was strong support for the opportunity to drive systemic change and move beyond the cycle of legislative “whack-a-mole” as new platforms, technologies and harms emerge.
- There was convergence around the need for a broad, overarching, future-proofed duty that applies to harms caused by content, features and business models.
- There was recognition that much of the hard work will begin when draft legislation is released, alongside a strong commitment from the room to engage constructively to help get the legislation right — and passed in this term of Parliament.
The conversation moved beyond broad principles and into nuanced design questions: the relationship between reach and risk; lawful but harmful content; user autonomy and recommender systems; interactions with privacy and consumer law; and delivering accountability through regulatory oversight combined with meaningful and appropriate independent researcher access.
What comes next
TPDi will now synthesise the Dialogue insights and develop our Tech Policy Spotlight on the Digital Duty of Care, for release in September.
The Spotlight will examine the major design choices raised through the process, identify areas of convergence and disagreement, and set out practical recommendations for the next phase of the reform.
Subscribe to TPDi to be among the first to receive the Spotlight and follow the next phase of the reform.
Design Dialogue Photo Gallery
