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As Australia’s new Online Safety Amendment (Social Media Minimum Age) Act 2024 comes into force on 10 December 2025, privacy and compliance experts are warning that most platforms remain unprepared for the new age-assurance and data storage requirements.
TrueVault, an Australian data, Digital ID and identity verification company, has been established to help organisations comply with the new age-assurance regime and new privacy legislation that requires proof of secure data management.
TrueVault founder Martin Lazarevic said that age assurance must not become data collection by another name.
“Most companies still store sensitive identity documents they don’t need,” Mr Lazarevic said.
“That approach directly contradicts the direction of Australian privacy law. TrueVault removes the risk by verifying IDs without storing the originals and keeps individuals in complete control of what they share and with whom. This achieves compliance while keeping users safe.”
The Privacy and Other Legislation Amendment Act 2024 also introduces stronger penalties for privacy breaches and new obligations for companies to demonstrate how they collect, store, and delete personal information.
This not only applies to social media companies, but any organisation that retains personal data as part of its business processes, including personal-data-reliant sectors like HR, accounting, legal, real estate, and conveyancing.
TrueVault’s zero-document-storage approach directly aligns with these requirements, enabling organisations to prove compliance while reducing risk exposure. TrueVault’s platform provides plug-and-play tools and integrations for age verification, digital identity, and other regulatory use-cases.
“The new law requires social media platforms to verify users are over 16 years of age by 10 December 2025 and businesses must demonstrate they store personal data securely under new privacy obligations,” Mr Lazarevic said.
TrueVault enables individuals to verify this through a “zero-knowledge proof” where no additional personal information is disclosed.
TrueVault’s “zero-storage” verification technology connects directly with government databases to ensure legitimacy, and deletes original identity documents instantly, and ensures no unnecessary data is stored or shared.
“TrueVault was built on the principle that privacy compliance should protect people first - not create more risk.”