The Digital Platform Regulators Forum (DP-REG) is an information-sharing and collaboration initiative between four independent Australian regulators – the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC), the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA), the eSafety Commissioner (eSafety) and the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC) – with the shared objective of ensuring Australia’s digital economy is a safe, trusted, fair, innovative and competitive space. 

The primary goals of DP-REG are to build capacity, promote regulatory coherence and respond to emerging risks and opportunities across digital platform regulation. We continue to progress these goals through our 2024-26 strategic priorities to:

  • increase members’ digital platforms regulatory capability 
  • increase members’ information/intelligence sharing capability 
  • collaborate on regulatory development 
  • foster proactive engagement
  • allow for understanding, assessing and responding to the benefits, risk and harms of technology, including AI models.

Through DP-REG, we seek to promote regulatory coherence and ensure new regulations are designed with the wider regulatory environment in mind. A whole-of-government approach to the regulation of digital platforms can reduce compliance costs for businesses, address emerging harms to Australians, and benefit international regulatory cooperation. 

We set out our activities for the next 12 months below.

Stakeholder engagement 

DP-REG acknowledges the cross-cutting nature of digital platforms issues and recognises the importance of facilitating dialogue and conversation between all relevant stakeholders, including government, industry, civil society and academia among others. 

We will:

  • Engage with civil society organisations focused on digital platforms issues to foster open conversation, gather insights and maximise our impact in key areas of regulation. 
  • Publish updates on the DP-REG website and other mechanisms about our activities to enhance transparency and public awareness. 
  • Continue to engage and share insights with our international counterparts through the International Network for Digital Regulation Cooperation (INDRC).

Learning and development and capacity building 

Best practice regulation of digital platforms requires coordination and complementary expertise to address intersecting issues across different areas of regulation and promote regulatory coherence. In 2025, DP-REG both attended and facilitated discussion with industry, academia and civil society through organised panel discussions, which increased our understanding of emerging regulatory issues. 

To continue this, we will:

  • Scope a new series of learning and development panel discussions for DP-REG staff with external experts to facilitate dialogue and gather insights into key issues and challenges facing industry, academia and civil society.
  • Uplift DP-REG member regulators’ skills and capabilities through hosting internal skills sharing sessions.
  • Where opportunities for DP-REG members are available, attend external events that offer an opportunity to share information about DP-REG’s work.

Joint intelligence and information sharing 

Information sharing is key to DP-REG member regulators leveraging our collective expertise to improve regulatory efficiency and reduce compliance burdens on industry, including limiting duplication and streamlining processes to undertake joint regulatory action where appropriate. 

We will:                                                               

  • Explore undertaking joint action by member regulators, such as coordinating approaches to emerging and time-sensitive issues and issuing joint statements.
  • Develop and publish a Memorandum of Understanding to enhance regulatory coherence and improve public visibility of DP-REG’s commitments to build capacity, promote regulatory coherence and respond to emerging risks and opportunities. 

Exploring dispute resolution mechanisms for digital platforms  

In 2019, the Digital platforms inquiry final report noted an absence of effective dispute resolution schemes for disaffected consumers and small businesses and recommended the development of minimum internal dispute resolution standards to apply to digital platforms. The final report also recommended the establishment of an independent ombuds scheme to resolve complaints and disputes between consumers and digital platforms, and businesses and digital platforms. Dispute resolution emerged as one of the key themes of the recent Online Safety Act review.

A recent report from the Telecommunications Industry Ombudsman describes a growing gap in consumer protections for digital platforms. DP-REG acknowledges that there are range of external agencies or bodies that consumers and small businesses are currently using to escalate complaints against digital platforms. We also note that industry has advanced a piece of work on establishing minimum standards for internal dispute resolution systems. Under the Scams Prevention Framework (SPF), it is proposed internal dispute resolution (IDR) be available to consumers and small businesses and that the Australian Financial Complaints Authority will be authorised as the external dispute resolution (EDR) body for the banking, digital platforms and telecommunications sectors.   

We will: 

  • Gather intelligence and identify gaps in consumer and small business disputes with digital platforms which may not be addressed under the SPF or other existing schemes. 
  • Where gaps are identified, collaborate with government, industry and civil society to identify suitable policy opportunities to improve EDR coverage of digital platform complaints.