Legal action under the Online Safety (Relief and Accountability) Act

What legal action does OSRAA allow?

OSRAA imposes duties on communicators, administrators and online platforms. If they breach those duties, they commit a legal wrong known as a statutory tort. This allows the victim to bring a legal claim against them.

OSRAA is not the only law that allows victims to bring legal claims for online harms. The Protection from Harassment Act (POHA) also creates statutory torts against communicators for harassment, doxxing and stalking.

What are the statutory torts under OSRAA?

OSRAA creates statutory torts against three types of online actors. The duties that apply to each actor are different.

• Communicators
  People who post, send or share online material.
  Learn more about the duties of communicators here.

• Administrators
  People who manage online pages, groups or forums.
  Learn more about the duties of administrators here.

• Online Platforms
  Learn more about the duties of online platforms and services here.

If any of these duties are breached, the victim may bring a legal claim against the responsible communicator, administrator or online platform. The Court may grant remedies such as compensation or make orders to stop the online harm.

What are the online harms which are covered by the statutory torts?

OSRAA addresses 13 categories of harm, of which 9 categories of online harms are covered under the statutory torts.

From 29 June 2026, statutory torts will be available for 5 categories of online harms. Click here for more information about the categories of online harms.