Duties of administrators
Learn what duties apply when you manage online pages, groups or forums.
Last updated 23 June 2026
Who is an administrator?
An administrator is a person who sets up or manages an online location. This may include a person who:
develops and maintains the online location;
organises, manages or supervises the use of the online location;
manages or regulates membership of or access to the online location; or
has authority to decide what material may be included or excluded from the online location, or otherwise exercises editorial control over the location.
For example, you may be an administrator if you manage an online forum, chat group or channel, or online community page on a social media platform.
What duties does an administrator have?
The Online Safety (Relief and Accountability) Act (OSRAA) distinguishes between two types of administrators.
The first type is an administrator facilitates or permits the harm. This is an administrator who sets up, runs or manages an online location in a way that facilitates or permits online harmful activity, intending for the harm to occur or knowing that the harm is likely to occur.
OSRAA makes clear that administrators must not do this.
What does it mean to facilitate or permit online harmful activity?
An administrator may facilitate or permit online harmful activity if the online location is developed, maintained or administered in a way that allows online harm to take place, and the administrator intends for the harm to occur or knows that the harm is likely to occur.
In deciding this, the Court may consider matters such as:
the purpose of the online location;
the profile of users who regularly access or use it;
the nature of the material posted there;
the moderation policies and practices applied; and
how common the online harmful activity is at that location.
For example, a person who sets up and manages a chat group for users to share intimate images without consent, would be facilitating intimate image abuse.
However, an administrator of another chat group who takes reasonable moderation steps, such as promptly removing harmful material, banning offending accounts or warning users against posting such material, would not be facilitating or permitting online harmful activity.
The second type is an administrator who runs an online location for ordinary or legitimate purposes, but later receives an online harm notice (more on this below) about harm that has occurred there.
For these administrators, the duty is to respond to the notice reasonably. This means taking reasonable care to assess whether the online harmful activity identified in the notice has occurred, and if so, taking reasonable steps to address it within a reasonable time.
What is an online harm notice?
An online harm notice is a written notice sent by a victim to an administrator, stating that online harmful activity has occurred at the administrator's online location.
The notice must be sent in the required form and manner, and contain the required particulars. This is so that the online harmful activity is identified clearly enough for the administrator to address it.
For more information on online harm notices, see here.
What must an administrator do after receiving an online harm notice?
After receiving an online harm notice, an administrator must respond reasonably within a reasonable time.
This means the administrator must:
take reasonable care to assess whether the online harmful activity identified in the notice has occurred; and
if so, take reasonable steps to address it.
What is reasonable depends on the facts. Relevant factors include:
the circumstances in which the harm occurred;
whether the harm is likely to continue at the online location;
the past conduct of the person who carried out the harm; and
the impact of any steps taken to address the harm.
For example, if the harm is limited to a particular post or thread, it may be reasonable for the administrator to promptly remove that post or thread.
But if the harm is repeated or likely to continue, removing one post may not be enough. For example, if the same user has repeatedly made harassing posts, the administrator may need to suspend the user’s account and warn the user not to repeat the conduct.
How quickly must an administrator respond?
Administrators must respond to an online harm notice within a reasonable time. What is reasonable depends on the facts, including the nature and severity of the harm and the complexity of the case.
What online harms are covered?
These duties currently apply to the following online harms:
Online harassment
Doxxing
Online stalking
Intimate image abuse
Image-based child abuse
For more information on what these harms are, click here.
What happens if an administrator breaches these duties?
A victim may bring a Court claim against the administrator under OSRAA.
If the claim succeeds, the Court may order the administrator to:
pay damages to the victim; and
take steps to stop or address the harm.
For claims involving an administrator who facilitated or permitted online harmful activity, the Court may also award enhanced damages in some cases.
This may happen where the victim has sent the administrator a reasonable written request to stop or address the online harm, but the administrator does not do so within a reasonable time.
Enhanced damages are additional damages. They may be awarded to compensate the victim for further harm caused, or to reflect the administrator’s blameworthy conduct in persisting in facilitating or permitting the harm, despite being asked to stop or address the harm.
What defences may be available to an administrator?
For a claim that the administrator facilitated or permitted online harmful activity, it is a defence for the administrator to prove that the administrator’s conduct was reasonable in the circumstances.
For a claim that the administrator failed to respond reasonably to an online harm notice, it is a defence for the administrator to prove that, through no fault of the administrator, the administrator did not receive the online harm notice.
How do I commence a Court claim against an administrator?
Please refer to the Judiciary's website here for more information on the process to commence proceedings for the statutory torts under OSRAA.