Brdy Telecom Australia Pty Ltd Online Safety Codes Manual

Brdy Telecom Australia Pty Ltd
Suite 20’01, Level 20, 133–145 Castlereagh Street, Sydney NSW 2000

Part A – About this manual

1. Introduction

This is Brdy Telecom Australia Pty Ltd’s Online Safety Codes Manual. The Manual forms part of our response to the Online Safety Act 2021, as amended from time to time; the Consolidated Industry Codes of Practice for the Online Industry (Class 1A and Class 1B Material) – Head Terms and Schedule 4 – Internet Carriage Services Online Safety Code (Class 1A and Class 1B Material); and the Consolidated Industry Codes of Practice for the Online Industry (Class 1C and Class 2 Material) – Head Terms and Schedule 2 – Internet Carriage Services Online Safety Code (Class 1C and Class 2 Material).

  1. the Online Safety Act 2021, as amended from time to time;
  2. the Internet Carriage Services Online Safety Code (Class 1A and Class 1B Material); and
  3. the Internet Carriage Services Online Safety Code (Class 1C and Class 2 Material).

We’ll call them the ‘eSafety Act’ and the ‘eSafety Codes’ for short. When we refer to ‘you’, that means our customer. This Manual applies to the retail internet carriage services we supply to Australian end-users.

2. Commencement

The Class 1A and Class 1B Code has applied since 16 December 2023. The Class 1C and Class 2 Code commenced on 27 December 2025, with any later-starting measures applying from the commencement dates specified in that Code. This consolidated Manual applies from its date of approval. We will review this Manual at least annually and sooner if the eSafety Act, a Head Term, an applicable Code, eSafety guidance, Brdy’s relevant services or Brdy’s compliance measures change. Each review will be documented, approved by the responsible officer and recorded with the version number, effective date, review date, changes made and any resulting actions.

3. Outline

This Manual contains:

  1. rules that you must follow;
  2. information to help you keep yourself and people around you safer; and
  3. rules and processes that we will follow – in order to:
    • create and maintain a safe online environment for internet users in Australia;
    • empower people to manage access and exposure to seriously objectionable and age-restricted material; and
    • strengthen transparency of, and accountability for, such material.

Part B – Rules that apply to you

4. Customer Online Safety Rules

  1. You must not produce online material that is in contravention of any Australian State, Territory, or Commonwealth law, including the eSafety Act.
  2. You must ensure that anyone who uses the internet access service we supply to you also does not produce online material that is in contravention of any Australian State, Territory, or Commonwealth law, including the eSafety Act.
  3. If you breach a rule in paragraph 4(a) or (b), it is a serious breach of your customer contract with us.

Part C – Information to help you

5. Internet content filtering products

About filters

  1. Filters are computer programs designed to block access to unacceptable internet content.
  2. Filters are voluntary in Australia. There is no legal requirement for them. But many people – especially parents and other carers of children – find that filters are a valuable addition to other measures for avoiding unacceptable content (such as careful supervision of children’s use of the internet).
  3. Filters may help to protect against:
    • inappropriate web pages
    • spyware and malware
    • insecure instant messaging
    • peer-to-peer sessions
    • scams and identity theft.
  4. Typically, filters can operate at different levels e.g. on one setting, an adult may be permitted to access content that is ‘adults only’, while a child is on another setting that blocks that content.
  5. Filters are not guaranteed to exclude all harmful content or activities.

More information

You can get more information about internet filters from:

  1. eSafety
    esafety.gov.au/parents/issues-and-advice/parental-controls
  2. Wikipedia
    en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Internet_filter
  3. Google search
    Search terms such as ‘web content filtering’ and ‘internet filter’ will locate up-to-date information from many sources.

Filtering products and how to obtain them

We do not supply filtering products or warrant the performance, availability, suitability or security of third-party products. The products listed below are examples only and are not endorsements. The responsible content owner will review the product names, links and disclaimer at least annually and remove or update information that is no longer accurate.

  1. Norton Family
    au.norton.com/products/norton-family

    You can subscribe to this filtering product on the website.

  2. Aura Circle
    meetcircle.com

    You can subscribe to this filtering product on the website.

  3. Qustodio
    qustodio.com

    You can subscribe to this filtering product on the website.

6. Communications Alliance’s Family Friendly Filter program, or ‘FFF’

Telecommunications industry association ‘Communications Alliance’ runs the FFF program, providing:

  1. more information about filtering and filtering products;
  2. links to filters that have been independently tested and certified.

You can access the FFF program at:
commsalliance.com.au/Activities/ispi/fff

7. Complaining to content providers and eSafety about illegal online content

eSafety

eSafety is the Australian Government’s independent regulator for online safety. It is headed up by the eSafety Commissioner.

Learn more at esafety.gov.au

Illegal online content – also known as ‘class 1 material’

eSafety explains that:

Class 1 material is material that is or would likely be refused classification under the National Classification Scheme. It includes material that:

  • depicts, expresses or otherwise deals with matters of sex, drug misuse or addiction, crime, cruelty, violence or revolting or abhorrent phenomena in such a way that they offend against the standards of morality, decency and propriety generally accepted by reasonable adults to the extent that they should not be classified
  • describes or depicts in a way that is likely to cause offence to a reasonable adult, a person who is, or appears to be, a child under 18 (whether the person is engaged in sexual activity or not), or
  • promotes, incites or instructs in matters of crime or violence.

Your right to complain

If you become aware of ‘class 1 material’ on the internet, or you receive an electronic message (e.g. email, text or app messages) that promotes it, you can complain to:

  • the person providing the material or sending the message (if you have contact details for them and feel safe doing so); or
  • eSafety.

If you complain to the person that provides the material, and you can’t resolve the matter with them, you can complain to eSafety. Or you can go to eSafety first.

Visit eSafety, and especially its ‘How eSafety can help’ page for more information.

eSafety’s complaints reporting process

eSafety’s complaints form is here.

8. Class 1 material and online safety

Parents and other carers: how to supervise and control children’s access and exposure to class 1 material

eSafety offers expert advice and information about:

  • online safety basics
  • children finding online pornography
  • filters and other parental controls
  • encouraging good online habits
  • eSafety’s ‘Early Years’ program for children under 5
  • online safety for families

Class 1 material and online safety, generally

eSafety’s advice and information relating to children under care often applies to adults’ own use of the internet as well. Further, eSafety offers expert advice and information about:

  • dealing with disturbing content
  • dealing with distressing content

The role and functions of eSafety

It’s good to understand the role and functions of eSafety, headed up by the eSafety Commissioner. On its website, eSafety explains:

  • what eSafety is, and who the current eSafety Commissioner is
  • eSafety’s structure
  • its legislative functions under the eSafety Act
  • the regulatory schemes it oversees

eSafety’s role is much wider than only dealing with class 1 material, but that’s an important part of it.

8A. Class 1C and class 2 material and age assurance

Class 1C and class 2 material are categories of age-restricted online material addressed by the second Internet Carriage Services Online Safety Code. The Code is intended to reduce children’s exposure to this material while supporting lawful access by adults.

Customers should use device and network parental controls, supervise children’s internet use, keep account credentials secure and review eSafety’s current guidance about age-restricted material and online safety. Filtering and parental-control tools may assist but cannot guarantee that all unsuitable material will be blocked.

Information about reporting illegal or restricted online content, parental controls and other protective measures is available from eSafety through the links in this Manual.

Part D – What we’ll do

9. Website link

We’ll include a prominent and easily accessed link to this Manual on our website and keep the linked information current for both eSafety Codes.

10. Critical Information Summary

Where a Critical Information Summary is required for a service, we will include a link to this Manual so that you receive the information at or close to the time of sale.

11. If we become aware of alleged class 1A material being hosted

Class 1A material

‘Class 1A material’ is a sub-category of class 1 material. It includes child sexual exploitation material, pro-terror material, and extreme crime and violence material.

If we become aware of alleged class 1A material

In this case, we will:

  1. take reasonable steps to identify and obtain the email address of the service provider that hosts the material (if we don’t already know those details); and
  2. (if we know those details) notify it within 3 business days that it is hosting alleged class 1A material.

Our staff and our process

  1. We will inform our customer care staff:
    • about the notification requirement above; and
    • which staff member/s are responsible for making the notification.
  2. We will appoint one or more staff members to make notifications referred from customer care staff and document those appointments.

12. Responding to customer complaints

If we receive a complaint about class 1A, class 1B, class 1C or class 2 material, or about our compliance with either eSafety Code, we will:

  1. record and assess the complaint;
  2. respond to the complaint or refer you to eSafety, as appropriate;
  3. if the complaint alleges that a service provider is hosting class 1A material, act in accordance with clause 11 above; and
  4. escalate any potential breach of an eSafety Code to the responsible compliance staff member.

12A. Measures for class 1C and class 2 material

We will maintain reasonable and proportionate measures for the Class 1C and Class 2 Code that are relevant to our role as an internet carriage service provider. The responsible compliance staff member will document the applicable Code provisions, measures implemented, evidence relied on, control owner, implementation date, review date and any identified remediation. The assessment will be reviewed when Brdy makes a material change to a relevant service or becomes aware of a change to the eSafety Act, a Head Term, an applicable Code or eSafety guidance.

Before adopting a technical measure, we will consider whether it is technically feasible, effective, proportionate, privacy-protective, secure and accessible. Decisions, reasons, implementation steps and review outcomes will be documented.

13. Joining the Online Crisis Protocol

  1. The Online Crisis Protocol relates to the blocking of class 1A material, including the categories identified in clause 11.
  2. eSafety maintains the protocol governing ISP blocking under Part 8 of the Online Safety Act 2021.
  3. If eSafety asks us to join or sign the current Online Crisis Protocol, we will follow the applicable process and maintain records of our participation.

14. Record keeping and reporting

The responsible compliance staff member will assess whether a material change to a relevant Brdy service, functionality or compliance measure creates an obligation to notify or update eSafety. Requests, notices, directions and other communications from eSafety will be logged, assigned to an owner, escalated where necessary and retained with evidence of Brdy’s assessment and response.

Record keeping

We will keep records (eSafety Code Records) for both eSafety Codes, including:

  1. the steps we have taken to comply with each eSafety Code;
  2. the compliance measures considered, adopted, reviewed or rejected, and the reasons for those decisions;
  3. relevant staff responsibilities, training and escalations; and
  4. complaints, responses, referrals and outcomes by material category and by the Code concerned.

Reporting

If eSafety asks us to report on either eSafety Code, we will:

  1. supply the requested eSafety Code Records; and
  2. explain why our compliance measures are appropriate,

within the period required by the applicable Code or a lawful request from eSafety. Where a Code limits the frequency of routine reporting requests, that limit will apply.

Part E – Updating this Manual

15. Updates

We may amend or update this Manual from time to time to comply with legal requirements, respond to eSafety guidance or recommendations, reflect changes to either eSafety Code, or better support the objectives of the eSafety Act and the eSafety Codes.

This Online Safety Codes Manual applies to customers of Brdy Telecom Australia Pty Ltd who receive relevant retail internet carriage services in Australia.