Our eSafety Fighting Fund

We have recently seen three notable wins against the e-Safety Commissioner in Baumgarten, Elston & X and Kirkham, all of which acted to limit and restrict the powers claimed by the Commissioner and were critical of her understanding of the Online Safety Act.

Despite these victories, she's more confident than ever before, and apparently salivating over the prospect of flexing her newfound muscle once the age verification legislation takes effect on 10 December 2025.

And there's no cavalry on the way when the Shadow Communications Minister says she's 'proud' to have played a role in introducing the age verification laws into parliament, and fully supports its enforcement.

The Free Speech Union of Australia is one of the only things standing between the e-Safety Commissioner and her vision for an Australia that is less free: where only sanitised, pre-approved ideas and information are available to all, including our youngest Australians.

You can do your part in the fight against censorship by joining us as a member from as little as $5 a month (or less with a tax deduction) or by donating to our fighting fund today! We gratefully appreciate all support.

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eSafety Commissioner v Baumgarten - Transcript Extracts

To illustrate what happpened before the Federal Court, we've provdied some extracts from the official transcript below.

Chief Justice Concerns Over New Arguments on Appeal

Chief Justice Mortimer raises concerns that eSafety is raising fresh arguments that were not at issue before the ART at first instance.

Transcript Extract:
MORTIMER CJ:And how much of this was an issue before the tribunal?
MR BEGBIE:Well, the way the argument developed – and your Honour knows I wasn't there – but the way the argument developed was a little bit unusual because of the way the issues were exposed in the course of the tribunal proceedings. So if we ‑ ‑ ‑
MORTIMER CJ:We seem to be going down a track, Mr Begbie, that really wasn't the way the matter was put to the tribunal.
MR BEGBIE:We accept that, in fairness to the tribunal. We're doing a construction exercise that was not done before it, but in fairness ‑ ‑ ‑
MORTIMER CJ:And was not submitted by the commissioner before it.
MR BEGBIE:That's what I'm saying, but in fairness to the commissioner, when your Honours look at the way that proceeding evolved and unfolded, there are reasons why that has happened. So ‑ ‑ ‑
MORTIMER CJ:Well, it was the commissioner's objection to jurisdiction?

Frequently Asked Questions

The FSU has been successful in every litigation matter it has been involved in or commenced against the eSafety Commissioner, and has also successfully brought to light inappropriate conduct by the eSafety Commissioner’s office. Your donation will allow the FSU and its staff to continue this important work, including immediate fights around age verification.

We have launched proceedings against the Commissioner's recent attempt to censor the news. We have also done an investigation into Age Verification which demonstrates that the Age Assurance Technology Trial is misleading.

In addition, we have run adverts about the eSafety Commissioner and enabled a large number of people to make submissions to Parliament.

Usually yes, if you are in work. While you need to seek financial and tax advice that is tailored to you, generally an FSU membership is tax deductible for most professions in the same way a union or professional organisation would be! This is different to donations, as we do not (yet) have Deductible Gift Recipient Status.

You can sign up to the FSU newsletter and updates (here) and also follow the FSU on LinkedIn, X etc.