Social Media Age Restrictions, Junior Athletes and Lacrosse Victoria

From 10 December 2025, new Australian legislation prevents anyone under 16 from holding accounts on Facebook and Instagram. We have received questions from parents about whether this means we will stop featuring junior players in our content. The short answer: absolutely not.

What The Law Actually Changes

The legislation targets who can have social media accounts, not what organisations can post. Under 16s in Australia will lose access to their own Facebook and Instagram accounts, but they can still view our public pages without logging in. More importantly, the law does not prevent us from posting photos, videos or updates about our junior athletes.

We will continue to celebrate the achievements of our under 16 players exactly as we always have, with full parental consent and in strict accordance with our child safety policy.

A Note On What Does Not Apply To Us

There is a lot of information out there about this legislation covering platforms like TikTok, Snapchat and various others. We do not run a TikTok account. YouTube development is on the 2026 plan, so it is not addressed here. As a small sporting association with limited resources, we focus on Facebook and Instagram. This means a lot of the noise around the legislation simply does not apply to us. We are keeping this straightforward because that is all it needs to be.

Our Commitment To Junior Athletes

Growth in the junior sector matters enormously to lacrosse in Victoria. We need to keep promoting our sport to young players and showcasing the pathways available to them. You know, the ol' "If they cannot see it, they cannot be it."

Nothing in this legislation stops us from:

• Posting photos of junior athletes (with parental consent, which we already obtain)

• Advertising trial dates for U15 and U18 representative teams

• Sharing tournament and competition rosters and results

• Celebrating achievements across all age groups

• Creating video content featuring junior players

What Parents Need To Know

Follow our channels on your own accounts. This is the most important change. If your child previously followed our Instagram or Facebook through their own account, they will lose that access. You should be following Lacrosse Victoria directly so you do not miss announcements about trials, team selections or tournament information. Do not rely on your 14-year-old to pass on trial dates. We all know how that ends.

Check our website regularly. All major announcements are published here, in addition to social media. Our redesigned website will feature a live snippet of our Instagram feed on the home page (the website will be relaunching soon! Promise.), and we can embed video content directly into articles, making everything accessible without needing a social media account at all.

Your child can still see our content. Our Facebook and Instagram pages are public. Anyone can view them without logging in. Your child will not be invisible or excluded from our celebrations of their achievements.

Child Safety Remains Our Priority

We have always taken online child safety seriously, and that commitment extends to every piece of content we produce. We:

• Obtain photography permissions from parents and guardians

• Respect those permissions rigorously

• Follow our child safety policy for all online content

• Do not share underage player-run accounts on our main channels

• Work within the law to protect young athletes while promoting their achievements

This legislation does not change our approach because we have always operated to a higher standard than what is now legally required.

The Practical Reality

Some of our social media followers will lose their accounts as platforms remove under 16 users. Our follower count may drop. But our reach and our commitment to junior lacrosse will not.

We will continue to post about U15 tournaments. We will continue to feature junior rep athletes. We will continue to promote trials and celebrate selections. We will do this safely, legally and with the full consent of parents and guardians.

Parents, follow our channels. Check our website. Stay connected. Your young athletes will continue to be seen, celebrated and promoted as the future of lacrosse in Victoria.

More Information

We understand this might feel daunting to junior athletes and their families as you deal with the practicalities of these changes. While we have only written here about how it affects Lacrosse Victoria, we want to provide you with these links for more information on how it may affect you and your family.

E-safety Information Hub

Australia Enacts Social Media Ban for Under-16s Starting 2025

YouTube restrictions explained