Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, TikTok and YouTube have been accused by the government of breaching laws requiring them to bar under-16s from holding social media accounts.
In a compliance report on the legislation published on Tuesday, the eSafety Commissioner found platforms were giving users limitless chances to scan their faces in age-assurance checks, making it easy to find ways to circumvent the measures.
"That is taking the mickey and not upholding either the purpose of the law or the actual law, which all five of these platforms who are now under investigation, did say they would respect," Communications Minister Anika Wells told reporters.
The report said there had not been a notable change in the number of cyberbullying and image-based abuse complaints involving age-restricted accounts in early 2026 when compared with the same period in 2025.
Ms Wells said it would take time for the measures to take effect and she would continue to be transparent about its impact.
"That cultural change is going to take time, we've always said that," she said.
The minister could not provide a timeline on when platforms would be fined for any breaches, saying evidence was still being gathered against them.
Platforms face fines of up to $49.5 million if they do not comply.
Opposition communications spokeswoman Sarah Henderson said the report showed the government was "big on announcements, hopeless on implementation and missing in action on tough policy solutions".
"Labor's social media ban is riddled with defects and does nothing to mitigate the harm caused to thousands of children who are either dodging the ban or fall outside its scope," she said.
Despite overall reductions in account ownership, eSafety noted a significant proportion of children under 16 were still on the platforms.
The compliance report, which surveyed 898 parents at the end of January, said about seven in 10 children who previously used social media still had an account of Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat or TikTok after the ban.
About half still had an account on YouTube.
As a result, eSafety Commissioner Julie Inman Grant said her agency was moving into an enforcement stance.
"These platforms can comply today and we certainly expect companies operating in Australia to comply with our safety laws," she said.
"They can choose to do so or face escalating consequences including profound reputational erosion with governments and consumers globally."
Despite the survey numbers, Ms Wells heralded the laws a success as five million Australian accounts have been deactivated since December 10.
Other nations such as Indonesia have followed suit with similar laws, while several European countries are considering age-related bans.
A spokesperson for Meta, the company that owns Facebook and Instagram, said it was committed to complying with the ban, but criticised the government's age-assurance technology trial.
"The most effective, privacy-protective and consistent approach is to require robust age verification and parental approval at the app store before a teen can download an app or create an account," the spokesperson said.
The crackdown on digital platforms comes as the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner published a draft Children's Online Privacy Code ahead of the measure being established by the end of 2027.
It carries $50 million fines for breaches and will require online services to act in a child's best interest before collecting, using or sharing their data.
The proposed code would also give children the right to demand permanent removal of their personal data from a range of companies, including social media providers, gaming apps and search engines.
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