Good afternoon First name,

 

December’s rolling on quickly, and we’re in the last stretch of a massive year — for our families, for digital freedoms, and for the shape of Australia’s health governance.

 

Here’s what you need to know this week:

 

With the ban now in effect, parents were hoping for certainty. What we’re seeing instead is a messy start and a lot of unanswered questions. Here’s what’s emerging.

 

Canberra promised simplicity. What families got was confusion, patchy communication and a policy that does not line up with how young people actually use the internet. A policy with this level of impact needed real input from the people living with it — not mixed messages and patchy enforcement.

 

Stand Up Now Australia will keep tracking how this unfolds and share what it means for families as the situation develops.

While the headlines focus on the social media ban, another major shift is already underway. The A-CDC Act begins operating on 1 January, and its data powers, emergency triggers and global reporting obligations will reshape how health information moves through the country.

To help Australians cut through the jargon and see what this means in practice, we’re hosting a live session with George Christensen and international governance researcher James Roguski. Two very different perspectives — one clear conversation.

 

If you want to understand how these new powers work, what sits behind them, and where the guardrails fall short, this is the webinar to be in.

Next year is shaping up to be big.
If you’ve been thinking about lending a hand — from research to events to digital support — this is the moment. We’re building the largest community-led, non-partisan political movement in the country. You don’t need a title. You just need to care.

Thanks for sticking with us through a whirlwind few months. These issues move fast in Canberra — but so do everyday Australians when we look out for one another.

 

Onward,
the Stand Up Now Australia team