Screen time by age in Australia
The current AU 24-hour movement guidelines, translated from the white paper into something you can actually use. Plus the parts they don't cover.
Every conversation about screens eventually arrives at "how much is too much?". The Australian government publishes formal guidance on that — the 24-Hour Movement Guidelines, produced by the Department of Health and Aged Care. Most parents have never read them. They are short, sensible, and worth knowing.
What the guidelines actually say
0–2 years
No sedentary screen time at all, except for video-chatting with loved ones. This includes background TV. The reason is that under-2s are in the most active period of language and attachment development, and screen exposure at this age displaces the interactions that build both.
2–5 years
Less than one hour of sedentary screen time per day. Less is better. This is about developmental priority — at this age, active play and language-rich interaction deliver much more per hour than screens do.
5–13 years
No more than two hours of sedentary recreational screen time per day. Recreational is the key word — this does not include homework-related screen use at school. It also does not include things like video-calling grandparents.
14–17 years
No more than two hours of sedentary recreational screen time per day. The figure does not go up at adolescence. The reason is the same as the reason teens need more sleep than adults: adolescent brains are in a period of intense remodelling and benefit from protected offline time.
What the guidelines don't tell you
The guidelines are useful as a benchmark. They are not a complete answer. Here is what they deliberately don't address:
- Content type. Two hours of Duolingo and two hours of TikTok are not neurologically equivalent.
- Context. Screen time with a parent, asking questions and talking about what's on screen, is developmentally very different from screen time alone.
- Displacement. The damage caused by screen time depends heavily on what it's replacing — sleep, outdoor play, face-to-face interaction, reading.
- Neurodivergence. A child with ADHD or autism may have different needs and different pull toward screens — not always a bad thing.
The three questions that matter more than the hour count
When parents ask "is my child's screen time too much?", the most useful reframe is:
- Is sleep being protected? (No screens in the last hour before bed, no screens in the bedroom.)
- Is physical activity happening? (An hour a day of moderate-to-vigorous activity for school-age kids.)
- Is face-to-face social time happening? (Friends, family, unstructured play, not just during school hours.)
If all three are solid, the screen time is probably not your biggest problem. If one or more is being eaten by screens, the hour count is secondary to what it is displacing.
What the eSafety Commissioner adds
The eSafety Commissioner (Australia's internet regulator, which is genuinely world-class) publishes age-specific guidance that goes beyond time. Their framework is worth knowing — it focuses on:
- Content appropriateness at each age.
- Privacy settings and what children should know about what they share.
- Device set-up — parental controls, family accounts, and what oversight looks like at each age.
- Digital citizenship — how to be a person online, not just how to consume.
The eSafety age-based guides are one of the few publicly-funded digital parenting resources in Australia worth the time. They are linked from esafety.gov.au and should be the first stop for any device-related decision with your child.
The under-16 social media rule
As of late 2025, the federal government passed legislation setting a minimum age of 16 for social media accounts in Australia. Enforcement rolls out through 2026. This is a significant policy shift, and it changes the landscape: parents who previously felt out of step with "everybody else" now have legal backing for holding the line.
The law covers the major platforms (TikTok, Instagram, Snapchat, Facebook, X, and others as defined by the eSafety Commissioner). It does not cover every app. Messaging apps, gaming platforms with chat features, and educational tools are outside the scope. Most of the practical work of parenting still falls on you.
The guidelines are a useful north star. They are not a verdict on your family. If you are close to them, good. If you are over, you are not alone — and the questions that matter most are about displacement, not hours.
Questions we hear a lot.
Do the 24-hour guidelines include school screen time?
No. The guidelines are specifically about recreational screen time — the screen use your child does outside of school or homework. The rationale is that school-based digital tasks are structured and purposeful, whereas recreational time is when displacement risk is highest.
What's the source for the under-16 social media law?
The Online Safety Amendment (Social Media Minimum Age) Act, passed by federal Parliament in late 2025. Enforcement by the eSafety Commissioner rolls out during 2026. Platforms are required to take reasonable steps to prevent under-16s from creating accounts.
Is co-viewing really that different from solo viewing?
Yes, particularly for younger kids. A 2-year-old watching Bluey with a parent who names things, asks questions, and references the episode later is getting a very different experience from a 2-year-old watching alone. The research on "joint media engagement" is one of the more robust findings in this field.
If this was useful.
Written by Seen Editorial · Editorial board
Reviewed by Dr. James Walker · Consultant paediatrician, RCH Melbourne
Last reviewed 2026-04-20. Reviewed annually or sooner if Australian guidance changes.
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