Roblox to roll out age verification checks in Australia

Alongside New Zealand and the Netherlands too, and the rest of the world in 2026.

Roblox will roll out age verification checks in Australia, New Zealand, and the Netherlands in early December, followed by “the rest of the world where chat is available” in January 2026.

The checks are currently in place and voluntary before they’ll be required “during the first week of December” for anyone wishing to use in-game features like chat.

The verification process will be completed through Roblox and the camera on a player’s device. A picture of a user will be checked by Facial Age Estimation, with a player assigned an age based on the program’s assessment.

“Images and video for age checks completed through Facial Age Estimation are processed by our vendor, Persona, and deleted immediately after processing,” the company said.

Roblox will use age verification to place users in “similar age groups with age-based chat” alongside “age-appropriate experiences”.

“Enforcing age checks allows us to implement age-based chat, which helps users better understand who they’re communicating with and limits chat between minors and adults. Facial Age Estimation technology makes this possible at scale,” reads an update from the company.

“To keep our youngest users safe, chat in experiences will be turned to default off for users under nine years old, unless a parent provides consent after an age check. Chat outside of experiences remains restricted for users under 13.”

Age-based chat groups run the following age ranges: Under 9, 9-12, 13-15, 16-17, 18-20, or 21+. Users in an age-based group will be able to chat with “those in their own age groups and similar age groups” — an example given was that a 12-year-old will be able to chat with a 15-year-old, and an 18-year-old can speak with those aged 16 or older, or to a younger sibling once they’ve been defined as a trusted connection.

“Early next year, we will also require age checks to access social media links on user profiles, communities and experience details pages,” the company added.

Parents of players of Roblox can learn more about parental controls here, and learn more about age verification here.

From 10 December 2025, the Australian Government has declared that “social media platforms must take reasonable steps to prevent Australians under 16s from having accounts” following amendments to the Online Safety Act that have introduced a social media minimum age framework.