Children will be banned from social media under tough new rules that would punish tech companies for flouting the law.
The federal government is holding an age-verification trial over the next couple of months for kids aged between 14 and 16.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said the government would introduce legislation before the end of the year.
"This is a scourge," he told ABC News on Tuesday.
Mr Albanese said it was known there were mental health consequences for many young people having to deal with the bullying online and having access to material which causes social harm, with parents wanting a response.
Describing social media as "social harm" Mr Albanese said the government was listening to the concerns of parents and the community.
The Commonwealth was working with the states and territories to create a unformed framework, he said.
Mr Albanese said tech giants had obligations.
"Social media has a social responsibility in order to have that social licence that they require to operate in a decent society," he said.
"They're not above everyone else, they can't just say, 'we're a big multinational company, we can do whatever we like regardless of the harm that's being caused'."
NSW Premier Chris Minns said social media had been an "unregulated" global experiment on young people.
"I think the South Australian model, which is 14 with parental consent from 14 to 16, is a good model," he said.
"Basically the parents would have to agree online to let your child have access to social media."