Is Steam safe for kids? An Australian parent's guide
By Ray & Renie Robinson, Aunty Bea · Updated June 2026
Steam is the world's largest PC gaming platform, with over 50,000 games and more than 130 million active
users. It is exempt from Australia's under-16 social media ban — and most parents have never looked closely
at it. Here is what you need to know.
Is Steam covered by Australia's social media ban?
No. Australia's under-16 social media ban targets
ten specific social platforms. Gaming platforms are explicitly exempt.
The ban doesn't cover Steam, Roblox, Fortnite
or any other gaming service — so there is no legal restriction on children accessing them.
What Steam actually is
Steam is Valve's digital game store and launcher for PC and Mac. You buy or download games through the
platform, launch them from the Steam app, and optionally connect with friends. Steam also has:
A community hub with forums, reviews, and user-generated content for every game
A friend list, direct messaging and in-game voice chat (in supported games)
A virtual item marketplace where game items can be bought, sold and traded for real money
A workshop for user-created game mods
It is not just a game store — it is a social and economic platform wrapped around gaming.
The real risks for children
Adult and MA15+ content
Steam sells games rated R18+ under Australia's classification system, including games with graphic violence,
sexual content and themes of drug use. By default, adult-only content is gated behind age verification —
but this requires only entering a birth date. A teenager can trivially bypass it.
Mature games (MA15+) are not restricted at all. A 10-year-old can purchase and play MA15+ titles on Steam
without any friction.
Trading scams — a significant and underreported risk
Steam's virtual item economy is substantial. Cosmetic items in games like Counter-Strike 2 can be worth
hundreds or thousands of dollars. Scammers specifically target young players who do not understand the value
of what they own. Common tactics include:
Fake trade offers that swap valuable items for near-worthless ones
Phishing links disguised as Steam login pages that steal account credentials
Impersonation of Steam support asking for account details
Social engineering via Discord or in-game chat to build trust before a scam
Stolen items on Steam are rarely recovered. Valve's support policy does not restore items lost to scams.
Community chat and stranger contact
Steam's community hubs contain forums for every game. These are open to all users and moderated inconsistently.
Friend requests can come from strangers, and direct messages are on by default. Young players who appear
to be skilled at a game — visible from their public profile — often attract contact from unknown adults.
User-generated mods
Steam Workshop allows anyone to create and distribute game modifications. Some mods for mature games contain
explicit content that the game's base version does not. A parent who has approved a child playing a particular
game may not be aware that the version the child is running has been modified.
Practical steps for parents
Set up Steam Family. Steam's parental controls let you set a PIN, restrict content by
maturity rating, and prevent purchases without approval. Go to Steam → Settings → Family to enable it.
Set the content maturity filter. Within Steam Family settings, you can cap the content rating
at a level appropriate for your child's age. This prevents R18+ and MA15+ games from appearing in their store.
Review the friend list. Check who your child is friends with on Steam. Unknown accounts
with no shared games or recent activity are worth a conversation.
Talk about scams explicitly. Tell your child that no legitimate service, friend or support
team will ever ask for their Steam password or request a trade "to verify" their account. This conversation
is worth having before they encounter it.
Disable or restrict trading. If your child does not need to trade items, disable trading in
their account settings. This removes the primary surface area for scams.
Cross-links: other exempt gaming platforms
Steam is one of several gaming platforms exempt from the ban. Our guides on
Fortnite,
Minecraft and
Roblox cover the risks in each of those platforms.
For messaging apps also exempt from the ban, see our guides on
Discord and
Messenger.
A note from us
Steam was on our radar because of the trading ecosystem. One of our kids had accumulated in-game items worth
more than we realised, and the scam attempts followed. The conversation about item value — and about who
to trust online — came later than it should have. Aunty Bea helps us see the patterns before they become problems.
Frequently asked questions
No. Steam is a gaming platform and is explicitly exempt from Australia's under-16 social media ban. There is no legal barrier to children using it.
Yes. Steam sells games rated R18+ and MA15+ in Australia. Adult-only content requires age verification, but minors can easily bypass this by entering a false birth date. MA15+ games have no restriction.
Steam's virtual item marketplace gives in-game items real monetary value. Scammers target young players with fake trade offers, phishing links and impersonation to steal valuable items. Stolen items are rarely recovered.
Yes. Friend requests and messages are open to all users by default. Privacy settings can restrict this, but many players leave them at default.
Yes. Steam Family allows parents to approve game purchases, set content maturity filters and see their child's playtime. It is found in Steam Settings under Family.
No. Fortnite is distributed through the Epic Games launcher, not Steam. They are separate platforms.
Steam is one of many gaming platforms exempt from Australia's ban. Aunty Bea helps you see usage
patterns across every app on your child's device — gaming platforms included.