The government has requested that the online dating industry develop a new voluntary code of practice to protect Australians using their services.

“If this does not deliver improved safety for Australian users, we will have no hesitation in taking this further,” Communications Minister Michelle Rowland told reporters in Canberra on Monday.

She said the government would take advice from the eSafety commissioner on any possible regulations, but they could include complaints handling, dealing with law enforcement and embedding safety features.

Social Services Minister Amanda Rishworth said dating app providers had a moral responsibility.

“My message to industry is they have a role to play in identifying bad behaviour … to identify if it crosses legal lines and intervene early,” she said.

“One of the huge opportunities we have here is for dating apps to find patterns of behaviour that may be occurring and, before they escalate, actually intervene.”

The government wants the code in place by mid-2024 including commitments to better engage with police, support users, improve safety measures and be more transparent about the potential harms.

The Australian Institute of Criminology found three in four people using online dating experienced some form of sexual violence facilitated by the app.

This included sexual harassment, abusive or threatening language, image-based sexual abuse and stalking.

Ms Rowland said there were opportunities for platforms to innovate in order to improve protections.

She said a roundtable with the sector had already delivered some improved standards.

1800 RESPECT (1800 737 732)

National Sexual Abuse and Redress Support Service 1800 211 028