Worried about Australian age verification measures? I've found the cheapest way to secure your personal data for years to come

Australia's new age verification legislation has left Australians raising their eyebrows.

Similar to enforcements in the UK and US, citizens will be required to verify that they are over 18 to access adult content. But, with this comes concerns that people's most sensitive data will be put at risk by communications with third parties.

Luckily, this is where a VPN can help. The best VPNs secure your online traffic, leaving no trace of your IP that snoopers can find, and securing data you transfer to age verification providers against malicious actors trying to intercept your information. What's more, doing this can cost under 3 AU$ per month.

My top pick for achieving this is Surfshark. It gives you unlimited simultaneous connections, it's the fastest VPN I've ever used, and you can choose to add a bunch of additional features if you want to completely secure your online presence.

While it's not quite as high-performing as NordVPN, our best Australia VPN overall, it's a superb option if you're new to VPNs and looking for something cheap and simple to use that's still powerful.

While a Surfshark Starter plan is the cheapest way to protect yourself during age verification checks, a One adds a full security suite, including antivirus and real-time data breach alerts. For a small monthly increase, this bundle provides broader digital protection than the base plans of many competitors.

NordVPN and Surfshark both offer 5 Australia locations. However, NordVPN offers more advanced security credentials and more consistent content unblocking capabilities.

Having tested both myself, you can rest assured that either choice will protect you should you choose to use a VPN when verifying your age. But, no matter if you choose Surfshark or NordVPN, make sure to turn off auto-renewals after signing up, as both enforce large price jumps at the end of your plan if you don't.