I've recently been teaching kids to code (in Aus) - 7 year olds already know about VPNs, and use them to circumvent various roadblocks to playing roblox!
Few things in this world can stop kids from finding a way to play their favorite video games.
According to recent studies kids don't know what a file or a folder is and can't even copy/paste anymore, I think we have a good margin.
You don't need any of those things to figure out how to install a VPN. My son had installed a VPN before he knew those concepts because a VPN mattered to him to circumvent region locks while knowing what folders are didn't.
"Hey guys, it's time to talk about our sponsor, Surf shark VPN"
file/folder abstractions are irrelevant for most mobile users. VPN is a different axis
Until they ban VPNs. Moral panics acknowledge no bounds of sanity.
Even China does not have a blanket VPN ban
The extent to which China "does not have a blanket VPN ban" is of no help to people who want to bypass the Great Firewall.
Banning VPNs requires significant investment in filtering traffic, because the VPNs these kids will be using won't be hosted in Australia.
What we'll learn first is how schools use the new law as a tool for limiting device access in general and kids spend 8 hours a day reliving Gen-X.