Online safety
We spend time online every day, and children and young people in Australia are using devices and apps for messaging, education, video games, and more. Many businesses and organisations also interact with children and young people online.
When online, children and young people are at risk of being exposed to:
- cyberbullying
- inappropriate or harmful content
- sexual abuse
- extortion
- other unwanted contact.
It is important that children and young people, their carers and organisations are equipped to manage and respond to these risks.
The National Office for Child Safety works with several key government agencies, including the eSafety Commissioner, the Australian Centre to Counter Child Exploitation and federal, state and territory police, to help keep children and young people safe online.
The Shadows of the Web – Protecting our children in the digital world documentary
This documentary is for any technology consumer or anyone with children and young people in their lives. It’s about the role of tech companies in keeping children and young people safe online. It informs families and the community about the escalating threat of online child sexual exploitation and abuse, Australia’s response and the challenges we face.
The Shadows of the Web – Protecting Our Children in the Digital World is currently not available here for viewing. If you are in Australia, it will be available on STAN from 9 December 2024. If you would like to discuss a screening event for the documentary, either in Australia or internationally, please contact InnovativeEngagement@ag.gov.au.
The Shadows of the Web – Protecting our children in the digital world was produced by Blackfisch and commissioned by the National Office under the National Strategy to Prevent and Respond to Child Sexual Abuse 2021-2030.
It works alongside the ‘One Talk at a Time’ campaign to encourage families and the community to have ongoing, proactive, preventative conversations with children and young people about the risks that the internet can present and how they can stay safe.
Being informed about the risks children and young people can be exposed to online and having conversations with them about online safety is a key part of helping to keep them safe. Our conversation toolkit provides topics and conversation starters to help you have preventative conversations with children, young people and adults in your life.
The eSafety Commissioner also has a range of resources to support adults to learn more and have conversations to protect children and young people from sexual abuse online.
Grooming
Online grooming is the process of establishing and building a relationship with a child or young person while online, to facilitate sexual abuse that is either physical (in person) or online. This is achieved can happen through the internet or other technologies such as phones, social media, gaming, chat and messaging apps. You can find more information about grooming, including what to do and how to prevent it, on our dedicated Grooming page.
Sextortion
Sexual extortion, also known as sextortion, is a form of online blackmail where a person may coerce someone into sending sexual images and then threaten to share those images unless certain demands are met.
Perpetrators may also capture sexual images of someone while they are on live stream or video, sometimes without their knowledge. This is also known as ‘capping’. Online perpetrators may make demands for money or sexual favours. Although sextortion can happen to anyone, children and young people are more vulnerable, and perpetrators will often target children and young people them.
Sexual images and videos that depict a person under the age of 18 are considered child abuse material. Once they get this material, perpetrators will often threaten children and young people that they will share the image with their friends or family unless they comply with demands. This can lead to children and young people feeling scared, embarrassed or ashamed, and discourage them from reporting the crime.
It is important for children and young people to know that they will not be in trouble with law enforcement if they report sextortion.
The Australian Federal Police-led Australian Centre to Counter Child Exploitation (ACCCE) works closely with the eSafety Commissioner to combat online child sexual exploitation and keep Australian children and young people safer online. The ACCCE provides a centre of expertise and specialist skills to coordinate responses to online child sexual exploitation and abuse in Australia. The ACCCE has primary responsibility for investigating and preventing online sexual exploitation of children and young people, including sextortion.
The ACCCE has seen a significant increase in this crime against children and young people and has developed a suite of advice and resources to assist the community to support victims in dealing with this crime, including:
- information to recognise sextortion
- advice on how to report
- posters
- ThinkUKnow online blackmail and sexual extortion response kit
- animations.
For more information about what to do if you or someone you know has been a victim of sextortion, visit the Australian Centre to Counter Child Exploitation website.
How to report child sexual abuse online
If you or a child are in immediate danger, call Triple Zero (000).
Online child sexual exploitation should be reported to the ACCCE. The ACCCE has developed a video to help guide you through how to make a report. If you or someone you know is impacted by child sexual abuse and online exploitation, there are support services on the ACCCE website.
The eSafety Commissioner can help remove:
- seriously harmful child cyberbullying content
- image-based abuse (intimate images or videos shared without the consent of the person shown)
- illegal and harmful online content
The eSafety Commissioner's website has details about what you can report to them.
Go to Make a report for more information about reporting child sexual abuse.
Other helpful resources
The eSafety Commissioner educates Australians about online safety risks and helps to remove harmful content such as cyberbullying of children, adult cyber abuse and intimate images or videos shared without consent.
The eSafety Commissioner has a range of educational and practical online safety resources for all age groups, including specific material for children (primary school age), young people (secondary school age) and parents and carers.
Their resources include:
- tips to stay safe online
- how to respond to cyberbullying
- child grooming
- sending nudes and sexting
- dealing with sextortion
- playing online games
- developing a family tech agreement
- identifying and responding to unsafe or unwanted contact, and
- protecting personal information online.
The eSafety Commissioner also provides resources for organisations, such as the Toolkit for Schools and classroom resources to support educators in creating safer online environments.
The Australian Federal Police (AFP) leads the ThinkUKnow program, which is the only nationally delivered law enforcement led online safety program aiming to educate the community about online child sexual exploitation and how to stay safe.
The ThinkUKnow website includes a suite of resources for parents, carers and educators including find advice articles, factsheets, guides, teacher toolkits and at-home learning activities. Schools and organisations can also submit an expression of interest for a ThinkUKnow presentation.
Jack Changes the Game is a picture book developed by the AFP ThinkUKnow program in partnership with the ACCCE to support parents, carers and educators to have conversations with children about online child safety.
The Carly Ryan Foundation has a range of resources on internet safety, including their app fact sheets.