National anti-bullying framework to be reviewed as cyberbullying rates soar

The Australian federal government has announced a comprehensive review of the National Framework for Protecting Australia's Children following a sharp increase in reported cyberbullying incidents among school-aged children. New data from the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare shows that 32 percent of children aged 12-17 reported experiencing cyberbullying in the past year, up from 24 percent in 2023, with social media platforms Discord, Instagram and Snapchat identified as the primary channels. Education Minister Jason Clare stated the review will examine whether current school policies and state-level responses adequately address the evolving nature of online harassment and will report findings by March 2027.

Prevention at the point of contact addresses the operational gap the review has identified. Guardii's real-time cyberbullying detection module monitors direct-message conversations across Instagram, Snapchat, Discord and the other platforms named in the Institute's data, identifying sustained targeting and escalation patterns as they develop rather than waiting for a child to report harm after the fact. By blocking hostile contact before it reaches the target and surfacing a child in acute distress to a parent or school professional, the system enables intervention at the moment risk crystallises, closing the window between the first abusive message and the compounding psychological injury that follows.