National anti-bullying framework under review as cyberbullying complaints surge

The Australian government has commissioned an Anti-Bullying Rapid Review to assess the effectiveness of the National Framework following a 34 percent increase in cyberbullying complaints reported by state education departments over the past eighteen months. The review, led by Professor Helen Askell-Williams from the University of South Australia, will examine coordination between federal policy and state implementation, with submissions closing in December and recommendations expected in early 2027.

Pattern-detection systems that identify escalation and sustained targeting in direct messages address the specific behaviours driving the complaint surge without requiring blanket restrictions on student device access. Guardii's cyberbullying detection module, a Meta Business Partner platform backed by Startmate, flags hostile contact before it reaches the target and surfaces a child experiencing sustained harassment to a school or parent in real time, enabling intervention at the point where harm occurs rather than after a formal complaint has been lodged.