Victoria launches updated Let's Stop Bullying resources amid calls for stronger online protections

The Victorian Department of Education has released updated teaching materials and parent guides under the national Let's Stop Bullying campaign, with a new focus on cyberbullying scenarios involving image-based abuse and coercive messaging. The refreshed resources include case studies for Years 7-10 and a dedicated module on responding to AI-generated deepfake imagery targeting students. Victorian Education Minister Natalie Hutchins said the updates reflect consultation findings from 48 secondary schools and align with recommendations from the federal Anti-Bullying Rapid Review released in July 2026, which called for more explicit guidance on emerging digital threats.

Educational resources equip students and teachers to recognise harmful behaviour, but recognition alone does not prevent the harm from reaching its target in the first instance. Detection technology that operates at the point of first contact closes that gap. Guardii's anti-cyberbullying and anti-CSAM modules screen direct-message conversations in real time across Instagram, Discord, Snapchat, Roblox and other platforms, identifying coercion, sustained targeting and image-based abuse including AI-generated deepfakes before the material is opened or the conversation escalates. The system reports the shape and seriousness of the threat rather than exposing every message, enabling a parent or school to intervene when it matters most, at the moment a child is targeted and not days later when the psychological harm is already compounding.