For Australian parents

The two school day rule: what your school is expected to do when you report bullying

Under the National Framework, being rolled out across all Australian schools by Term 1 2027, schools are expected to begin acting on bullying within two school days of becoming aware of it. The part that decides whether it helps your child is the phrase “becoming aware”. Here is what the rule actually says, what it does not say, and how to report bullying so the clock starts.

Last reviewed 9 August 2026. Sourced from the Australian Government Department of Education and the eSafety Commissioner.

The short version

▸Schools are expected to make reasonable efforts to initiate a response within two school days of becoming aware of bullying.
▸It does not mean the matter is resolved in two days.
▸The clock starts when the school finds out, so a written report is what triggers it.
▸By Term 1 2027 all Australian schools publish or link to a policy aligned to the National Framework, or an equivalent one in their state.

What the rule actually says

The National Framework for Addressing Bullying in Australian Schools states that all school systems and schools “make reasonable effort to initiate a response to any observed or reported harmful behaviour, including bullying, within two school days of becoming aware of the behaviour”. Note that the scope is harmful behaviour generally, with bullying named as one form of it. The Department of Education states plainly that this “doesn’t mean the matter will be resolved in two days, but the school should begin taking action right away”.

An initial response means early safety and support planning, action to prevent further harm, and initial communication. It is the start of a process rather than the end of one. Knowing that distinction protects you from two mistakes: expecting the problem to be fixed by Thursday, and accepting silence because the school says these things take time.

Where it came from

The rule originates in the Anti-Bullying Rapid Review, announced on 16 February 2025 and co-chaired by Dr Charlotte Keating and Professor Jo Robinson AM. Its final report, released on 18 October 2025, made eight recommendations. Education Ministers agreed to them, and in February 2026 reframed the recommended national standard as the National Framework.

Is it a law?

Not a Commonwealth one. It is an expectation in the National Framework, delivered through each state, territory and non-government education sector writing it into their own policies by Term 1 2027. The Minister for Education has described it publicly as a new requirement that schools act within two days. The Framework’s own language is softer, saying schools make reasonable effort to initiate a response.

For a parent this distinction matters less than it looks. Once your school has published a policy containing the two school day expectation, that policy is the standard the school has committed to and the one you can hold it to.

The clock starts at awareness, and that is the gap

Every obligation here begins at the moment a school observes or is told about bullying. Nothing in the Framework creates that moment.

That is a problem, because of where the harm now happens. The eSafety Commissioner surveyed 3,454 Australian children aged 10 to 17 between December 2024 and February 2025, then asked the 696 who had been cyberbullied about their most recent experience. Thirty-nine per cent said it happened in an online group chat and 27% in a message, text, email or call from one person, against 8% in comments on someone else’s page and 6% on their own page. Children could pick more than one setting, so those figures overlap and cannot be added up. What they do show is that the most common setting of all is one no teacher can observe.

Disclosure does not close the gap either. In eSafety’s Mind the Gap study, fielded in 2021, 69% of children who had been treated hurtfully online said they told their parents, and yet only 51% of parents whose child had been treated that way were aware of it. Disclosure also fell with age: among affected children, 64% of 14 to 17 year olds told a parent, compared with 75% of 8 to 10 year olds.

How to report so the clock starts

Put it in writing. Email creates a dated record of when the school became aware. A conversation in the car park does not.
Address it to the principal and copy the year coordinator or wellbeing lead.
Give dates, times, places and names. Specific incidents are actionable. General worry is not.
Attach your evidence and keep the originals.
Ask for four things: written acknowledgement, the immediate steps to keep your child safe, a named point of contact, and a date to review whether it has stopped.
Reference the policy. Name your school’s anti-bullying policy and the National Framework expectation.

What to do if nothing happens

Escalate in writing using the complaints process set out in your school’s own published policy, then to your state or territory education department or your school sector’s governing body. Keep the original report, any acknowledgement and a dated record of everything since. If the material is seriously harmful and online, the eSafety Commissioner operates a cyberbullying reporting scheme for Australian children.

Letter template: reporting bullying to your school

Free to copy and use. Replace anything in square brackets.

Subject: Formal report of bullying — [child's full name], [year level / class]

Dear [principal's name / year coordinator's name],

I am writing to formally report bullying affecting my child, [child's full name], in [year level / class].

What has happened
[Describe what occurred in plain, factual terms. Include what was said or done, and by whom if you know. Stick to what you can evidence.]

When it happened
[List each incident with the date and approximate time. If the behaviour is ongoing, give the date it started and the most recent occurrence.]

Where it happened
[For example: in class, in the yard, on the bus, in a group chat, on a named app or game. Say if it is happening online and outside school hours.]

Who else was involved or present
[Other students, staff, or witnesses, if known.]

Evidence I hold
[For example: screenshots dated DD/MM/YYYY, saved messages, a written account by my child. State what you have and keep the originals. Do not attach or forward any sexual or intimate image of a child, including of your own child. Say only that it exists, and report it to the eSafety Commissioner and the police instead.]

Impact on my child
[For example: reluctance to attend school, changes to sleep, withdrawal from friends, changes in schoolwork, anything a doctor or counsellor has noted.]

What I am asking the school to do
I am asking the school to initiate its response under its anti-bullying policy and the National Framework for Addressing Bullying in Australian Schools, which sets the expectation that schools make reasonable efforts to initiate a response within two school days of becoming aware of an incident.

Specifically, I am asking:
1. That you confirm receipt of this report in writing.
2. That you tell me what immediate steps will be taken to keep [child's name] safe at school.
3. That you tell me who will be the point of contact for this matter.
4. That we agree a date to review whether the behaviour has stopped.

I understand that initiating a response does not mean the matter is resolved within two school days. I am asking that the response begin.

I would appreciate a written acknowledgement of this report.

Kind regards,
[your full name]
[relationship to child]
[phone] | [email]
[date]

Before you attach anything: never send, forward or save a sexual or intimate image of a child, including your own child, to a school or anyone else. Doing so is a criminal offence in every Australian state and territory regardless of your intention. If the bullying involves that kind of image, describe that it exists and report it directly to the eSafety Commissioner and the police.

Five things that make a report harder to ignore

▸Send it by email so the date and time are recorded automatically. A conversation at pick-up is not a report the school can act on or evidence later.
▸Address it to the principal and copy the year coordinator or wellbeing lead. It removes any question about who received it.
▸Keep the tone factual. A letter that reads as evidence is harder to set aside than one that reads as a complaint.
▸Attach dated screenshots of ordinary messages rather than describing them, and keep the originals on the device they came from. See the warning below before attaching anything else.
▸If you receive no written acknowledgement, reply to your own email a few days later asking for confirmation of receipt. That reply builds the timeline.

How the rule came about

16 February 2025
The Anti-Bullying Rapid Review is announced, co-chaired by Dr Charlotte Keating and Professor Jo Robinson AM.
18 October 2025
The final report is released with eight recommendations, after Education Ministers agree to them on 17 October.
20 February 2026
Education Ministers reframe the recommended national standard as the National Framework for Addressing Bullying in Australian Schools.
9 August 2026
The Let’s Stop Bullying campaign launches, backed by $10 million including $5 million of national advertising.
Term 1 2027
All Australian schools publish or link to anti-bullying policies aligned to the National Framework, or an equivalent framework in their jurisdiction.

Common questions

What is the two school day rule?

The National Framework for Addressing Bullying in Australian Schools states that all school systems and schools make reasonable effort to initiate a response to any observed or reported harmful behaviour, including bullying, within two school days of becoming aware of the behaviour. It came out of the Anti-Bullying Rapid Review, whose final report was released on 18 October 2025, and it is being implemented across all schools by Term 1 2027.

Does the school have to resolve the bullying in two days?

No. The National Framework is explicit that this does not mean the matter will be resolved in two days. It means the school should begin taking action right away. An initial response covers early safety and support planning, action to prevent further harm, and initial communication.

When does the two school day clock start?

When the school becomes aware of the incident, either by observing it or by receiving a report. This is the part parents most often miss. If nobody at the school knows, the clock has not started, which is why a written report matters more than a conversation at pick-up.

Which schools does it apply to?

From the start of Term 1 2027, all schools in Australia, government, Catholic and independent, will publish or link to anti-bullying policies and procedures aligned with the National Framework, or an equivalent contemporary framework specific to their jurisdiction.

Is the two school day rule a law?

It is not a Commonwealth statute. Education Ministers agreed to the Rapid Review’s recommendations on 17 October 2025 and, on 20 February 2026, agreed to reframe the recommended national standard as the National Framework. It is implemented through each state, territory and non-government education sector embedding it in their own policies by Term 1 2027. The Minister for Education has publicly described it as a requirement that schools act within two days. The Framework’s own wording is that schools make reasonable effort to initiate a response.

What if my school does nothing?

Escalate in writing through the complaints process published in your school’s own anti-bullying policy, and then to your state or territory education department or the governing body of your school sector. Keep your original written report, any acknowledgement, and a dated record of what has happened since. The written trail is what makes escalation work.

What if the bullying is happening online rather than at school?

Report it to the school anyway if the children involved attend it, because online conflict between students rarely stays separate from school. The Anti-Bullying Rapid Review cites a figure of 84% of students bullied online also being bullied in person. You can also report seriously harmful online content to the eSafety Commissioner, whose cyberbullying scheme covers Australian children under 18. eSafety will generally only investigate once the content has first been reported to the platform it appeared on, so report it there first and keep a record.

This page explains publicly available Australian Government policy and is general information rather than legal advice. If your child is in immediate danger, contact your local police. Kids Helpline is available on 1800 55 1800 and the eSafety Commissioner takes reports of seriously harmful online content at esafety.gov.au.

The report is the trigger. Detection is what gets you there sooner.

Everything on this page starts once someone knows. Guardii detects sustained targeting, exclusion and coordinated pile-ons inside the group chats and direct messages where most of it happens, and tells a parent what is going on without handing over a transcript of their child’s conversations.

How Guardii works for parents

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