Reporting to other authorities
Some bullying may necessitate reporting to other authorities outside the school.
Reporting behaviours that may be a crime
Bullying in person and online can sometimes include behaviours that are against the law. These include if someone:
- is physically violent
- intimidates or threatens violence
- stalks another person, which means following, watching or contacting the person repeatedly in a way that scares them
- damages or steals belongings
- accesses personal accounts without permission
- spreads lies to hurt a person's reputation (defamation)
- encourages someone to commit suicide
- shares inappropriate sexual images.
- seriously harasses a person because of their:
- gender identity
If you feel you are in immediate physical danger call the police in your state or territory.
If you think the behaviours might be against the law, keep notes on what happened and when, evidence of screen shots, account details or messages that have been received.
If you are being harassed or discriminated against you can contact the Australian Human Rights Commission online or on 1300 656 419. You need to contact them within 12 months of the incident you are reporting. Your state or territory may also have an Anti-Discrimination Commission.
Reporting serious online bullying
You can flag or report inappropriate or offensive content to the website administrator. Administrators can remove posts and content from your account which they agree are inappropriate or against their terms of service.
If you need more help to deal with online bullying or other inappropriate behaviours online, you can:
Office of the eSafety Commissioner provides a
complaint scheme for all Australians' who experience serious bullying online.
This includes managing complaints about offensive or illegal online content. Visit the website at
Some of the specific website links relating to online bullying and other complaints are:
The Office also leads
online safety education for the Australian Government through virtual classrooms, internet safety awareness presentation and a pre-service teacher program.