Information for Trusted eSafety Providers

The eSafety Commissioner (eSafety) is Australia’s independent regulator for online safety. Our purpose is to help safeguard Australians at risk of online harms through regulatory schemes and to promote safer, more positive online experiences. Read more about what we do and how we can help.

Trusted eSafety Providers are required to provide specific information about eSafety’s reporting services where it is relevant to the program and audience.

eSafety administers four reporting schemes under the Online Safety Act that can help remove serious online abuse, and illegal and restricted online content.

Serious online abuse is when the internet is used to send, post or share content that is likely to harm the physical or mental health of the person targeted. This includes:

• cyberbullying of a child or young person (under 18)
• adult cyber abuse (18 years and older)
• image-based abuse (sharing, or threatening to share, an intimate image or video without the consent of the person shown).

Illegal and restricted online content includes material that shows or encourages child sexual abuse, terrorism or other extreme violence.

How eSafety can help

For eSafety to investigate serious online abuse, a report must meet a legal ‘threshold’. This means it must be serious enough to be covered by the scope of the Online Safety Act. Read more about the definitions and thresholds for investigation.

In the most serious cases, when the service or platform does not help, eSafety can:

• direct platforms to remove harmful content sent to or shared about an Australian
• fine or take legal action against a service or platform that refuses to remove harmful content, or the person who sent, posted or shared it
• offer support, including advice on how to protect yourself, deal with the experience, and find counselling and support.

eSafety treats all reports of online abuse or illegal and restricted content seriously. A report can be made by:

• a child or young person who lives in Australia (but they can be on an overseas holiday at the time)
• a parent or guardian, if they know their child has been targeted by harmful content
• a trusted adult, such as a police officer or teacher, on the child’s behalf.

eSafety's research shows that some people and communities face a higher risk of online abuse and serious harm, due to a range of intersectional factors. These factors include race, religion, cultural background, gender, sexual orientation, disability, and mental health conditions.

Customising program content to address the different needs of participants is also a key theme of the Best Practice Framework for Online Safety Education. This includes addressing topics that are relevant and appropriate, ensuring learning experiences are accessible, respecting student diversity and being inclusive of gender, culture, ability and socio-economic status.

Find information about supporting the needs of your audience using these resources:

• First Nations
• LGBTIQ+ community
• Culturally and linguistically diverse communities
• People with disability
• Women
• Older Australians
• Young people
• Parents.

Spread the word about online safety with your networks. Download the resources on this page to access suggested wording and images for social media, newsletters and your website, as well as posters and guides about reporting.

Quick guides

These resources provide key online safety information and steps for reporting cyberbullying, adult cyber abuse and image-based abuse.

The cyberbullying quick guide is also available in Arabic, Punjabi, Simplified Chinese and Vietnamese.

The adult cyber abuse quick guide is also available in Arabic, Dinka, Filipino, Hindi, Korean, Nepali, Persian, Punjabi, Simplified Chinese and Traditional Chinese, Spanish, Thai and Vietnamese.

Reporting flowchart and poster

Click on the file link to download the ‘How to report cyberbullying’ A3 poster and ‘What to do if something bad happens online’ flowchart.

Social media kit

This kit includes suggested posts and images to use on your social media channels, or share with schools and client organisations.

Newsletter and website kit

This kit includes suggested articles and images to use in your organisation’s newsletter or website, or share with schools and client organisations.