Gaming

In short:

• Online gaming has a range of benefits for children and young people.
• You can help your child develop healthy gaming habits by staying involved and supportive.
• Gaming can expose young players to risks like cyberbullying and sexual grooming.
• Some games simulate or encourage gambling through the spending of real money or incentives such as tokens and points.
• It’s important to help your child understand the risks of gaming and how to get help if something goes wrong.

How to report

Before playing, children should know what behaviour should be reported and how to report to the platform or eSafety.

You can make a report together with your child, or they may ask you to report on their behalf. Then follow these steps:

Collect evidence: This includes the web page address (URL), user profile names and taking screenshots of what has happened and where. Learn more about how to collect evidence.

Report it:

• Harmful posts, comments, messages and profiles should be reported to the online platform or service first – many of these links are listed in The eSafety Guide. If the service doesn’t help, and the abuse is very serious, report it to eSafety.
• Sharing or threatening to share an intimate image or video of a person without their consent is image-based abuse – it can be reported to eSafety immediately unless they’re being blackmailed.
  • If they’re under 18 and being blackmailed, the best way to get help is to report it to the Australian Centre to Counter Child Exploitation (ACCCE).
  • If they are 18 or older and being blackmailed, they should report it to any platforms or services where the blackmailer contacted them. If their intimate image or video is shared, it can be reported to eSafety for removal. See more advice on our page about how to deal with sexual extortion.
• Illegal and restricted online content (such as material that shows or encourages child sexual abuse, terrorism or other extreme violence) can be reported to eSafety immediately.

Stop contact: Let your child know they can mute the other account, tighten their security settings and prevent content from being shared further.

Get support: Explore our advice pages for parents and carers about how to help your child if they are dealing with issues such as cyberbullying, unsafe contact and grooming, and online child sexual abuse. 

You may find it useful to share with them strategies for managing the impacts of cyberbullying, image-based abuse, or if they have been exposed to illegal and restricted online content. You can also find counselling and support that is right for your child.

From 10 December 2025, certain social media platforms won’t be allowed to let Australians under 16 create or keep an account.

What you need to know:

• From 10 December 2025, Facebook, Instagram, Kick, Reddit, Snapchat, Threads, TikTok, Twitch, X and YouTube will be required to take reasonable steps to prevent Australians under 16 from having accounts on their platforms. See the latest list.
• Under-16s will still be able to see publicly available social media content that doesn’t require logging into an account.
• Most standalone gaming and messaging apps, as well as many services that support health and education, will not be affected by the new law.
• There are no penalties for under-16s who access an account on an age-restricted social media platform, or for their parents or carers. This is about making the platforms take greater responsibility for the safety of children – they face penalties of up to $49.5 million if they don’t take reasonable steps to implement the changes.

Find out more at social media age restrictions and your family.