Australian Schools Required to Respond to Bullying Complaints Within Two Days

Australia has unveiled a new national strategy to tackle school bullying, requiring schools to take action within two days of receiving a complaint. The announcement follows a renewed focus on the devastating impacts of school bullying, which has been linked to the suicides of young people across Australia.

The federal government's final report from an Anti-Bullying Review, published on Saturday, delivered eight key recommendations to help parents and teachers respond to the crisis.

They include providing trauma-informed training for teachers, targeted resources to address cyberbullying and deepfakes, and clear guidance to help schools intervene early.

The national plan will be backed by $10 million of federal funding to create a national awareness campaign and new resources for teachers, students and parents.

One of the most prominent recommendations is that schools should respond within two school days to a complaint or incident of bullying.

This requires schools to show they have provided immediate safety measures and started an unbiased investigation. It recognizes more complex cases may take longer to resolve, but this initial action is essential. 

In practice, immediate actions undertaken by the school could include:  

• contacting parents/carers of student/s harmed and student/s engaging in harmful behaviour and communicating next steps  
• initiating immediate safety action to prevent further harm  
• providing initial well-being support to the student/s  
• making reports to the police or other authorities where required  
• taking initial appropriate and proportional response actions.

As the review noted, schools that already do this well have a simple reporting pathway and communication templates. Time is provided for staff to see students outside of class, and there are clear escalation routes if concerns are not resolved. There is visible early action, so students feel protected and families know what will happen next.

Education ministers from all states and territories agreed to the plan last Friday. All education ministers have also requested an implementation plan outlining concrete actions to put the report’s recommendations into practice.

The anti-bullying review, led by clinical psychologist Charlotte Keating and suicide prevention researcher Jo Robinson, is evidence-based. It received more than 1,700 submissions from parents, students and teachers.

The review heard more than half of young people had been cyberbullied, and more than one in four year 4 to year 9 students reported being bullied at least every few weeks.