Cyber security and the responsible use of technology is an important issue for all children and young people, with research from Australia’s eSafety Commissioner showing one in four young people have been contacted by someone they don’t know online.

These resources will help carers have important conversations with the children and young people in their care about e-safety and identifying predatory behaviour.

eSafety Commissioner

Julie Inman Grant is Australia’s eSafety Commissioner, leading the world’s first government agency committed to keeping its citizens safer online.

The eSafety.gov.au website has a wealth of information for parents and carers, children and young people about staying safe online.

The skills and advice section for parents and carers focuses on:

• online safety basics
• good habits start young
• are they old enough
• the hard-to-have conversations
• taming the technology
• privacy
• kids
• young people

ThinkUKnow

ThinkUKnow is a partnership between the Australian Federal Police, Commonwealth Bank, Datacom and Microsoft, and delivered in partnership with all State and Territory police and Neighbourhood Watch Australasia.

The resources give parents, carers, teachers and students information on how to stay safe online. Topics are specifically aimed at educating and increasing awareness about online child sexual exploitation including avoiding unwanted contact, online grooming, self-generated content, sexual extortion and how to get help.

The resources assist parents and carers to:

• Encourage children and young people to avoid talking to people online that they don’t know offline
• Ensure that contacts are people that the child or young person has met in real life, trust and are safe to communicate with
• Help children and young people understand what information is not okay to share online
• Make children and young people feel comfortable to approach you if something doesn’t feel right
• Warn children and young people about accepting gifts from people.

For more information, visit thinkuknow.org.au

Carly Ryan Foundation

Carly Ryan was 15-years-old when she was murdered by an online predator. It was the first crime of its type in Australia, occurring in 2007 when social media was a new phenomenon and paedophiles were starting to infiltrate the online space. Determined to help prevent harm to other innocent children and families and to help them navigate their online journey safely, Carly’s mum Sonya created The Carly Ryan Foundation (CRF) in 2010.

The CRF is a certified online safety program provider under the Office of the eSafety Commissioner and delivers online safety and healthy relationship seminars to students and parents.

The website also has a range of helpful information for parents and carers, including fact sheets on a wide range of online apps focusing on their challenges, how to block users and how to delete.

For more information, visit carlyryanfoundation.com.

Other useful links to online safety information

Government of South Australia – Parenting SA
Cybersafety – Parent Easy Guide - learn how you can help your children to stay safe online.

Australian Centre to Counter Child Exploitation
The Australian Centre to Counter Child Exploitation provides a consistent, holistic and coordinated response to counter the online exploitation of children in Australia.

Australian Cyber Security Centre – Protect yourself and your family | Cyber.gov.au

The Australian Cyber Security Centre (ACSC) leads the Australian Government’s efforts to improve cyber security. Their role is to help make Australia the most secure place to connect online.