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Reports to the eSafety Commissioner found that 53 per cent of young Australians reported experiencing cyberbullying (Bigstock)

The Albanese Government has put $10 million towards stamping out bullying at schools, as proposed new national standards will push schools to act on bullying complaints within 48 hours of being reported. Source: 9news.com.au.

Education Minister Jason Clare announced the Anti-Bullying Rapid Review in February, aiming to examine what responses and prevention are working in the fight against bullying in schools and what needs to be strengthened.

The review came after reports to the eSafety Commissioner found that 53 per cent of young Australians reported experiencing cyberbullying.

A study by Bullying No Way also found that one in four students from year four to year nine reported being bullied every few weeks or more often.

The $10 million investment from the Government as part of this review will be split evenly between an awareness campaign and resources for parents, teachers and students.

“We’re going to allocate $5 million to provide some tools for teachers. While parents have told us they want action earlier, parents of teachers have told us that they need the tools and the training so that they can do the job,” Mr Clare told the TV program Today.

“There are programs that are already being used by some schools. We’re going to put all of those online in a hub, so that they can go to one place to get the best tools and the best programs to roll out in their schools.”

One of the main recommendations was the need for quick and clear action when a complaint or incident occurs.

“[Punishments] can involve suspension. It can involve expulsion in the most extreme circumstances,” Mr Clare said.

“What happens here is that if you act early, you can stop the harm from repeating. You can stop the action from recurring.”

The review contained over 1700 submissions from parents, students, teachers and staff recommending that schools should respond to incidents within two school days.

“A lot of parents told us it was taking too long for some schools to act on bullying complaints,” Mr Clare said.

The federal Government’s under-16 social media ban is set to come into effect on December 10, which the review expects will also drastically help in reducing cyberbullying.

FULL STORY

The $10m plan to crack down on bullying across Aussie schools (By Joseph Sahyoun, 9news.com.au)