PARLIAMENTARY REPORT
AUSTRALIA
THIRD READING: AUSTRALIA
Enhancing Online Safety for Children Act 2015 The Enhancing Online Safety for Children Act implements a series of measures to enhance online safety for children.
The Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Communications,
the Hon. Paul Fletcher MP commented that the legislation creates a “new statutory office, the Children’s e-Safety Commissioner, and provides for the commissioner to administer a complaints scheme in relation to harmful cyberbullying material targeted at an Australian child.” Government commissioned research into cyberbullying found that “the best estimate of the prevalence of cyberbullying over a 12-month period is 20 per cent of Australians aged eight to 17, with some studies putting that figure as low as six per cent and others as high as 40%.” Mr Fletcher noted that “the research found that most incidents of cyberbullying occurred on social media—and that the prevalence of cyberbullying has ‘rapidly increased’ since it first emerged as a behaviour.” A key function of the commissioner is to administer a complaints system for cyberbullying material targeted at an Australian child. Mr Fletcher advised that “other functions of the commissioner will include promoting online safety for children, coordinating relevant activities of Commonwealth departments, authorities and agencies in relation to online safety for children, and accrediting and evaluating online safety educational programs.”
In addition, the legislation sets out a two tiered scheme for the rapid removal from large social media services of cyber-bullying material targeted at an Australian child. Mr Fletcher explained that “the two-tier scheme in the Bill allows for a light touch regulatory scheme in circumstances where the social media service has an effective complaints system and it is working well; but it enables the government to require that cyber-bullying material targeted at an Australian child be removed in circumstances where the social media service does not have an effective and well-resourced complaints system.” In arriving at a definition of cyber-bullying, Mr Fletcher noted that it was important to strike a balance between capturing the full extent of cyber- bullying material but at the same time not being excessive or heavy handed. There are three features of the definition. First, material must be likely to have the effect of seriously threatening, intimidating, harassing or humiliating a particular Australian child. Second, the definition includes the capacity for the legislative rules to include other conditions if it becomes apparent during the course of administering the legislation that further conditions are necessary. Third, the definition will be applied in the commissioner’s exercise of discretionary powers to issue notices. The Shadow Assistant Minister for Communications, Ms Michelle Roland MP commented that the opposition will support the legislation subject to scrutiny and any recommendations arising from a Senate Committee inquiry.
Ms Roland noted that Labor is committed to doing all it can to combat online child bullying. She commented that “bullying itself is a scourge on our society. It can have devastating impacts on victims and their families,
136 | The Parliamentarian | 2015: Issue Two
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