Respond

When an incident happens, it is important that there are processes in place so that it is managed appropriately.

It’s also important that students, parents/carers and staff receive clear communication and support.

The Respond resources help schools to effectively assess and respond to online incidents.

They offer guidance for understanding reporting requirements, preserving digital evidence, minimising further harm and supporting wellbeing.

Quick reference guides for responding to online safety incidents

This Quick reference guide for responding to mild incidents

Understand and assess

Reassure students that they have done the right thing by reporting the incident.
Consider the best interests of the student/s involved — this should guide a response.

Manage the response

Manage the response internally in line with behaviour management wellbeing and online safety policies and procedures.
Focus on providing support for all students and involve them in decision making.
Explain the process and potential outcomes to all involved.
Consider whether involving parents/carers would help to resolve the situation.

Resolve the conflict

If a student/s knows strategies and can respond appropriately, only minimal teacher intervention may be needed beyond supporting students.
Focus on restoring relationships and ensuring all students feel safe and supported.
Address behaviours and provide education about acceptable use and respectful online behaviour.
Encourage students to delete the inappropriate content and/or report it to the social media service

Record and reflect

For younger students, let parents/carers know that there has been an issue. Explain how the issue has been resolved, unless there is a good reason not to involve parents/carers — for example, because it causes further harm.
For older students, their level of maturity and autonomy should be considered, as well as whether it is appropriate to let them tell their parents/carers first.
Record the incident, response and actions taken.

Monitor

Monitor whether the behaviour has stopped.
Regularly check that students feel safe and supported. Adjust plans if necessary.

Quick reference guide for responding to moderate incidents

Understand and assess

Reassure students that they have done the right thing by reporting the incident.
Consider the best interests of the student/s involved — this should guide a response.

Manage the response

Manage the response internally in line with behaviour management, wellbeing and online safety policies and procedures
Focus on providing support for all students and involve them in decision making
Explain the process and potential outcomes to all involved.
Consider whether involving parents/carers would help to resolve the situation.

Resolve the conflict

Focus on restoring relationships and ensuring all students feel safe and supported.
Address behaviours and provide education about acceptable use and respectful online behaviour.
Encourage students to delete the inappropriate content and/or report it to the social media service.

Record and reflect

Let parents/carers know that there has been an issue. Explain how the issue has been resolved, unless there is a good reason not to involve parents/carers — for example, it causes further harm or hampers a police investigation.
Debrief with staff and students, where appropriate. • Record the incident, response and actions taken.
Review existing policies and procedures following the incident.

Monitor

Monitor whether the behaviour has stopped.
Regularly check that students feel safe and supported. Adjust plans if necessary.

This Quick reference guide for responding to serious incidents

Understand and assess

Reassure students that they have done the right thing by reporting the incident.
Consider the best interests of the student/s involved — this should guide a response.
Be aware that some cases may be unlawful and may activate state and territory critical incident or mandatory reporting requirements. Always seek support from the school Principal/school leadership team when responding.

Collect and preserve evidence

Gather facts and document what has happened.
Do not view or copy explicit images
For non-explicit material, where possible, take screenshots or record URLs.
Check state, territory or school policy. Only confiscate or search students’ personal devices with informed consent or if permitted by policy.

Manage the response

Focus on providing support for all students and involve them in decision making.
Determine who to inform and when to involve others (e.g. parents/carers, other staff or students).
Engage parents/carers as soon as possible so that the school and the family can work together to respond to the incident, unless there is a good reason not to involve parents/carers, for example when it causes further harm or hampers a police investigation.
Explain the process and potential outcomes to all involved.

Remove content .

If material is circulating and causing harm, and evidence has been collected and preserved, encourage students to delete the material and/or report it to the social media service where it was posted.
If cyberbullying content has not been removed 48 hours after a complaint was made to the social media service, lodge a complaint with Police , making sure that the student has given their permission.
For cases of image-based abuse, lodge a complaint with Police, making sure the student has

Resolve the conflict

Focus on restoring relationships and ensuring all students feel safe and supported.
Address behaviours and educate on acceptable use and respectful online behaviour.
Assess whether school-wide communication is appropriate and or what type of intervention is required, such as engaging external providers or support services.
Consider referring students to external organisations such as Kids Helpline for ongoing or one-off counselling, if required.

Record and reflect

Record the incident, response and actions taken.
Complete a Post-incident checklist.
Review existing policies and procedures following the incident
Debrief with staff, students and parents/carers, where appropriate.
Explain the process and potential outcomes to all involved.

Monitor

Monitor whether the behaviour has stopped.
Regularly check that students feel safe and supported. Adjust plans if necessary

This material has been adapted with permission from the Australian Government eSafety Commissioner and is licenced under a CC-BY-NC-SA licence. Permission to adapt content does not constitute endorsement of material by the eSafety Commissioner.