POSH
Reporting Online Safety Concerns (Australia)
Act early. Stay calm. Report properly.
The right first steps can protect a child, preserve evidence safely, and move you into the right reporting lane in Australia.
AUSTRALIA REPORTING HUB
000
Police
ACCCE
eSafety
If you are here because something feels serious, the most important thing is not to panic and not to lose evidence. This page helps parents in Australia move from fear into the right reporting lane quickly, clearly, and in the correct order.
Which situation sounds most like you right now?
You do not need every answer first. You need the right reporting lane based on what you know now.
If a child is in immediate danger
Call 000 immediately
If there is immediate risk, a real-world threat, stalking, an attempt to meet, a known offender nearby, or danger happening now, emergency services come first.
Child safety first:
Protect the child → reduce unsafe contact where safe → preserve evidence safely → choose the right reporting lane → keep supporting the child.
What parents usually search
- How do I report online grooming in Australia?
- When do I contact eSafety?
- When do I contact ACCCE or police?
- What should I save before reporting?
- What if my child is being blackmailed online?
- What if someone has shared or threatened to share an image?
If those are the questions bringing you here, focus on this order: protect, preserve safely, then report properly.
Simple reporting order
Protect the child
↓
Reduce contact if safe
↓
Save evidence safely
↓
Choose reporting lane
↓
Keep records
↓
Support the child
This order helps parents act without accidentally making the situation harder.
When to treat it as serious
- Sexual messages or sexual content
- Requests for photos, videos, voice notes, or live camera access
- Threats, blackmail, sextortion, or pressure to send more
- Adult contacting a child repeatedly
- Pressure to move to private apps
- Attempts to meet in person
- Child abuse material concerns
- AI nudify, deepfake, fake sexual images, or image-based abuse
- Someone using gifts, Robux, skins, money, or favours as pressure
If it feels serious, act early. Do not wait for perfect proof.
Need the fastest action path?
If the risk feels active, stay calm, protect the child, preserve evidence safely, then move into the right reporting lane.
Do not start by confronting the person, posting publicly, deleting chats, or taking screenshots of illegal material that should not be copied.
Safety first. Evidence second. Reporting next.
Lane 1 — ACCCE / AFP
Use this path for grooming, exploitation, sexual coercion, blackmail, and serious child sexual safety risks.
- Online grooming
- Sexual conversations with a child
- Requests for sexual images, videos, calls, or livestreams
- Requests to meet a child
- Child abuse material concerns
- Sextortion, threats, blackmail, or coercion
- Repeated sexual contact or pressure
If sexual risk, exploitation, grooming, or blackmail is involved, this is one of the main reporting paths in Australia.
Lane 3 — Police
Use police when risk may move into the real world, when harm is immediate, or when the person may be identifiable locally.
- You know who the person is
- Threats, stalking, coercion, or intimidation are happening
- Offline contact may occur
- The child may be at local risk
- Someone is trying to meet the child
- You believe there is immediate or escalating danger
If online risk could become real-world danger, include police early. If danger is immediate, call 000.
If you are not fully sure which lane fits
Many parents know something feels serious before they know exactly what category it fits into.
Sexual contact, grooming, blackmail, child exploitation, or sexual coercion → ACCCE / AFP
Cyberbullying, image-based abuse, harassment, harmful content, or platform abuse → eSafety
Immediate danger, local risk, known person, threats, stalking, or meeting risk → police / 000
If unsure, protect the child first and preserve evidence safely before deleting anything.
If still unsure, start with the strongest risk lane rather than waiting too long.
Evidence collection
Save information before confronting anyone, deleting anything, or blocking where safe.
- Screenshots of chats, threats, usernames, and profile details where safe
- Usernames, display names, account IDs, profile links, and group names
- Dates and times
- App names, game names, servers, rooms, or group chats
- Evidence of gifts, Robux, skins, money, subscriptions, or pressure
- Any talk of secrecy, threats, image sharing, blackmail, or meeting in person
Important: Do not forward, upload, copy, or share child sexual abuse material.
If illegal images or videos are involved, record account details, preserve context safely, and use the correct reporting pathway.
Small details can make a big difference later.
Image-based abuse, deepfakes, and takedown support
If images, fake images, AI nudify content, deepfakes, threats to share, or sexualised edited content are involved, act quickly and do not shame the child.
Image removal
Use takedown and reporting pathways when images have been posted, shared, or threatened.
Image Removal
AI deepfake risk
AI nudify and fake sexual image abuse can still cause serious harm, fear, and coercive pressure.
AI Image Abuse
Evidence mistakes
Some evidence handling can make things worse. Know what not to copy, forward, delete, or post.
Evidence Mistakes
How to respond to your child
- Tell them they are not in trouble for telling you
- Stay calm even if you feel shocked
- Ask simple questions
- Let them show you what happened if they are ready
- Do not blame, shame, mock, or lecture in the first moment
- Make it clear the unsafe person is responsible for unsafe behaviour
If a child feels safe, they are more likely to keep talking.
What not to do
- Do not confront the person directly first
- Do not shame or punish your child for telling you
- Do not delete chats or accounts before saving evidence safely
- Do not post accusations publicly
- Do not assume blocking alone solves everything
- Do not forward illegal material or child sexual images
- Do not make your child responsible for managing the report alone
Rushed reactions can destroy evidence, escalate risk, or stop your child from opening up.
Report on the platform too
Platform reporting can help stop contact quickly, but it does not replace formal reporting where risk is serious.
- Use in-app reporting tools
- Save report confirmation if possible
- Record usernames, links, servers, groups, and timestamps
- Block after saving evidence where safe
What parents should remember
Most serious situations start small and escalate over time.
Acting early, saving evidence safely, and choosing the right reporting path can change the outcome.
The child needs calm support more than blame, panic, or punishment.
Acting early protects children better than waiting for certainty.
Parent action pathway
Protect
↓
Preserve safely
↓
Report
↓
Support
↓
Monitor ongoing risk
Reporting is not the end. Ongoing support, device safety, and monitoring still matter.
Australia reporting and evidence cluster
These POSH pages support parents through evidence handling, safe reporting, image abuse, official pathways, and whole-family protection.
Not sure how serious this is?
If unsure, use the safety check to identify risk level and next steps.
Understand the full pattern
These pages help explain the wider pattern around grooming, dependency, manipulation, coercion, and behaviour change.
Choose your next path
Go where the situation fits best after this page.
Help another parent know what to do
Many parents freeze because they do not know the next step.
Clear guidance early can protect a child sooner.
Sharing POSH helps build a safer adult network around children.
Knowing what to do reduces panic and speeds up action.