Support with bullying for children and young people

You can go directly to our information for children and young people about:

• I've been bullied at school or online. What can I do?
• I am a student and I think I may have bullied others. Is support available for me at all?
• What do other young people say, and can I share my story?
• I'm a sibling of a child or young person with a disability or a mental illness. What support is available for me?

I've been bullied at school or online. What can I do?

If you are being bullied at school or online, you should report the behaviour to someone who can help. Education Queensland recommends you talk to a person you can trust, and who can help you resolve the problem. You may like to talk to:

• a teacher, year coordinator or head of department
• a guidance officer
• the deputy principal
• the principal at your school.

If you are being bullied outside of school hours, or would prefer to talk to a person away from school, you can call Kids Helpline on 1800 55 1800 or Lifeline on 13 11 14. Web counsellors also provide support.

If there is a threat to your safety, the police will help. You can call Triple Zero (000) or Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.

Lifeline has tips that may help you with responding to cyberbullying, including:

• using privacy options on Facebook and My Space
• printing or save all emails, text messages, or chat conversations where the person who is bullying interacts with you
• changing your mobile number, and blocking your number ID in future to prevent it being recorded when making calls with general phone use
• changing your user ID for instant messaging.

The Australian Government also has tips and advice to help children and teens deal with cyberbullying. 

I am a student and I think I may have bullied others. Is support available for me at all?

Children and teens can bully others for different reasons. It may make you feel good, or you might think you are having fun. You may also be trying to get even with someone, be impulsive or want others to admire and like you. You may have bullied other people and not even realised it at the time.

Engaging in bullying behaviour isn't fair-and you should treat others the way that you'd like them to treat you. It can also hurt you, and might be affecting your schoolwork, your friendships and your health.

Support is available for you if you'd like to talk to someone about it. You can call Kids Helpline on 1800 55 1800, or get in touch with a web counsellor now.

What do other young people say, and can I share my story?

• Kids and teens can share their stories, and read personal experiences about bullying, on the Kids Helpline website.
• Youthbeyondblue has a ‘Share your story' forum where children and young people can share their experiences with depression and anxiety, provide tips about getting help or getting better, and talk about their thoughts.
• You can read stories from other young people about their mental health, and register to share your story, on the ‘Is it just me?' forum by headspace, the National Youth Mental Health Foundation.

Support for siblings

You may need support if your brother or sister has a disability, a chronic illness or a mental health issue and is getting a hard time at school or is bullying others. You might also be finding it hard coping with how other kids are treating them—or you.

You can call Kids Helpline on 1800 55 1800, or speak to a web counsellor about how you are feeling. Helpful info is also available on the following websites:

• Just for Youths
• Livewire siblings
• Siblings Australia—check out the pages for young sibs and teen sibs
• SibLink—support for primary aged sibs
• Your Shout—support for adolescent sibs.

More information

• Lawstuff can help you know your legal rights. Information is available about bullying, discrimination and harassment—as well as topics such as the law, cyber safety, prank calls, sexting and privacy.

• The Cybersmart website has tips to help you be cybersmart. Being cybersmart is about responding appropriately to different cyber problems, and cyberbullying is just one issue that can affect your online experience. You can check out the Think before you post poster and read about tips to help you stay safe and cybersmart. You might also be interested in reading about netiquette—how you can be polite and kind to others on the web—as well as your digital footprint, and staying legal.

• Check out the Just for Youths website. You can read about friends and friendships, confidence and self-esteem and dealing with bullying.

• The ReachOut website has advice about how you can offer support if you see someone being bullied.

• The ThinkUKnow website for kids includes helpful ‘How-to guides' about staying safe online.

• You can join other Aussie kids and take a stand against cyberbullying, create your own avatar and look at a cyberbullying checklist on the Smart Online Safe Offline website.