The Anti-Bullying Rapid Review submissions

Submission process

Submissions will be open from Tuesday, 20 May to Friday, 20 June 2025. Submissions can be made by:

• primary and secondary school students
• parents, kinship carers or carers, families
• teachers, school principals or individuals who work in a school or school system
  • this can include individuals who are employed at a school / provide services to school-aged students with a focus on student wellbeing. For example, counsellors, psychologists, pastoral care etc. 
• organisations, agencies or other members of the community.

Submissions will be considered by the co-chairs of the Anti-Bullying Rapid Review. The information provided may be used to inform the findings or recommendations of the final report that will be provided to the Australian Government Minister for Education. The report will then be shared with all Australian Education Ministers.

Personal information and privacy

By providing a submission, you are consenting to the Department of Education collecting personal information. You may choose to remain anonymous. Any information you provide may be used to inform the findings or recommendations of the final report for the Anti-Bullying Rapid Review. 

Do not include personal information about another individual in your submission. All personal information will be redacted for publishing purposes.

Information that is collected as part of the submission process will be stored in line with the Department’s records management policies and will only be viewed by the Anti-Bullying Rapid Review Taskforce. Any data that is used will be de-identified.

More information is in the Privacy Statement.

You can get more information about the way in which the department will manage your personal information, including our full privacy policy, at education.gov.au/privacy or by requesting a copy from the department.

Consent from students/young people and parents/legal guardian

We will ask students and young people to read and declare that they understand what they are consenting to in providing a submission. This information sheet explains what this submission process is about. Students and young people can ask us any questions about this by contacting us at ABRRConsultations@education.gov.au.

If a student/young person is under 15 years of age they will need to obtain parental consent from a parent or legal guardian. This information sheet is for parents and explains what this submission process is about. Parents/legal guardians can ask us any questions about this by contacting us at ABRRConsultations@education.gov.au. 

Consultation Paper

This Consultation Paper outlines the questions to guide submissions and consultations during the Anti-Bullying Rapid Review. It has guiding questions for students, young people and families and people in the education system and other stakeholders.

What to include in your submission

You can address the following questions in your submission as well as including further suggestions beyond these questions.

Submissions from students, young people and families could include:

• If you or a family member experienced bullying in school, were you aware of the supports available from the school to help you or your family member?
  • If you reported the bullying to the school, what actions did they take in response?
  • Did you feel the response from the school helped? If not, how could this have been improved?
  • Do you have any other suggestions on how all schools can better prevent and address bullying that could relate to a national standard?
• We are aware that some people are more likely to experience bullying and may have different needs when bullying is being responded to. For example, are you If you are an Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander, a person with disability, an LGBTIQA+ person, a person from an educationally disadvantaged background or a person living in a rural or remote area?
  • If yes, do you think your school’s response provided you the appropriate related supports?
  • How could a consistent national standard ensure that schools’ bullying prevention and responses are appropriately tailored, and accessible to you?
• If you witnessed bullying, what helped, or could have helped, in addressing the situation?
• If you are a parent or caregiver of a person who was bullied, what did the school do well to support your child and to communicate with you? What practices could be improved?

Submissions from people in the education system and other stakeholders should detail:

• What policies, models and/or practices (i.e. interventions) do you feel are successful in helping prevent and address bullying in schools? How are these approaches successful for a whole of school community level?
  • Is there youth participation in the development/review of policy, models or practices (including implementation) to prevent and address bullying in your school?
• What policies, models or practices (i.e. interventions) do you feel are not working, or what whole of school/education system changes do you think could help improve action on bullying?
  • Examples from a whole of school perspective
  • Examples from an education system perspective
• What resources are available for school staff to support action on bullying? What else would help build capability to support staff to prevent and manage bullying?
• Do you have students attending your school who are Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander, have a disability, identify as LGBTIQA+, are from an educationally disadvantaged background or live in a rural or remote area? 
  • If yes, does your school have the capacity to offer appropriate tailored supports?
  • How could a consistent national standard ensure that schools’ bullying prevention activities and responses are appropriately tailored, and accessible to all students including equity cohorts?
• What reporting is in place to support action on bullying?
• What guiding principles or other elements could be helpful in developing a consistent national standard for responding to bullying?

Publication of submissions

Submissions will be published on this webpage shortly after the submission process closes. You will be asked to provide your consent to publish your submission, before you can submit your submission. You can remain anonymous but consent to your submission being published. All personal and/or identifiable information will be redacted prior to publication.