The Final Report from the Anti-Bullying Rapid Review has been released, with all Education Ministers asking for an implementation plan to be brought to them to consider actions that can be taken to implement the recommendations.
As an immediate action, the Australian Government will provide up to $5 million for the development of targeted resources for teachers, students and parents to support school community responses to bullying. The government will also invest up to $5 million to support a national anti-bullying awareness campaign about bullying and its impacts and the importance of prevention and supporting behaviour change.
The Anti-Bullying Rapid Review was announced on 16 February 2025. The purpose of the review was to examine what is working to prevent and respond to bullying.
The final report includes 8 recommendations that aim to ensure that every school offers a safe, inclusive and respectful learning environment where bullying and other harmful behaviours are not accepted. The report includes a National Standard on addressing Bullying in Australian Schools.
The National Standard is intended to provide a best practice framework for schools to build into the processes and policies they already have established in the school. The National Standard will give teachers, parents, young people and children confidence that, no matter where a student goes to school, bullying will be appropriately addressed and the school workforce supported to take appropriate action.
This is not a one-size-fits-all response to bullying. It recognises the need for a comprehensive whole-of-school approach that is appropriately tailored to local context and diverse student cohorts.
Minister for Education, the Hon Jason Clare MP said:
“Bullying is cruel and it’s dangerous.
“It doesn’t just leave physical scars, it leaves invisible scars that can last a lifetime.
“That’s why we’ve taken action with this national plan to address bullying.
“A lot of parents told us it was taking too long for some schools to act on bullying complaints.
“The Anti-Bullying Rapid Review recommends that schools should respond within two school days to a complaint or incident.
“If we’re going to properly tackle bullying, we need to nip it in the bud and to act early.
“And we need to make sure teachers have the right tools and training so they know how to act and what to do.”
Read the Minister’s media release.
You can access the full report at Anti-Bullying Rapid Review.