Warning: This article contains references to suicide/self-harm.
The government has announced a new national plan to tackle bullying at school, with Education Secretary Jason Clare saying artificial intelligence (AI) chatbots are “fueling” the problem.
The Federal Government has announced a $10 million investment in the plan, which has been agreed by Education Ministers from all states and territories.
The money will fund a national awareness campaign and new resources for teachers, parents and students.
Under the plan, schools would be required to respond to a bullying complaint or incident within two school days.
“Many parents told us that some schools were taking too long to take action on bullying complaints,” Clare said.
The two-day rule was based on a recommendation from the Anti-Bullying Rapid Review, which was published on Saturday.
The review, set up by Clare in February, aimed to “explore what works to prevent and respond to bullying”. It received 1,700 entries, mostly from parents.
The review also states that punitive measures such as suspensions or expulsions “may be appropriate in certain circumstances” for bullying children.
However, the best results usually come from taking steps to help repair relationships and address the root causes of the harmful behavior.
According to the research, one in four students between ages four and nine have reported bullying every few weeks or more.
‘I can’t think of anything more terrifying’
On Saturday, Clare warned of a new kind of bullying – one where the bully is not human.
“I don’t know if you guys have heard this before, I hadn’t… AI chatbots are now bullying kids. They’re not kids bullying kids,” he told reporters.
“It is AI that bullies, humiliates, hurts children, tells them they are losers and tells them to commit suicide.
“I can’t think of anything more terrifying than that, than AI telling kids to commit suicide. We’ve heard stories abroad about kids doing that. That’s what we’re dealing with.”
In October 2024, a US lawsuit alleged that an AI chatbot drove a teenager to commit suicide, and in September US parents whose children committed suicide said they were encouraged to do so by AI chatbots at a US Senate hearing.
In August, ABC reported that a teenager in Australia was encouraged to commit suicide, according to his youth counselor.
The Norton Cyber Safety Insights Report 2025 was released in July and two in five Australian parents believe their children seek AI for companionship.
Clare said his jaw dropped when he and state and territory education ministers were briefed on the issue by the eSafety commissioner on Friday.
“An app developed on the other side of the world could hurt a child here in Australia. And that’s why we need to take this seriously.”
Meta, the company founded and led by Mark Zuckerberg, owner of platforms Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp, Messenger and Threads, has announced that it will introduce artificial intelligence (AI) supervision tools for parents in early 2026.
Parents can disable their children’s access to one-on-one chats with AI characters on Meta’s platforms, set time limits for interactions, and see what topics they chat about with the bots.
“AI is evolving rapidly, which means we must continually adapt and strengthen our protections for teens while listening and responding to the concerns parents have about this new technology,” said a company statement issued Saturday.
“We hope today’s updates give parents peace of mind that their teens can make the most of all the benefits AI offers, with the right guardrails and supervision.”
The changes will be rolled out to the United States, England, Canada and Australia.
“Can you think of anything more hurtful?”
Although Meta’s upcoming AI changes will come into effect ahead of Australia’s social media ban for under-16s, the company said these have not been implemented due to the looming restrictions.
A new social media ban will come into effect in Australia on December 10, banning children under the age of 16 from accessing social media.
Clare said he was told by the Communications Minister and the eSafety Commissioner at Friday’s briefing that “the majority of bullying is happening through TikTok and Snapchat”.
“The changes we’re making on social media will help, getting kids off TikTok and Snapchat will help, but it’s not the only place where kids are being bullied day and night,” he said.
“Can you think of anything more demeaning or hurtful than that? Can you imagine the impact that has on young women across the country? It’s causing some young female teachers to quit the jobs they love,” he said.
The eSafety Commissioner reported in June that digitally altered intimate images, including deepfakes, of people under the age of 18 have more than doubled in the past 18 months. 80 percent of the targets were women.
In early September, the federal government announced plans to restrict access to deepfake tools and specifically nudify apps.
“This is constantly changing. It’s one of the reasons why social media reform is dynamic,” Clare said.
“The work will never be done because there will always be people who come up with an app or piece of technology that they think is fun but hurts our children.”
— With additional reporting from the Australian Associated Press
Readers seeking crisis support can call Lifeline on 13 11 14 or text 0477 13 11 14, the Suicide Call Back Service on 1300 659 467 and Kids Helpline on 1800 55 1800 (for under 25s). More information and mental health support is available at Beyondblue.org.au and on 1300 22 4636.
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