Media Release

Research to help define Australian cyber-safety environment

A new research project will explore cyber-safety and cyber-security issues facing Australian children.

"The online environment offers a world of opportunity for young people and families, but it is important they are empowered to confront emerging problems, such as security of personal information and cyber-bullying," the Minister for Broadband, Communications and the Digital Economy, Senator Stephen Conroy said.

"This project will track awareness about cyber-safety and cyber-security and help Government to develop and target responses."

Senator Conroy said the research project would be undertaken by Illawarra Regional Information Service (IRIS) Research (a research arm of Wollongong University) and the Australian Council for Educational Research (ACER).

It builds on Edith Cowan University's Review of Existing Australian and International Cyber-safety Research, commissioned by the Rudd Government, which found significant gaps in many areas of cyber-safety research.

The project will develop a reliable and nationally representative data collection methodology and involve two surveys of young internet users, one for parents and guardians and one for teachers, in the first half of 2010.

"The Rudd Government has committed to developing and implementing a comprehensive and evidence-based approach to cyber-safety," Senator Conroy said.

"It is important that our efforts to create a safer online environment are informed by a sound understanding of the risks through research of this kind."

This new research will complement and inform the important work of the Consultative Working Group and Youth Advisory Group on Cyber-Safety, and will assist the cyber-safety initiatives of the Australian Communications and Media Authority and the Australian Federal Police.

The Rudd Government's $125.8 million cyber-safety plan includes a comprehensive range of measures such as:

• $49 million for an additional 91 AFP online child protection officers,
• $11.3 million for the Commonwealth Director of Public Prosecutions,
• education and information,
• resources such as help-lines and the CyberSmart website (www.cybersmart.gov.au)
• ISP filtering,
• consultative arrangements with industry, children and child protection bodies, and
• research to identify possible areas for further action.

Further information about the Government's cyber-safety plan is available online: www.dbcde.gov.au/cybersafetyplan

Date: 25 November 2009
Contact: Tim Marshall 0408 258 457