Cybersafety Help Button

The Cybersafety Help Button is a new Australian Government initiative designed to keep children and families safe online. It is an online resource that gives children and young people easy access to cybersafety help and information.

Microsoft Australia is proud to support this initiative.

The internet offers huge opportunities for improvements in education, social interaction, innovation and convenience. Along with these benefits come risks that can make the internet unpleasant and potentially dangerous. Cyberbullying, scams and fraud, offensive content and unwanted contact are all common risks for children and teenagers.

The Cybersafety Help Button is an online resource hub that gives children and teenagers instant access to help and information on cybersafety issues 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

The button is a free application available from the website of the Department of Broadband, Communications and the Digital Economy. Once downloaded, it sits on the computer desktop or within the taskbar. When the button is clicked, users are taken directly to a web page where they can talk, report or learn about cybersafety issues. 

The talk function gives a link to Kids Helpline. Users who are worried by cyberbullying or offensive online behaviour or content can phone or chat online to a professional counsellor.

The report function offers direct links to pages on social networking sites. There are also links for reporting scams, fraud, inappropriate websites and improper behaviour and for contacting the Australian Federal Police.

The learn function provides a range of cybersafety educational resources through the Australian Communication and Media Authority’s (ACMA) Cybersmart website and the Department’s Stay Smart Online website. Visitors to these sites can learn about cyberbullying, social networking sites, scams and frauds, password protection, viruses and malware, unwanted contact and inappropriate behaviour.

The Cybersafety Help Button was developed in consultation with the Government’s Youth Advisory Group and the Consultative Working Group on Cybersafety, which Microsoft is a member of.

The Youth Advisory Group—consisting of members aged eight to 17 years—expressed the need for a ‘one-stop shop’ for cybersafety help and information.

The Cybersafety Help Button is available free of charge at www.dbcde.gov.au/helpbutton from October 2010.

For more information on the Cybersafety Help Button email helpbutton@dbcde.gov.au