It has also announced it is pouring $3.2 million into My Circle for Parents, which helps parents navigate bullying, whether their child is a victim or demonstrates bullying behaviour.

My Circle for Parents is a free, anonymous online platform designed to support parents and caregivers whose children are involved in bullying situations.

Moderated by counsellors, the platform provides a safe space for parents to connect with peers, share experiences, and access trusted information.  It requires parents to use individual log ins, which creates a safe, respectful environment of peer connection.

Minister for Education John-Paul Langbroek said the Crisafulli Government was delivering on its commitment to help stamp-out bullying in Queensland classrooms.

“We promised Queenslanders we would crackdown on bullying in classrooms and these support services offer invaluable help for students and parents,” Langbroek said in a statement.

“The Crisafulli Government is delivering a plan for Queensland’s future and that includes making our classrooms safer for students, teachers and teacher aides.

The Government said teachers in the state have reported feeling undervalued and overworked as they have been increasingly pulled out of the classroom for non-teaching tasks and escalating violence and behavioural issues in the classroom going unactioned.

“After 10 years of decline under Labor, the Crisafulli Government is delivering after 10 months,” Langbroek claimed.

“My Circle gives parents another avenue to seek support in high stress and highly emotional situations.

“This is clearly a service parents need and value, which is why we’re expanding it to allow for an online forum of peer and expert support.”

The minister said tackling the scourge of bullying requires concerted efforts from all adults involved in a child’s life – especially parents.

“The support we’re providing parents to help them play an active role in addressing bullying assists schools and school staff who are managing these situations, too,” he said.

“We all need to step up and protect our children from the lasting and devasting impacts of bullying.”

In the putting together of the Anti-Bullying Rapid Review, happening at present, the issues of cyberbullying, deepfake attacks and ‘pornifying apps’ have emerged as pervasive problems schools are grappling with.

The My Circle for Parents investment is part of the Queensland Government’s $33 million plan to address bullying in Queensland’s schools and communities, including:

  • Rapid Support Squads providing on-the-ground support and expertise for high impact incidents of bullying in schools,
  • expanded Parentline operating hours,
  • additional chaplains and student wellbeing officer services in schools,
  • a Stakeholder Reference Group of experts to provide up to date advice on current and future initiatives, and
  • professional development resources for teachers.

Premier David Crisafulli said in April that his state’s new approach was needed to counteract bullying’s devastating impacts.   

“We’re putting the spotlight on bullying so our schools can be a safe place for every student,” he said.  

“We’ve lost too many young lives to bullying, which is why we’re delivering a plan to put the spotlight on this serious issue.”  

On a national front, the Federal Government’s Anti-Bullying Rapid Review is in full swing.

Dr Charlotte Keating, a clinical psychologist with a PhD in neuroscience, and Dr Jo Robinson, who leads the suicide prevention research unit at Orygen, have been tasked with developing a new national strategy “grounded in evidence and informed by lived experiences” and the pair have so far received around 1700 submissions from parents, teachers and students.

An update on the rapid review has warned policy is not keeping pace with the escalating AI deepfake and cyberbullying scene impacting students and teachers.

Keating has indicated the issue of cyberbullying, deepfake attacks and ‘pornifying apps’ had emerged early on as pervasive problems schools are grappling with.

“I think when things work well it is generally when schools do feel equipped to tackle a problem and when they’ve got good policies in place and they feel able to implement those policies,” Keating said.  

“I think one of the challenges with technology is it’s moving fast and it’s often moving faster than policies can keep up with…”

In an interview recently with EducationHQ, ACU lecturer and researcher in inclusive education, Dr Matthew White, said the rapid review risks skimming the surface of what is a deep-seated cultural problem that has persisted for hundreds of years in our institutions.

From his own time working in the school system, White said it is a mistake for the review to focus solely on identifying best-practice responses to bullying.

A more impactful move would be to explicitly teach students kindness, respect, and what it means to be a good person from the outset of their schooling, he argued.