The eSafety Commissioner, Julie Inman Grant, welcomed the Government's announcement today of the formation of an Online Safety Youth Advisory Council to inform policy and programs for keeping young Australians safe online.
The Council, which will report to Government, will be made up of up to 20 young Australians aged 13 to 24 who will reflect the views and experiences their peers are experiencing every day in their online worlds.
"Young people do not differentiate between their online and offline lives, so it is vitally important to have their voices heard when developing online safety policy," Ms Inman Grant said.
"Since our inception in 2015 as the Children's eSafety Commissioner, we have had a strong engagement focus with children and young people, working with them to understand their online experiences and address their concerns.
"We have developed resources to help build skills and capacity in young people so they can have safe online experiences and act as positive leaders and supportive friends in all their social spaces, especially online.
"We know that the online safety of children and young people require targeted resources, long-term commitments, and a whole-of-community and systems-based effort.
"Most importantly, we need to hear directly from young people.
"When we consulted with young people in the development of our Safety by Design online safety assessment toolkit in 2019, there were strong themes of empowerment and control in the vision statement young people hoped for the online industry."
"They want industry to enable them to interact freely online and to enjoy the benefits that the online world offers - without fear and without their rights or safety being put at risk.
"In 2021, we commissioned the Young and Resilient Research Centre at Western Sydney University to inform our engagement strategy with young people.
"We learned that young people are optimistic and have high aspirations for the internet and online safety.
"They imagine clear roles and responsibilities for parents, governments, and technology companies in keeping them safe.
"And they want to be involved in decision making around online safety.
"The Online Safety Youth Advisory Council will enable us to formalise our engagement with young people.
"It will give us the opportunity to take this to the next level so that we can continue to have meaningful conversations with young people that go to the heart to of what matters most to them and to ensure that their voice informs our work."
