The Y in Australia will create and pilot a co-designed online safety package to educate children and young people to report unsafe online behaviours, thanks to a $332,500 grant from the eSafety Commissioner.

The grant, provided to the organisation’s National Safety Unit (NSU), under The Online Safety Grants Program (OSGP), supports non-government organisations to develop innovative services, resources and products that improve the online safety of Australian children, young people and their communities, especially those at risk of online harm.

The Y’s NSU has been awarded the grant to deliver their ‘Stay Safe Online, Tell Someone’ model.  The package, based on theory and research that involved over 500 children and young people, aims to empower children, young people, and community members to report unsafe online behaviours.

Research from eSafety confirms the importance of online safety support for Australian families — in particular, the COVID-19 impact has led to a significant increase in online activity, and an increased risk of exposure to online harms.

The Y’s Safeguarding Children and Young People National Executive Phil Doorgachurn is excited to be able to reach a much larger audience through the support of the grant.

“We can further expand our child safety work in physical environments to empower more children, young people and community members to recognise and report unsafe online behaviours.”

“Through this funding we will be able to remove the geographic barriers regarding this training.”

Included in the grant is a paid role for a project manager who will be employed by the Y.  This person will work with the Y’s WhyNot youth voices platform and Change Agents (an international development program for young people) to engage young people in the co-design of the online education packages and be responsible for the overall management of the project.

The grant will facilitate the creation of 3 training models targeted at 3 different groups (8-12 years), young people (12-18 years) and adults (18 and above). Each model will be tailored to their audience with age-appropriate content.

Phil believes expanding the delivery of this vital work further demonstrates the Y’s continued commitment as a leader in the child safety space.

“Keeping children and young people safe is our number one priority as an organisation. We are pleased to share more of our evidence-informed work in safeguarding, with a much larger audience as a result of the grant,” he said.

The Y is committed to doing everything we can to empower children and young people to ensure their voices are heard, and they can thrive and become inspiring young people.

For details on all recipients of the Australian Government’s Online Safety Grants Program led by the eSafety Commissioner visit the Government’s eSafety website.