Our top five tips

What you need to know

What you need to know

We have five top tips for you to prevent online child sexual exploitation. Our tops tips are drawn from key advice areas including building safe online habits, technology settings and getting help.

These tips apply to parents and carers of children and young people of all ages.

Advice for parents and carers

Advice for parents and carers


All ages

Have open conversations, often

The most important tip we can give you is to start talking to your child regularly about their online activities and interactions.

Supervision is essential

This means knowing what your child is doing online, who they are interacting with and what platforms, apps or games they are using.

Be approachable if your child needs help

Coming forward isn’t always easy and your child may feel reluctant to tell you about online issues if they believe they will be punished or have their devices taken away. This also makes children more secretive about device use and at greater risk of exploitation.

Check privacy settings

We recommended that you research and understand app settings, including privacy settings. This could include turning off location settings, setting profiles to private, or turning off chat functions.  

Know how to report

If something goes wrong online, it is critical your child is supported. You need to know how to take action and report.

Related Advice

What we do

We develop resources and advice for parents, carers and educators, children and young people to prevent online child sexual exploitation.

Led by the Australian Federal Police, our program includes:

  • Presentations for schools and community groups
  • Online learning resources
  • Activities to do at home
  • Fact sheets and guides
  • Educators resources

 

What we don’t do

Our program doesn’t cover:

  • Information about general online safety, including cyberbullying
  • Information about cybercrime

For information about online safety visit the eSafety Commissioner

For information about cybercrime visit ReportCyber

Our partners

ThinkUKnow Australia is a partnership between the Australian Federal Police, Commonwealth Bank of Australia, Datacom and Microsoft Australia, and delivered in partnership with all State and Territory police and Neighbourhood Watch Australasia.

© Australian Federal Police

The Australian Federal Police acknowledges the traditional owners and custodians of country throughout Australia and acknowledges their continuing connection to land, sea and community. We pay our respect to the people, the cultures and the elders past, present and emerging.