Child exploitation and abuse is not tolerated and attracts disciplinary and commercial sanctions, as well as criminal penalties under Australian domestic and extra-territorial laws.

If you have been abused or have any concerns relating to the abuse or exploitation of children, report it immediately.

If you or a child is in immediate danger, contact your local police.

How do I make a report?

Reports can be made by sending an email to childwelfare@dfat.gov.au.

Initial report

When notifying us, you should provide as much information as possible. In the first instance you should report;

• Names(s) of person reporting and contact details
• Reporting Post or Agency
• Type of Allegation
• Details of Person(s) against whom the allegation has been made
• Details of Victim(s)
• Further Details
• Any other pertinent information for initial assessment.

Once this report has been received by the department, a request will be sent for more detailed information.

All information provided to the Child Protection Compliance Section will be treated confidentially in accordance with relevant Commonwealth legislation, including the Privacy Act 1988.

Virtual Global Taskforce

The Virtual Global Taskforce (VGT) is actively involved in investigating suspicious behaviour online with or towards a child.

The Report Abuse button is an effective mechanism for reporting suspected sexual predator behaviour.

Sexual predator behaviour includes:

• Making and downloading images of children being sexually or physically abused.
• Approaching a child online for sex (e.g. sexual activity via text or webcam).
• Grooming–this includes deliberate actions taken by an adult to form a trusting relationship with a child online, with the intent of later facilitating sexual contact. This can take place in chat rooms, instant messaging, social networking sites and email.
• Contact offending–once contact has been made with a child online, child sex offenders then move towards meeting up in person for sexual purposes.

If you or a child is in immediate danger, contact your local police.

If there is no immediate danger to you or a child, you can report directly to the relevant VGT agency.

See the Report abuse page on the Virtual Global Taskforce website.