Reporting
Reporting to the police
If you’re unsafe or in danger, you can contact Triple Zero (000). If it's not an emergency, you can call the Police Assistance Line (131 444) or contact your local police station. Find your local police station here.
Depending on your situation, you may be able to speak to a specialist police officer, such as an Aboriginal Liaison Officer, an Ethnic Community Liaison Officer or a Multicultural Community Liaison Officer, a Gay and Lesbian Liaison Officer or a Domestic Violence Liaison Officer.
Another option is to report image-based abuse to the Australian Cyber Security Centre (ACSC). The report will be transferred to a local police station for investigation.
Reporting to the police can be hard for many people. This is particularly so for people who’ve previously had bad experiences with the police. Some people worry that the police won’t take them seriously or that they will be blamed for what has happened. Based on research conducted with other people who have had a similar experience, there are often mixed experiences in terms of police responses. Some people describe positive experiences with the police, whereas others don’t have very good experiences. As the police become more experienced in dealing with technology-facilitated crimes, they are becoming better at responding to this issue.
If you decide to report to the police, it’s a good idea to have a support person with you at the time. You should also bring with you the evidence that you have collected. Some victim support advocates also suggest printing the relevant legislation and bringing it with you when you report to the police. This is because in some states or territories, laws on image-based abuse are relatively new and there may be some police officers who do not know about those laws. The eSafety Commissioner has a “what to take to the police” online form that you can fill out which will help you gather the information that you’ll need going to the police.
Find out more about the laws where you live.
Please note that there are mandatory reporting obligations for disclosures of known or suspected cases of abuse and neglect (e.g., child abuse or abuse against adults living in residential care) in all Australian states and territories that apply to adults. Please click here for more information.
Submitting a report to a digital platform or website
Many websites have in-built reporting tools that enable you to do one of two things. First, anyone can anonymously flag inappropriate or illegal content (videos, photos, comments), or report another user for sharing this content. Find out more about flagging inappropriate or illegal content.
Second, if your intimate images have been shared online without your consent, you can fill out an online reporting form to request that this content be removed and/or blocked from being able to be shared again. You don’t need an account to request the content be taken down.
On some platforms, you can report the content through the app or a web browser on your computer or your phone. Each reporting tool will be different. You will typically be asked to provide details, such as your email address and the links to the images (for search engine requests, you may need to provide the URL to the search page). It’s important you read through each platform’s policy on non-consensual nude or sexual imagery to first check that the sharing of your content violates their community standards or terms of service.
The amount of time it takes a platform to take down your content will differ depending on the site. Some platforms may be slow but others are very quick to remove content. Under new laws in Australia, Australian-owned or operated companies have 24 hours in which to remove your content or face significant fines.
Search engines, such as Google, Bing/Microsoft or Yahoo!, can also remove links to your photos or videos in their search results. However, it's important to note that even if a search engine removes links to your content, the images will remain on the particular website or app where it’s being hosted, so you’ll need to do another content request through the platform as well.
Find the policies or community standards of the platform you’re looking for here.
If the website you’re wanting content taken down from doesn’t have an in-built reporting tool or any policies or community standards about the non-consensual sharing of intimate images, it might be best to directly report to the eSafety Commissioner who can work on your behalf to get the images removed from the site. If you have made the request for the content to be taken down and it hasn’t been, you should also report to the eSafety Commissioner who will help to ensure those images are taken down (see below).
Reporting to the Office of the eSafety Commissioner
The eSafety Commissioner is an independent statutory body that coordinates and leads the online safety efforts of the Australian government, industry and not-for-profit community. The eSafety Commissioner has an image-based abuse portal that contains a lot of resources and helpful advice. You are able to report directly through the eSafety Commissioner’s website if someone has shared your intimate images without your consent or if they’ve made threats to do so.
The eSafety Commissioner is also responsible for administering a federal civil penalty scheme to address the non-consensual sharing of intimate images, as well as threats to share intimate images. Under the scheme, an “intimate image” is more broadly defined to include any material that depicts, or appears to depict, the person’s genital or anal area (whether bare or covered by underwear), the breast or breasts of a person who is female or a transgender or intersex person, and a person engaged in a private act, such as bathing or having sex. The civil penalty scheme also defines an intimate image as including an image of a person without items of clothing that they normally wear in public that are of religious or cultural significance. It also includes digitally altered images.
You, or someone acting on your behalf, can report to the eSafety Commissioner, who may undertake an investigation. The eSafety Commissioner can issue formal warnings, a takedown notice, an enforceable undertaking (e.g. a pledge not to do something), an infringement notice, an injunction or a civil penalty of up to $111,000 AUD for failing to take down the material within 24 hours.
Technology companies can also be liable for up to $555,000 AUD for failing to take down the material within 24 hours. The scheme only applies to Australian residents or Australian companies (or companies that are based in Australia). It won’t cost you anything to make a complaint under this scheme.
Who can report to the eSafety Commissioner?
You can report to the eSafety Commissioner if you are in the person depicted in the image; if the person in the intimate image has given you permission to report on their behalf; or if you’re a parent or guardian of a child under the age of 16, or a person with a cognitive or physical disability who is depicted in the image.
How do I submit a report?
The eSafety Commissioner’s online reporting form will ask you a series of questions, such as who is depicted in the image and where the content is located (including options of attaching any screenshots). The form will also prompt you about whether the police have been involved, or whether you consent to the police being involved. You can provide your first and last name if you want to, but you don’t have to. The only thing that is required is your email.
It’s important to note that the eSafety Commissioner can only help if:
The person depicted in the image lives in Australia; or
The person who shared or threatened to share the image lives in Australia; or
The content is hosted on an Australian site.
What happens after I report?
Once the eSafety Commissioner has received a report from you, they can work directly with social media, search engines and other digital platforms to help get the images taken down.
You’ll receive a report number if you have agreed to being contacted by email. The eSafety team will review your report and assess whether it meets the required criteria and whether they need to get further information. They will contact you within 48 hours (or sooner) to let you know what the next steps are. You’ll be able to contact the eSafety Commissioner at any time to get further information.
Find out more about reporting to the eSafety Commissioner.
What to do if someone is impersonating you online or if your account has been hacked
If someone has access to your social media or email account, is pretending to be you (i.e. "impersonating" you) and is sharing images of you, there are things you can do. Check to see if you still have access to your account and try changing your password. If not, you can contact the platform to let them know someone has hacked your account. Many social media platforms have advice on what to do if your account has been hacked (e.g. Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/hacked).
Stopping images from being shared on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, reddit, bumble and OnlyFans
If you're worried that someone will share your intimate images on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, reddit, bumble and OnlyFans, the StopNCII.org tool can help prevent the image from being shared on those platforms. StopNCII.org is operated by the UK Revenge Porn Helpline. Anyone in the world can use it.
If you want to use this tool, you’ll need to create a case here. Start by selecting “Create Your Case”. Next, you’ll be directed to an online form, in which you’ll be asked some basic questions about your age and the intimate images you’re concerned about. After you’ve answered these questions, StopNCII.org will generate a “hash” or digital fingerprint (which is a unique numerical code) of your image(s). To generate a hash, your image is scanned only – you do not have to upload your image(s). This means that no one sees your image(s) and they do not leave your device.
StopNCII.org will share the anonymous hash with other companies that are participating in the scheme so that they can also detect any matches of the hash on their platforms.
You will receive a case number and you can check the status of your case at any time.
You can also find out more about the NCII.org tool at: https://stopncii.org/
Stopping underage images from being shared on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, OnlyFans, Pornhub and yubo
If someone has shared or threatened to share an intimate image of you from when you were under the age of 18 on Facebook, Instagram, OnlyFans, yubo, TikTok or Pornhub, you can get help from the Take It Down service. Take It Down is operated by the US-based National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) and can be used by anyone in the world.
Take It Down is an anonymous image hashing service. A "hash" is a unique numerical code that can be used to identify exact copies of an intimate image (photo or video). To generate a hash, Take It Down scans an intimate image -- you do not have to upload your image, no one sees your image, and it does not leave your device. The digital hash cannot be reversed and turned back into the original image. You can learn more about how this service works here.
If you want to use the Take It Down service, you’ll need to: (a) click on “Get Started”; (b) provide essential information only, such as whether you're under/over 18 at the time the image was taken (you don't need to provide any personal information); and (c) use the tool provided to create a hash of your image(s) that Take It Down will add to a secure "hash list". This list is shared with participating companies that include: Facebook, Instagram, OnlyFans, yubo and Pornhub. Those companies have agreed to scan their public or unencrypted websites and apps for the listed hashes.
Please note that the Take It Down service won’t work for platforms that aren't "participating companies", but if someone shares your intimate images without your consent, you can always report the content to a platform directly.
In addition to using the Take It Down service, you can also report to the Australian Centre to Counter Child Exploitation (ACCCE), the eSafety Commissioner or CyberTipline.org.