Bullying: your ultimate support guide
Whether you're being bullied, supporting someone experiencing bullying, or you've been told you're bullying someone else, there's something here to help. <3
Our bullying content has been developed with Kids Helpline counsellors, other bullying experts, schools and teachers, and young people and families.
Bullying help, info & strategies for teens
The fact you're here means you might be experiencing bullying or you're supporting someone who is.
We're really sorry that you (or someone you care about) is going through this! Bullying is never ok, and it can have a big impact on wellbeing, mental health and self-worth. We're here to help and support you.
This page is a one-stop shop for our bullying content and resources. Think of it like a choose-your-own-support directory: pick what fits your situation, or scroll to see what else is here, including key bullying info, stats and more.
What do you need help with?
This content is made possible thanks to fundraising by Charlotte's Wish.
I'm being bullied
Being bullied can feel awful, confusing and seriously unfair. We’re really glad you’re here. Here’s how to start getting support and figuring out what to do next.
We know bullying can be a big deal, and you shouldn’t have to deal with it alone. We’re committed to preventing bullying, supporting people to step in when it happens, and emotionally supporting everyone affected.
Our counsellors have worked hard to pull our best evidence-informed strategies into articles for you. Different types of bullying often need different responses because unfortunately bullying is not a one-size-fits-all villain. Rude of it, we know.
Choose the article that best fits what you’re experiencing. If you’re not sure where to start, you can try our bullying quiz (below) or check out our general ‘dealing with bullying’ article. And if you're looking for cyberbullying specific support, check out our 'cyberbullying guide'.
Quick note: getting help doesn’t mean you’ve failed, it doesn’t have to blow things up and make them worse or stop you from dealing with things yourself. A trusted adult, counsellor or support person can help you think through what’s happening, what evidence to keep, and figure out next steps which feel safest for you.
Mental health strategies to cope with bullying
Dealing with bullying isn’t just about the actions you take to try and get it to stop.
Your emotional wellbeing matters too — bullying can impact your self-esteem, self-worth, mood, relationships and even your hope for the future.
If you’ve been bullied, or even just been around bullying, the stress can stick with you. Looking after yourself isn’t dramatic, it’s basic maintenance for your brain. And we’ve got a great starting point for improving your mental health and self-esteem.
Bullying and safety
There’s lots of ways bullying might make a person feel unsafe.
Sometimes bullying crosses the line from hurtful to dangerous. It can include things that are illegal, like harassment, assault, stalking, threats or sharing private images without consent.
Bullying can also have a big impact on mental health. Some people experiencing bullying may have thoughts of hurting themselves, not wanting to be here, or feeling like things won’t get better.
If either of these situations sounds like you, please tell a trustworthy adult straight away.
If you’re in immediate danger, or you might hurt yourself or someone else, call 000 now.
Bullying and friends
Maybe your friend is being targeted, your friends are bullying someone else, or someone has told you that you’re the one bullying. Yep, friendship drama can get complicated fast!
Social dynamics can get messy. Fights with friends, not liking someone in your group, group chats, rumours and personality clashes can all escalate into bullying territory if someone is repeatedly targeted or left feeling powerless.
There are safe things you can do to shift the group dynamic, support the person being bullied and avoid accidentally becoming part of the problem. Main character energy but make it kind.
If what's going on includes cyberbullying, be sure to check out our cyberbullying guide too.
How can Kids Helpline help me with bullying?
Counselling
Talking it through with an expert on the phone or on webchat can help you get personalised strategies, unique to you, to stop bullying and improve your mental health.
Support from other teens
My Circle is a private, safe social media platform where you can get bullying support from other teens who are going through or have been through bullying themselves.
Info & other help
We’ve got a library of videos about bullying and cyberbullying including real life stories from teens and expert strategies from counsellors. Also, check out our mental health app, Qwibbl.
"What helped most was... telling my situation to someone I trusted and someone I knew could help me. This felt like a weight had been lifted from my chest because I was comforted and relieved to know that there is someone out there who will listen to my situation and help, without judgement...”
-Anonymous teen
Other support services for bullying and cyberbullying
Feeling unsafe, suicidal, or like you might hurt yourself? Please call 000.
It’s hard to stop bullying on your own – especially if it’s been happening for a while (and you’ve already tried a bunch of stuff to get it to stop).
Getting trustworthy adults/professionals involved isn’t the same as ‘dobbing’ and can help to stop the bullying fast. If you contact us via phone or webchat, we can refer you to services that can support you.
Understanding bullying
Trying to work out if what happened was bullying? Wondering why people bully? Doing an assignment? Or just in your research era?
When designing our bullying content, we chatted with teens. And they said two things:
- I’m not sure if this thing that happened to me is bullying...
- Give me practical strategies to deal with bullying first – then give me all the deep stuff about what it is, why it happens, and more.
Your wish is our command! If you’re in the right mood and headspace, looking to go down a rabbit hole, or doing a deep dive is your vibe, check these out!
Bullying facts, stats and more
Some people find data interesting, helpful or reassuring. So, here are some of the latest bullying findings from Kids Helpline contacts, our recent teen survey and other research.
In 2025, Kids Helpline received 3,268 contacts where bullying was identified as a concern.
The latest research showed about 1 in 4 Year 4-9 students in Australia reported being bullied every few weeks or more. Out of one study of 25 countries, Australia had the second-highest rates of bullying.
Common bullying experiences
In our most recent online bullying survey (July 2026; 100 respondents), young people told us about their experiences. Because this was a small survey, these results give us a snapshot rather than the whole picture.
Here’s what they said:
- 14% of young people said they’d bullied someone in-person before
- 66% had witnessed in-person bullying
In the same survey, the top three types of bullying experienced were:
- Verbal (92%)
- Behind the back bullying, e.g. rumours (79%)
- Social or reputational (71%)
What helps with bullying?
In our survey, these are top things that helped according to young people who have been bullied:
- Avoidance/separation (from the people doing the bullying; 56%)
- Adult support (25%)
- Standing up for myself (18%)
- Friend/peer support (upstanders; 16%)
- Making different friends (13%)
Other non-Kids Helpline studies have found different results for what works and what doesn’t. One study found that adult involvement improved bullying in about 73% of cases. Another found that peer support or upstander action stopped bullying within 10 seconds in 51% of cases.
But a quick disclaimer: when it comes to bullying research, there is a lot of variation in results, so different studies have found lots of different things.
Advice from those who have been there and done that
Young people told us the support they most wished they’d had included emotional support, and practical strategies (to use in response to bullying). That’s part of the reason why we developed a range of new articles on dealing with different types of bullying.
Their main advice for other teens or young people going through bullying were:
- Tell someone who can help (22%)
- Focus on your self-worth, resilience and mental health (20%)
This content is made possible thanks to fundraising by Charlotte's Wish.
This content was last reviewed 06
