The Stop It Now! Australia helpline

Quickly find what you’re looking for:

We are not a reporting agency. To report a person, offence, website, or illegal images, please contact one of the following organisations:

CrimeStoppers:  to report any crime anonymously, including child sexual abuse in any state and territory, CrimeStoppers will then share the information with the relevant authorities.

ACCCE: to report inappropriate behaviour towards children online, including  any potential online sexual abuse of a child, and making or sharing of child sexual material.

eSafety Commissioner: to anonymously report illegal and restricted content, including child sexual exploitation material

If it is an emergency, call 000 for police assistance.

How can I call the Stop It Now! Australia helpline?

You can call our anonymous helpline for free on 1800 01 1800

Our opening times are as follows:

Mon 10:00 am - 2:00 pm AEST/AEDT (Melbourne/Sydney time)

Wed 1:00 pm - 4:00 pm AEST/AEDT (Melbourne/Sydney time)

The helpline is currently closed on Tuesdays and Thursdays. We apologise for any inconvenience caused.

To protect your anonymity we will not be able to see your phone number, and will instead be provided with a random computer generated code. 

If all our practitioners are busy when you call us, you’ll be placed in a queue and the next available practitioner will answer your call as soon as possible. Please note, our wait times can vary between 10 to 60 minutes.

Due to Stop It Now! Australia being in its pilot phase, we are unable to accept calls or chats from individuals residing in New South Wales. We apologise for any inconvenience caused, and will continue to explore the expansion of our service. 

How can I live chat with the Stop It Now! Australia helpline? 

Our live chat is currently open with reduced opening hours. When live chat is open and a practitioner is free a live chat bubble will appear in the bottom right hand corner.

Our opening times are as follows:

Wednesday 1:00 pm - 4:00 pm AEST/AEDT (Melbourne/Sydney time)

If the bubble does not appear, our live chat is closed or no practitioners are currently available. Please consider contacting our helpline on 1800 01 1800 for support and advice.

Who can call the Stop It Now! Australia helpline?

Anyone with a concern about child sexual abuse and its prevention can anonymously call the Stop It Now! helpline. We encourage you to trust your gut and call, whatever your worry or level of concern.

Our advisors can support anyone struggling with their own or a loved one’s sexual thoughts, feelings, and behaviours towards children. We also support anyone worried about a child or young person’s sexual behaviour around other children, or if they’ve got into trouble online.

You can also call the helpline if you’re an adult concerned about a child or young person who may have been abused, a professional calling for case advice or an adult victim-survivor of child sexual abuse.

Learn more about the helpline and how it works

Due to Stop It Now! Australia being in its pilot phase, we are unable to accept calls or chats from individuals residing in New South Wales. We apologise for any inconvenience caused, and will continue to explore the expansion of our service. 

Is the Stop It Now! Australia helpline anonymous?

The helpline is anonymous, you do not have to identify yourself or anybody else during your call. We will not ask your name and we will not make any attempts to identify you. However, even though you will remain anonymous, we may be legally obligated to report all information to relevant agencies if we believe that child abuse has occurred or is likely to occur. In order to remain anonymous, it is important that you do not provide any identifiable information to us. We keep written case notes of each call in a secure database that is governed by standard privacy regulations.

You can read our privacy policy here.

What happens when I contact the Stop It Now! Australia helpline?

Our anonymity policy is explained to everyone at the start of their interaction with us, whether this be a call or chat. Our anonymity policy is: 

“Our service is anonymous and you do not have to identify yourself or anybody else during your call. We will not ask your name and in order to remain anonymous, it is important that you do not provide any identifiable information to us. However, we may be obligated to report information you do provide to relevant agencies if we believe that child abuse has occurred, or is likely to occur. This includes offending behaviour online.”

Following this, our experienced practitioners will:

  • Talk through the issues, helping you explore your concerns

  • Explore any immediate child protection considerations with you

  • Provide information and support to help you begin to understand your situation and think about next steps

  • Discuss available support and possible actions you can take

  • Collaboratively agree on one or more protective actions you can take following your chat.

Is there an alternative to contacting the Stop It Now! Australia helpline?

If you’re not feeling ready to reach out to us via our anonymous phone line or chat service then there is some online advice you can access anonymously.

This includes: