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“Dolly’s law” was not a single federal law passed after 14-year-old Amy “Dolly” Everett died in January 2018. It was a campaign description for a proposed protection-order-style response to cyberbullying. At the same time, Federal Education Minister Simon Birmingham urged Australian schools to require students to switch off and store smartphones during the school day. Those were related responses to the same national crisis, but they involved different decision-makers and were never the same policy.
Why Dolly Everett’s death triggered a national debate
Amy “Dolly” Everett was 14 when she died by suicide after sustained bullying and cyberbullying, according to parliamentary background material and the history published by Dolly’s Dream. Public discussion focused on how schools, parents, online platforms and governments should respond to abuse that can continue beyond the classroom.
Contemporary coverage should avoid attributing her death to one post, person, platform or device unless an authoritative source establishes that connection. The public-policy response was broader: better reporting, clearer legal remedies, safer school environments and digital-safety education.
What Simon Birmingham actually proposed on 4 February 2018
In the PerthNow report published on 4 February 2018, Birmingham, then Federal Education Minister, said there was “almost no reason” students should not have phones switched off and stored in lockers during school.
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This was an appeal to school systems, not evidence that the Commonwealth had enacted a national phone-ban law. Australian government-school administration is substantially state- and territory-based, with individual schools often setting operational rules. A restriction during lessons is also different from a total ban on bringing a phone onto school grounds.
A workable policy would need to specify:
- whether phones are prohibited only in class, throughout the school day or during breaks;
- where devices are stored and who may retrieve them;
- what happens if a student refuses to hand one over;
- liability for loss or damage;
- how parents make contact in an emergency; and
- exceptions for medical monitoring, disability-related access, safety, transport or authorised learning.
What “Dolly’s law” meant
The Carly Ryan Foundation proposal described in the PerthNow article was a possible social-media or protection order aimed at a juvenile cyberbully. It envisaged an order that could:
- prohibit contact with a victim;
- restrict use of specified services such as Facebook or Instagram; and
- carry juvenile-justice consequences if breached.
The proposal was modelled partly on domestic-violence protection processes. Calling it “Dolly’s law” did not make it an enacted statute. It is important to separate three stages:
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- Advocacy: the Carly Ryan Foundation argued for a new type of order.
- Parliamentary consideration: a Senate committee examined whether existing offences and remedies were adequate.
- Enactment: a law would require passage by the relevant parliament and a commencement date.
The Senate’s cyberbullying report, published on 28 March 2018, considered the adequacy and consistency of Commonwealth, state and territory laws. It did not turn the campaign label into a universal federal offence.
Was cyberbullying already illegal?
Some online conduct can already be prosecuted under general laws. Depending on the facts and jurisdiction, threats, stalking, intimidation, harassment, image-based abuse or use of a telecommunications service to commit another offence may cross a criminal threshold.
But cruelty, humiliation or an offensive message is not automatically a criminal offence. The exact words, intent, persistence, harm, age of the accused and applicable law matter. Criminal law is only one tool alongside school discipline, civil remedies, platform reporting, family support and education. The Senate inquiry examined those gaps rather than assuming that no legal remedy existed.
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What the DQ Institute data showed—and did not show
The PerthNow article cited the DQ Institute’s 2018 research involving 38,000 children aged 8 to 12 in 29 countries. Its headline finding was that 56% had been exposed to at least one listed cyber-risk, including cyberbullying, video-game addiction, meeting online strangers and online sexual behaviour. The report also described about 32 hours a week of entertainment screen time and around 50% accessing the internet through a personal mobile phone. See the institute’s 2018 Impact Report summary and child online-safety overview.
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Those figures are international, not a clean estimate of Australian prevalence. “Exposed to a cyber-risk” is broader than “was cyberbullied,” and the findings describe associations rather than proof that owning a smartphone causes bullying or suicide. DQ Institute is an advocacy and education organisation, so its definitions and methodology should be read in that context.
What DQWorld was supposed to do
DQWorld was presented as a free, game-like online learning platform teaching children how to respond to cyberbullies, spot misinformation, protect privacy and behave more safely on social media. It was offered as a complement to restrictions, not proof that removing technology is the only answer. The platform was an educational intervention, not a clinical treatment, legal remedy or guarantee against harm. The institute’s report is available at https://www.dqinstitute.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/2018-DQ-Impact-Report.pdf.
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Could a school smartphone ban stop cyberbullying?
A school-day restriction can reduce opportunities for covert recording, classroom messaging and online conflict during the hours it operates. A clear storage rule may also make enforcement more consistent and give students a temporary break from disputes unfolding online.
It cannot stop abuse that occurs at home, after school or through a device a student still has access to later. Overly broad rules can create problems of their own:
- students may need connected devices for diabetes, epilepsy, hearing, anxiety or other accommodations;
- families may rely on phones for transport and urgent communication;
- confiscation raises privacy, damage and retrieval disputes;
- students can move to smartwatches, tablets, laptops or alternate accounts; and
- a prohibition may leave less time for teaching judgement, consent, privacy and reporting.
Effective school policy therefore distinguishes possession, lesson-time use, break-time use, school-network access and conduct outside school that affects student safety. It should publish exceptions and emergency procedures before enforcement begins.
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- UNIVERSAL- Compatible for most 6-6.9 inch extra large smartphones, iPhone 12 Pro Max /Huawei Honor 9X/ Y9 2019 and other phones(height up to 170mm).
- EASY TO CARRY -This mobile phone holder bag come with a neck lanyard for carry. Hands Free And Pockets Free. Double zipper closure on the top to keep your device safety inside the pouch and convenience for you to take out or put in the phone.
- [SIZE] - Inside Dimensions: 6.3 x 3.74 x 0.71in/160x 95 x 18mm, Outside Dimensions: 7.3x 4.2x 0.7 in, Weight:62g. Note: the variation in size for different brand models , please compare the external size of your phone with the internal size of our sleeve
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What happened after the 2018 debate
Senate review
The Senate report on cyberbullying was published on 28 March 2018 and examined legal definitions, jurisdictional differences and possible reforms: Parliament of Australia report. Its background chronology also records the policy response to Dolly Everett: committee background chapter.
Queensland taskforce
On 15 October 2018, Queensland announced it had accepted all 29 recommendations of its anti-cyberbullying taskforce and committed $3.5 million, including support for school programs and Dolly’s Dream: Queensland Government statement.
Later school phone restrictions
The Australian Government’s later response to the Senate report noted that states including New South Wales, Victoria, Tasmania and Western Australia introduced government-school mobile-phone restrictions from 2020 onward. These were jurisdictional measures, not proof that the Carly Ryan Foundation’s proposed order became law: Australian Government response.
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What to do when online abuse is reported
- Preserve screenshots, usernames, dates, messages and URLs without forwarding harmful material unnecessarily.
- Report the content to the platform.
- Tell the school when students are involved or school safety is affected.
- Use the Australian eSafety Commissioner’s reporting and support pathways for eligible serious online abuse: esafety.gov.au.
- Seek urgent professional or emergency help if a child may harm themselves.
The eSafety Commissioner has urged young people experiencing cyberbullying to report it so material can be assessed for removal: 2018 call to action.
The accurate bottom line on “Dolly’s law”
The 2018 proposals addressed different parts of the problem. Birmingham’s statement concerned school control of devices during school hours. The Carly Ryan Foundation’s “Dolly’s law” was a proposed offender-focused order. Neither should be described as a single federal law that immediately banned phones or social media. Later legal reviews, state programs and school restrictions produced a patchwork response, while education, reporting, platform accountability and family support remained necessary.
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