CHILD cyber bullies will be sentenced to community service, ordered to undergo counselling or forced to apologise to victims.
And adult trolls who deface online tribute pages face tough new sentences under plans to make cyber bullying an offence under Commonwealth law.
The Abbott Government is working on laws that will make it easier for prosecutors to charge cyber bullies by simplifying a current "menacing" offence, which attracts jail time.
The crackdown will be supported by new laws and a complaints system that will allow "harmful" material to be pulled off websites quickly. The plan is being discussed with state and territory ministers.
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Currently, offenders can be charged with using a carriage service to menace, harass or cause offence, but the law is complex.
In the past financial year, 95 people have been charged and 58 people were hit with the charge in 2011-12.
A Commonwealth Director of Public Prosecutions spokesperson said there was no cyber-bulling offence and it did not have any power to order sites to remove harmful material.
Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Communications, Paul Fletcher, said the Government would establish a Children's e-Safety Commissioner to help educate children about online safety.
"(The e-Safety Commissioner will) take the lead across government in developing and implementing policies to improve the safety of children online," Mr Fletcher told The Courier-Mail.
"(We will) examine the need for a new, simplified cyber-bullying offence which will include a broad range of sentencing options where the offender is a minor, such as counselling, restorative justice, community-based orders and probation."
Education Minister John-Paul Langbroek said the initiative could help students.
"We are very much aware that bullying in any form, including cyber-bullying, can have a negative impact on students' academic performance, self-esteem, and coping skills," Mr Langbroek said.