To every Australian State and Territory Parliament and Government
Australian Capital Territory • New South Wales • Northern Territory • Queensland • South Australia • Tasmania • Victoria • Western Australia
We, the undersigned, call upon every Australian State and Territory Government to consider and implement Maddie’s Law, establishing a clear, accountable and child-centred pathway for children and young people whose safety, wellbeing or education continues to be affected by bullying.
This petition is in memory of Maddie, who died by suicide at 15 years of age, and in recognition of the many children and families who have experienced the devastating effects of bullying.
MADDIE'S STORY
Maddie was 15.
She was energetic, had an infectious laugh and a personality all her own.
But bullying progressively changed her life.
The first school
Maddie was bullied at school.
Her family raised concerns and the school was informed.
From our family's experience, the school did not respond in a way that stopped the bullying or made Maddie feel safe.
The only option left for the family was to change schools.
A child should not have to lose their school, their routine and their sense of security because the adults responsible for their education have been unable to stop what is happening to them.
But changing schools did not make the bullying disappear.
THE BULLYING FOLLOWED HER
The bullying continued beyond the school environment.
The student who had been involved tracked Maddie down on a public bus and assaulted her.
Adults around Maddie did not step in to help.
When police became involved, the response included wanting the girls to sit down together and talk about what had happened.
For Maddie, the experience had already changed the way she saw the world.
From that day forward, Maddie became afraid to use public transport.
A bus was no longer simply a way to get to school.
It became something she feared.
And when she eventually changed schools again, the new school bus system did not travel past Maddie's home, creating another barrier to simply getting to school safely.
ANXIETY SET IN
Maddie began experiencing anxiety.
She would feel ill each day.
School was no longer simply somewhere she went to learn.
Getting there became part of the fear.
The journey became part of the fear.
The memories became part of the fear.
And the impact of what had happened continued to follow her.
The bullying from the original student may have stopped, but the harm did not simply disappear.
THEN IT STARTED AGAIN
Another child began bullying Maddie.
Threatening text messages were sent.
Threatening voice messages followed.
She was called "snitch bitch."
Maddie became frightened enough that she changed her phone number in an attempt to feel safe.
Think about what that means for a child.
A young person should not have to change their telephone number because they are being threatened by other children.
AND THEN THERE WAS ANOTHER INCIDENT
Maddie and her friend were targeted by a group of teenagers at a Gold Coast tram station.
Their phones were taken.
The incident was serious enough to make Channel 9 news in 2024.
Again, the impact was not simply an isolated event.
It became another experience for Maddie to carry.
EVEN A CHANGE OF STATE DID NOT END IT
Maddie's family eventually moved interstate.
Maddie changed schools again.
But the bullying continued.
At her new school, she was called names.
And the anxiety continued.
The geography changed.
The schools changed.
The circumstances changed.
But Maddie's fear followed her.
This is precisely why we are asking Australia to look beyond the individual bullying incident.
Because sometimes changing schools does not change the trauma.
Sometimes moving a child does not mean the child has recovered.
Sometimes the bullying stops, but the consequences remain.
MADDIE IS NOT THE FIRST
Maddie's story is not an isolated story.
There have been children before her who experienced bullying, intimidation, exclusion, threats, assault and profound emotional distress.
There have been families who raised concerns.
Families who changed schools.
Families who changed routines.
Families who changed phone numbers.
Families who moved homes or even moved states.
Families who kept trying to protect their children.
And there have been children who were ultimately lost to suicide.
Maddie is now on that list.
We acknowledge that suicide is complex and that every young person's circumstances are different. We are not claiming that bullying alone explains any individual suicide.
But we cannot ignore what bullying did to Maddie's life.
We cannot ignore the fear, anxiety and loss of safety that accumulated around her.
And we cannot ignore the experiences of other children and families who have walked similar paths.
THE QUESTION WE MUST ASK
When a child is bullied, the question cannot simply be:
"Did the bullying stop?"
We must ask:
"What happened to the child?"
Did they become afraid?
Did they stop attending school?
Did their education suffer?
Did they lose their confidence?
Are they afraid to use public transport?
Are they experiencing anxiety?
Are they withdrawing from friends?
Are threats continuing through phones or social media?
Does the child feel safe?
And most importantly:
Are they recovering?
Because stopping the behaviour does not necessarily stop the harm.
THIS IS WHY WE NEED MADDIE'S LAW
Australia already has many systems designed to respond to bullying, protect children and support student wellbeing.
Maddie's Law is not about pretending those systems do not exist.
It is about ensuring that when those systems are activated, the child's ongoing recovery is not lost between them.
A child should not have to keep changing schools, changing phone numbers, changing transport arrangements or moving communities simply because the system has been unable to provide a pathway that follows the child's needs.
A family should not have to become the case manager for their own child's survival.
And a child's recovery should not depend upon which school, service, state or territory they happen to encounter.
A.N.C.H.O.R.
Maddie's Law proposes an A.N.C.H.O.R. Individual Student Recovery Pathway.
A.N.C.H.O.R. is designed to keep the child at the centre:
A | Assess
Understand the student's circumstances and ongoing needs.
N | Navigate
Help the student and family access appropriate existing supports.
C | Coordinate
Connect the relevant education, wellbeing, health and other services.
H | Hold
Maintain a clear recovery pathway rather than allowing responsibility to disappear between systems.
O | Ongoing
Continue monitoring and follow-up while support is required.
R | Restore
Support the child's return to safe education, participation, confidence and wellbeing.
WE ARE CALLING ON EVERY AUSTRALIAN STATE AND TERRITORY
We ask:
Australian Capital Territory
New South Wales
Northern Territory
Queensland
South Australia
Tasmania
Victoria
Western Australia
to examine their existing laws, policies and systems and consider how the principles of Maddie's Law and A.N.C.H.O.R. can be incorporated into their own jurisdictions.
We are not asking for every state and territory to have identical legislation.
We are asking for a shared national commitment:
When bullying causes continuing harm, the child's recovery must remain part of the response.
FOR THE CHILD WHO IS STILL HERE
We cannot change Maddie's story.
We cannot bring her back.
We cannot erase what she experienced.
But we can decide what happens with what we have learned.
We can recognise that a child may need help long after the bullying incident has ended.
We can make recovery part of the system.
We can make follow-up matter.
We can make the child's voice matter.
We can make sure that when a family raises concerns, those concerns are heard and acted upon.
There were children before Maddie.
Maddie is now on that list.
We hope there will be no children after her.
We cannot promise that Maddie's Law will prevent every suicide.
But we can promise that we will not stop asking whether we can do better.
We can choose to listen earlier.
We can choose to act sooner.
We can choose to stay connected.
We can choose to follow the child, not simply the incident.
And we can choose to build a system where recovery matters just as much as response.
OUR PETITION
We respectfully call upon every Australian State and Territory Parliament and Government to:
Consider and develop legislation reflecting the principles of Maddie's Law.
Establish or strengthen an individual student recovery pathway for children experiencing continuing impacts from bullying.
Ensure students and families have a clear pathway from identification and intervention through to recovery and review.
Strengthen coordination between existing education, wellbeing, health, child-safety and other relevant services where required.
Ensure support is reviewed to determine whether it is actually working for the child.
Ensure the student's voice and family's concerns are meaningfully considered.
Address barriers to safe and sustained access to education, including where bullying has affected transport or attendance.
Promote appropriate behavioural intervention and change for students who engage in bullying.
Provide appropriate, de-identified outcome reporting so governments can measure whether responses are improving outcomes for children.
Ensure that the response does not end simply because the bullying incident has ended.
FOR MADDIE
Maddie should not be remembered only for how her story ended.
She was a child.
She was loved.
She had an infectious laugh.
She had her own personality.
She had a future.
She mattered.
And the children who are experiencing bullying today matter too.
There were children before Maddie.
Maddie is now one of them.
We hope there will be no children after her.
Let Maddie's story become action.
Let her name become a turning point.
Let us listen while our children are still here.
Please support Maddie's Law.
For Maddie.
For the children who came before her.
For the children who are struggling today.
For the families still fighting to be heard.
And for the hope that no family will ever again have to add their child's name to this list.