Online safety

Who is accountable

The Daily Network editorial team remains accountable for published editorial content and for the design of interactive tools on The Daily Ballarat. Readers in Ballarat and elsewhere can report concerns through the channels below.

AI assistants

Ask Ballarat and similar tools are AI assistants, not human journalists. The interaction point discloses that you are speaking with AI before the first response. Answers are grounded in published editorial content and may be imperfect. See our editorial standards and AI disclosure.

Comments and letters

Article comments are pre-moderated before they appear. Letters and tips submitted to the desk are reviewed by people before any editorial use. We do not publish threats, doxxing, hate material, or content that appears to sexualise or endanger children.

Classifieds and community listings

The classifieds page is a limited prototype. Listings you draft in your browser are not a live moderated marketplace and are not reviewed by our desk. Do not post personal data of others, babysitting or child-contact ads, or anything unlawful. Report concerns via urgent legal notices.

Impersonation, intimate images and threats

Report impersonation of a real person, non-consensual intimate imagery, credible threats, or child-safety concerns immediately through urgent legal notices (choose online safety / eSafety). Do not attach intimate images to the form. If someone is in immediate danger, contact local emergency services.

Child-safety escalation

Material that appears to involve the sexual exploitation or endangerment of a child is escalated for urgent removal and, where required, referral to the appropriate authority. Use the legal-notices channel and mark the notice as an online-safety concern.

How to report

• Urgent legal notices — suppression, copyright, privacy, eSafety
• Corrections and complaints — factual errors and rights of reply
• Contact — general enquiries