{"links":{"self":"http://dataportal.arc.gov.au/NCGP/API/grants/DE260100349"},"data":{"type":"grant-details","id":"DE260100349","attributes":{"code":"DE260100349","administering-organisation":"RMIT University","announcement-administering-organisation":"RMIT University","scheme-name":"Discovery Early Career Researcher Award","grant-status":"Active","funding-commencement-year":2026,"years-funded":3,"project-start-date":"2026-01-01","anticipated-end-date":"2028-12-31","grant-summary":"Protecting Australia from Online Abuse: Making Online Safety Work for All. This project aims to design and evaluate novel safety features to protect vulnerable Australians from experiencing abuse on social media. By collaborating with affected users and experts in design and policy, the project expects to create user-centric, feasible safety features that move from reactive measures to preventive community-based interventions. Expected outcomes include validated prototypes demonstrating effective approaches, design guidelines for cross-platform implementation, policy recommendations ensuring adoption, and frameworks to assess future interventions. Benefits include advancing Australia’s online safety research and enhancing digital well-being of vulnerable users who rely on these platforms for social connectedness.","funding-current":529739.00,"funding-at-announcement":525571,"investigators-current":[{"title":"Dr","firstName":"Senuri","familyName":"Wijenayake","roleName":"Discovery Early Career Researcher Award","roleCode":"DECRA","isFellowship":true,"orcidIdentifier":"0000-0003-1985-0227 "}],"investigators-at-announcement":[{"title":"Dr","firstName":"Senuri","familyName":"Wijenayake","roleName":"Discovery Early Career Researcher Award","roleCode":"DECRA","isFellowship":true,"orcidIdentifier":"0000-0003-1985-0227 "}],"organisations-current":[{"organisationName":"RMIT University","roleName":"Administering Organisation","state":"VIC"}],"organisations-at-announcement":[{"organisationName":"RMIT University","roleName":"Administering Organisation","state":"VIC"}],"field-of-research":[{"isPrimary":true,"code":"4608","name":"Human-Centred Computing","type":"FOR20"},{"isPrimary":false,"code":"460803","name":"Collaborative and Social Computing","type":"FOR20"},{"isPrimary":false,"code":"460806","name":"Human-Computer Interaction","type":"FOR20"}],"socio-economic-objective":[{"code":"220407","name":"Human-Computer Interaction","type":"SEO20"},{"code":"220502","name":"Internet, Digital and Social Media","type":"SEO20"},{"code":"280115","name":"Expanding Knowledge In the Information and Computing Sciences","type":"SEO20"}],"international-collaboration":["Denmark","England","Finland","United States of America"],"lief-register":[],"achievement-summary":null,"national-interest-test-statement":"Over 70% of Australians have experienced at least one incident of online abuse from offensive comments to targeted hate speech - primarily on social media. This threat particularly impacts vulnerable communities - including gender-diverse people, people with disabilities, and culturally diverse Australians - for whom these platforms are vital lifelines to connect with community, explore their identity, and access support services. While these groups face more risks online, they have little say in developing safety features, resulting in measures that neither prevent abuse nor enable safe participation. This project will unite affected users with policy and design experts to develop improved safety features with a dual focus: preventing abuse and building user resilience. The project offers social benefits by empowering communities to shape their online safety before they abandon platforms or face policies restricting access. Economically, these measures will reduce the $3.7 billion Australians spend on mental health care and lost income due to online abuse, while supporting the government’s $2.0 billion digital safety investment. Commercially, platforms will gain ready-to-implement safety solutions developed with their users. Ongoing collaboration with policymakers, platforms, and community advocates throughout the project, combined with research summits, media engagement, and publications, will ensure outcomes translate into practical safety improvements for all Australians."}}}