Australian schools are overlooking one of the most effective tools available to help identify bullying and protect student wellbeing, with artificial intelligence and digital monitoring capabilities remaining underutilised across many school-managed platforms.
BDO National Digital Leader Nick Kervin said schools were increasingly investing in technology, but many were failing to use existing capabilities to identify harmful behaviour before it escalated.
"The sheer volume of digital interactions taking place across school-managed platforms every day makes it incredibly difficult for schools to manually identify every potential warning sign," Kervin said.
"AI-enabled monitoring tools can analyse activity across school-managed platforms such as email, chat and collaboration applications to identify concerning language, repeated patterns of behaviour or other indicators that may signal bullying, harassment or broader student wellbeing risks."
Rather than replacing teachers or school leaders, the technology automatically flags high-risk interactions for review, allowing trained staff to investigate concerns, determine appropriate action and intervene earlier where required.
"This isn't about AI making decisions on behalf of schools," Kervin said.
"It's about giving staff greater visibility of potential issues that might otherwise go unnoticed. Used responsibly, AI acts as an early warning system that helps schools respond more quickly, consistently and with better evidence."
Kervin said schools had both a legal and moral responsibility to proactively manage psychosocial risks, particularly as more student interactions occurred through digital learning environments.
"As technology becomes more embedded in education, safeguarding must evolve alongside it," he said.
"Schools should be asking whether they're making full use of the technology they already have to identify potential risks before they become serious incidents."
BDO recently worked with an independent Australian school to strengthen monitoring and alerting capabilities within its Microsoft 365 environment, improving its ability to identify inappropriate conduct, streamline investigations and support stronger governance, privacy and record-keeping processes.
Kervin said effective monitoring should always operate within clearly defined governance, privacy and safeguarding frameworks.
"When implemented appropriately, these tools don't create more surveillance—they create better oversight," he said.
"Ultimately, the goal is to help schools protect students, support staff and ensure concerns are identified and addressed before they escalate into more serious issues."