The communications watchdog is carrying out record numbers of investigations into online child pornography, new figures show.
The Australian Communications and Media Authority conducted 7663 investigations in the 12 months to July - a five-fold rise on the previous reporting year.
Yet the jump doesn't necessarily mean abuse is on the rise, cautions Jeremy Fenton, the head of the ACMA Hotline, which investigates calls from the public.
It's more likely due to greater awareness of the hotline, which received a record 3000 calls in 2013, Mr Fenton says.
Mr Fenton says a number of foreign organisations who are in a better position to judge global trends believe child abuse material is on the rise.
The European Financial Coalition against Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Children Online believes there are now more than one million images online. The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime estimates more than 50,000 new images are uploaded each year.
No material investigated by the ACMA Hotline was hosted on Australian servers. Most of the material, some 64 per cent, was hosted in the US. The Netherlands hosted 17 per cent.
Mr Fenton estimated 80,000 children were victimised in the investigated material, the majority being girls no older than 13 years of age.
When staff at the Hotline receive a complaint, they quickly assess its veracity and try to trace its origin.
If the material is hosted overseas, the ACMA refers the case to the relevant local branch of the International Association of Internet Hotlines (INHOPE).
The material is usually wiped from the web within three days, and often in as little as one.
"The mechanism is incredibly effective and rapid," Mr Fenton said.
In several cases, reports from the public have led to arrests and allowed law enforcement to save children from abusive situations.
*The public can report illegal online content to acma.gov.au/hotline. If you believe a child is in immediate danger, the ACMA says to contact the police on 000.
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