Bullying data

As thousands of young people head back to school for 2017, parents, teachers and students are being urged to call out bullying and "act early" when they see it.

The message from mental health service ReachOut came after it released a survey of 14 to 25-year-olds showing one in four had been a victim of bullying in the past 12 months. 

It also found the highest incidence of bullying occurred at school — 52 per cent — followed by the online space with 25 per cent, and the workplace at 25 per cent.

ReachOut chief executive Jono Nicholas said more needed to be done to break down the stigma of being a bullying victim, given the survey found only half of those affected spoke out and sought help.

"We know this is a really big concern for young people and their parents," he said.

'THE MOST IMPORTANT THING TO DO IS TO ACT EARLY': REACHOUT

Mr Nicholas said the best way to deal with bullying was to tackle it quickly and head-on.

He acknowledged it was usually difficult for victims to overcome their fears and take that first step, but urged them to do so anyway.

"Often people hope that it will go away, hope that if they're quiet it will magically change," he said.

"The most important thing to do is to act early."

Mr Nicholas said people should first try to remove themselves from the situation, but if that did not work, then speak to somebody.

"One of the things we're saying to parents is, they should go into those conversations saying, 'We want this resolved'."