Australia’s online safety regulator has been recognised for excellence on the internet at an international awards ceremony.

eSafety Commissioner Julie Inman Grant has been named as an Honouree in the government and civil innovation category of the 2020 Webby awards, announced on May 19, for the www.esafety.gov.au online hub.

The honour means the eSafety website was ranked in the top 20 per cent of the 13,000 websites submitted by 70 different countries.

Ms Grant said the aim of the website, launched last October to provide citizen-focused advice and resources to improve online safety, was to create compelling and accessible content that would engage users.

“I think we nailed it,” she said.

She said the award showed government has an important and innovative role to play in the tech and online space.

“This award is recognition that innovation needn’t just be the realm of the disrupters of Silicon Valley, it can also be driven from within government to deliver world-leading online safety advice and resources to Australians and beyond,” she said.

Webby Awards Executive Claire Graves said receiving an honouree award was a huge achievement.

“Honourees like eSafety are setting the standard for innovation and creativity on the Internet,” she said.

The annual awards are presented by the International Academy of Digital Arts and Sciences and chosen by a panel of industry experts.

As reported by Government News earlier, Randwick Council’s Beach Pollution Ends Here website made it into the top five websites that were up for the main Government and Civil Innovation Webby Award, which went to the USAFacts website.

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