A report by the eSafety Commissioner revealed that only 46 per cent of Australian parents were confident in dealing with online risks their children might face, like cyber-bullying, unwanted contact or 'sexting' and 'sending nudes'.

A survey of more than 3500 parents of children aged between two and 17 shows that a third of parents were aware of their child's negative online experience in the last 12 months.

The Parenting in the Digital Age report found in most cases a classmate (31pc) or stranger (28pc) were responsible for the negative online experience, but parents also indicated it was their child's friend (22pc).

The three most common concerns for regional parents were exposure to age inappropriate content (39pc), contact with strangers (39pc) and online bullying (35pc).

Parents were also concerned with exposure to violence and balancing internet use with other areas of life.

The research showed that 95pc of parents want more information about online safety.

"There is no one-size-fits-all approach when it comes to parenting in the digital age," eSafety Commissioner, Julie Inman Grant said.

The report shows varied parenting styles used to help manage online safety in the home. Parents with older children favoured an open parenting style, providing guidance and advice, while parents with younger children were more likely to adopt a restrictive approach by controlling online access and setting rules around internet use.

Mother of three, Billie Willis' children are below the age of 10-years her main concern is about screen-time rather than online safety like cyber-bullying and child pornography.

"As the children get older I will be a lot more concerned, their search histories are very naive and kid-friendly so far, so probably hence our lack of worry to date."

Both she and husband, Adrian, work full-time and when they are all at home, house chores can take priority so the kids are quite literally left up to their own devices.

She believes her children spend too much time online, which is around four hours per child on a weekend.

"On busy days we will play an outside game or indoor game together to have family time, away from the screens," she said.