"The reality is that cost and poor computer literacy mean almost two-thirds of parents don't have internet filters on their family computers," Mr Beazley said.

"That is not good enough when research suggests that the exposure of children and others in the community to this sickening content can lead to aggression towards women and child abuse."

Under the codes, anyone who subscribes to an ISP must be offered a filter program at low cost (some ISPs offer them for free), or provide a filtered service.

Any user can also report material to ACMA and if it is found to be hosted in Australia and banned, an ISP is ordered to take it down within 48 hours or face penalties.

"A family who takes advantage of these solutions will have a far greater degree of confidence in limiting the kind of material their children are likely to access than would occur if we adopt the limited clean feed model."

Mr Coroneos said the problem lay in educating parents and teachers about filter systems not putting in place mandatory systems, which could slow internet access and raise subscription prices.

"We know we have to let our kids roam the internet for study, yet we can't be watching over their shoulders all the time to monitor what they are seeing."

The ACMA is currently auditing the top 25 ISPs, which cover about 95 per cent of internet users in Australia, for compliance with the codes of practice.

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