CANBERRA - The Australian government's online safety commissioner on Friday issued a warning over an increase in AI-generated intimate images of children.

The office of the federal government's eSafety Commissioner on Friday said that it has received twice as many reports over the last 18 months about digitally altered intimate images, including deepfakes, of children younger than 18 than in the previous seven years combined.

It said that 80 percent of incidents reported over the 18-month period involved the targeting of females.

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Julie Inman Grant, the eSafety commissioner, said that the real number of incidents is likely higher than what has been officially reported to authorities.

She said in a statement that the agency has heard from school leaders and representatives from the education sector that deepfake incidents are occurring more frequently, particularly as children are "easily able" to access and misuse AI apps that create intimate images.

In response, the agency has released a step-by-step guide for schools to deal with deepfake incidents and Inman Grant has written to state and territory education ministers to ensure that schools adhere to child protection laws and reporting obligations.

"Creating an intimate image of someone under the age of 18 is illegal. This includes the use of AI tools. Parents and carers can help educate their children that this behavior can lead to criminal charges," Inman Grant said.

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New Australian mandatory standards for online safety that will come into effect from July 1 require high-risk AI tools, including apps, to implement robust safeguards that prevent misuse such as child exploitation.

Developers of apps and the platforms that host them will face fines worth up to 49.5 million Australian dollars ($32.4 million) for serious breaches of the standards.