Allem Halkic, 17, killed himself in 2009 after he was bullied on a social networking website.

Victoria’s Victims of Crime Assistance Tribunal last month found the Melbourne teenager died as a direct result of an act of violence and awarded his parents compensation.

Lawyer Julia Schembri from Schembri and Co works with victims of crime and said the tribunal was satisfied Allem took his own life as a direct result of the bullying.

“At the time police couldn’t charge anybody with any other relevant offence,” she said.

“Bullying hasn’t until now been covered in the crimes act.

“Nobody was found responsible for his death and that obviously didn’t sit well with the family. An act of violence was committed.

“To have this ruling provided a lot of closure to the family and dignity was restored to his memory.

“Now bullies won’t be able to hide behind the internet and they will face criminal charges.”

Ms Schembri said up until now, nobody had brought a crime to the tribunal based on a suicidal death.

“I had worked with the case and felt a claim could be based on that he took his life because of a bully, there was no other explanation other than bullying.

“His particular situation was cyber bullying, but it’s no different to it happening at school or at work.”

Cyber safety expert Susan McLean said she hoped the tribunal ruling would send a clear message to the community and authorities about the dangers of online behaviour.

“We know that cyber bullying has a detrimental effect on the victim,” she said.

“The sad thing is a lot of parents need to have a good look at what their kids are doing online, because these kids are coming from some family.”

Readers seeking support and information about suicide prevention can contact Lifeline on 13 11 14.