Measuring Australia's digital divide
The Australian Digital Inclusion Index tracks and reports on digital inclusion in Australia
What is digital inclusion?
Digital inclusion is about ensuring that all Australians can access and use digital technologies effectively. We are experiencing an accelerating digital transformation in many aspects of economic and social life. Our premise is that everyone should have the opportunity to benefit from digital technologies: to manage their health, access education and services, participate in cultural activities, organise their finances, follow news and media, and connect with family, friends, and the wider world.
What is the Australian Digital Inclusion Index?
The Australian Digital Inclusion Index uses survey data to measure digital inclusion across three dimensions of Access, Affordability and Digital Ability. We explore how these dimensions vary across the country and across different social groups.
Why is the Index important?
A detailed measure of digital inclusion for Australia allows us to identify the critical barriers to inclusion. These may be related to accessing networks, the costs of devices or data, or skills and literacies. The Index can help shape initiatives to increase digital inclusion in Australia.
Digital inclusion: the Australian context in 2023
Welcome to the 2023 Australian Digital Inclusion Index.
Digital inclusion across the nation is improving, but the benefits are not being shared by all Australians.
While the number of highly excluded Australians has declined, some groups are more likely to lack the required resources to participate fully in contemporary economic, social, and civic life. These include remote First Nations communities, older Australians, and people on the lowest incomes.
Affordability has improved, reflecting the declining price of a bundle of internet services. However, with some groups experiencing affordability stress in higher numbers, sustaining improvements in the context of inflationary pressures and a deepening cost of living crisis will be a key challenge.
Attending to the complex and evolving needs of different social groups in a rapidly digitising economy and society remains central to creating a more inclusive digital Australia.
Explore digital inclusion in Australia
Digital inclusion: the Australian context in 2023
Read about the current state of digital inclusion in Australia, and why it’s more important than ever
Key findings and next steps
Explore key findings and next steps from the latest wave of the study
Interactive data dashboards
Explore insights from the latest data through our interactive dashboards
Download reports
Download current and previous ADII reports, datasets, and affiliated reports and papers
Connected Students project
Learn about Telstra’s Connected Students program, which removes Affordability barriers to digital inclusion for low-income households in the Shepparton region
Get in touch
We work with companies, institutions, government, and non-government entities across Australia to provide the information and insights needed to make decisions around digital technology, communications infrastructure, and support programs.
If you would like to talk to us about our digital inclusion research program, get access to our data, or conduct research of your own, please get in touch with us any time.
