Latest Survey Results on Internet Users in Australia

A recent study (March 2017) undertaken by Roy Morgan Research and RMIT University quantifies the magnitude of internet users in Australia currently and also over the previous four years from 2014. The findings of the study are provided for different geographic areas as well as according to different segments of the Australian population.

The surveys provide an assessment of ‘Australian Digital Inclusion Index (ADII)’ which is a measure of internet access, digital ability and also affordability. The higher the ADII the greater the use that is made of the internet.

Australian Internet Statistics

The results from the study ‘Measuring Australia’s Digital Divide’ regarding online participation rate or internet usage is not unsurprising, the report concludes that Australian’s are spending more time on the net. That the rate of growth of online participation is increasing and that internet users in Australia are using the net for an increasingly wider amount of activities/uses.

The Australian internet statistics provided is that for Australians overall the ADII increased from 52.7 in 2014 to 5. in 2017.

Internet Users in Australia by State

ACT tops the ADII index at 59.9 in 2017, followed by Victoria (57.5) and New South Wales at 57.4.  Queensland came in sixth at 55.3 having one of the lower growth rates from 2016 to the 2017 year.

Tasmania has very much the lowest ADII score of only 49.7 and also had a slow increase during the 2016/17 year.

Internet users in Australia by Socio-Economic Groups

The internet statistics revealed that the gap between higher internet usage (in higher incomes groups) has increased between those of the lower internet usage (being in the lower-income groups). The ADII recorded in 2017 for low-income households was 41.1 and that for high-income households was 69.1.  The gap is very significant and worrisome 27 points.

Access to the Internet in Australia

Internet users in Australia reported (according to the internet statics results from the survey) that access to the net has improved and that more devices are being used to access the internet and larger data plans are being taken out.

Australians’ Ability to Use the Net

One area that the study highlighted as needing attention is the fairly low ability to use the net such as basic skills and attitudes as well as activities. Although these are increasing, Australians are still scoring fairly low in terms of these particular elements.

Mobile Use of the Internet

The study revealed that 20% of Australians access the net through mobile devices only. This is initially a surprising finding but when one delves deeper the results become clearer. It was discovered that mobile-only users (and those with a dongle with a data allowance) were linked to lower socioeconomic status, ie lower income and thus probably less ownership of other devices with which to access the net.

Lowest Internet Users in Australia

Specific demographic groups were found to have the lowest level of ADII or internet usage. These included the unemployed (ADII of 50.2 in 2017); Indigenous Australians (49.5), lower education groups at 47.4; and elderly people having an ADII of just 42.9.

Internet Users by Geographic Area

As would be expected the internet statistics revealed that those in capital cities had higher ADII results than those in more remote areas including country areas.

Australia Internet Statistics Over Time

The sub-index scores of the ADII over time revealed interesting results.

Access improved consistently from 2014 to 2017 moving from 82.7 for all Australia in 2014 to 83.3 in 2015 and now at 85.3 in 2017.

Digital ability also increased for the Australia average from 2014 to 2017. The basic skills store increased from 47.2 in 2014 and now is 53.3 which is a positive result. The attitudes score rose from 46.0 in 2014 to 50.1 in 2017, again a good result.

The affordability sub-index group showed more buoyant results with the score at 2014 being 53.5, then dropping to 52.0 in 2015, dropping again in 2016 to 51.2 and then increasing somewhat to 52.7 in 2017.

Summary

The survey results show overall improvement across many variables for internet users in Australia.  More detailed information and a download report are available from the Australian Digital Inclusion Index.

Affordable Computer Repairs and Service

The information contained in this blog written by Affordable Computer Repairs and Service has been sourced from several different websites on the net and is all based upon the published results by Roy Morgan Research, RMIT University, the APO and others. As computer repairers, we deal with many internet connection problems and are always interested in the movements in technology use in Australia and hence share this information that we discovered on the internet.