Conclusions
Results have stabilised.
- There has been relatively little change over the last twelve months on how or why people interact with government.
- Similarly there have been only marginal changes in experience in dealings with government in terms of awareness of options, including knowledge and use of government portals.
The proportion of people who use each channel to contact government has stabilised.
- Usage levels of the internet, telephone and mail to contact government have stabilised. Conversely, the portion of people who don’t use the internet to contact government continues to show some decline.
- In‑person contact continues to show a steady decline with around two in five of those who used in‑person contact doing so because they either had no other option or they were required to show or sign documents. This reflects the gap between those who would prefer making in‑person contact (17%) and those who actually do (32%).
The relationship between age and internet use has continued.
- Most people aged 18 to 54 use the internet. Those in older age groups however are slightly more likely to use the internet than in previous years. Consequently the proportion of the population using internet continues to expand, albeit at a slower rate.
Use of broadband continues to grow.
- The number of people with broadband connections has continued to grow quickly. This has resulted in a convergence between the number of people with a broadband connection and the number of people who access the internet. Despite the growth in broadband connections nationally, there is still a disparity between those living in metropolitan Australia and elsewhere.
There has been no change in image of government websites or awareness of them.
- Government websites have a very positive image in terms of trust, advocacy and comparability with non‑government sites however there has been no increase in the proportion of users who would rate government sites as ‘excellent’.
- There has been no increase in awareness of australia.gov.au over the three years it has been measured. Two in five of those who use the internet to contact the government remain unaware of the site.
There is a strong preference for e‑government channels.
- Those who have not used an e‑government channel show a strong preference for using either the internet or telephone rather than in‑person contact or mail. This suggests that use of e‑government channels may grow further.
- To encourage use of e‑government channels and maintain high levels of satisfaction, online government service providers should:
- recognise that convenience is the dominant factor in determining how a person will interact with government
- consider to what extent business processes unnecessarily require people to access government services in person
- appreciate that the older population is increasingly inclined to use an e‑government option
- recognise that government is expected to meet or exceed the service standards of the private sector.
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