Introduction
- 2.1 About the Study
- 2.2 Background
- 2.3 General Use of the Internet
- 2.4 Use of Newer Communication Technologies
2.1 About the Study
This study is the fourth in a series exploring Australians’ use and satisfaction with e‑government services (provided through the internet and telephone). The studies commenced in 2004–05 and have been repeated each year since 2006.
The studies1 examine:
- how people contact government (internet, telephone2 , in-person or mail)
- satisfaction with these means of contacting government, including reasons for satisfaction and dissatisfaction
- reasons why people choose to use or not use e government services
- preferences for future delivery of government services.
This study was commissioned by the Australian Government, through the Australian Government Information Management Office in the Department of Finance and Deregulation.
The study consists of a quantitative telephone survey and qualitative focus group research to better understand the results from the telephone survey. The telephone questionnaire was refined in 2008 to reflect technology changes and maintain the relevance of the studies for service delivery policy development and design. Some new questions have been added and others modified or deleted. In addition, the 2008 study explores in greater depth some issues and trends highlighted in 2007. These include the gap between preference for contacting government by internet and actually doing so, and preferences for future service delivery.
More detail about the study and its methodology is contained in Appendix 1. Definitions of terms used in the study are in Appendix 2.
2.2 Background
To provide a context for the findings about e‑government, the study explores general use of the internet. The general topics explored in the study have been expanded in recent years to include access to broadband and use of newer communication technologies. These issues are explored in more detail in 2008 than in previous years.
2.3 General Use of the Internet
The population covered by this time series is Australians over 18 years old who had contact with government in the previous twelve months. The proportion of these who are internet users (but not necessarily for contact with government) is similar to 2006 and 2007: four in five (79%).
There are some differences in internet use among different groups of the population. The relationship between age and internet use identified in 2007 remains evident in 2008, with most people under 45 using the internet. Three-quarters (74%) of those aged 55 to 64, and over two in five (44%) of those 65 or more now use the internet.
Figure 1 Trends in general internet use by age
Text description of Figure 1 Trends in general internet use by age
Q1. Do you use the internet?
Base: All respondents (n=3650)
Overall, those living in regional Australia (1,000 to 100,000 residents) are the least likely to use the internet (74%). Those from a metropolitan area (over 100,000 residents) and those who live in rural or remote communities (under 1,000 residents) have the highest levels of internet use (80% and 79% respectively).
Regional focus group participants explained their inclination to make contact in person rather than by internet or telephone on the basis that they come from a close community and often knew an individual at the government office. While this particularly applied to local government it was also true where a state or territory government or Australian Government agency had a local office.
‘I think living in [a small regional community] as I do, it is very accessible … you’re walking down the street and say, “hey, I want to find out something … I’ll just ask John” or whoever I know in there. It’s so easy … someone living much further away would probably think twice about an actual visit. By living here, to me the visiting and the face-to-face is so much easier.’
Broadband connection
The proportion of people with a broadband connection has increased from 61% in 2007 to 68% in 2008.
Figure 2 General internet use and broadband connection
Text description of Figure 2 General internet use and broadband connection
Q1. Do you use the internet?
Q2A. Do you have a broadband connection?
Base: All respondents (n=3650)
Note: The question on broadband connection was not asked in 2004–05.
Two-thirds (66%) of those who have contacted government in the past twelve months use the internet and have a broadband connection. A further three per cent do not use the internet even though they have a broadband connection.
One in ten (13%) use the internet but do not have a broadband connection. One in five (19%) do not use the internet and do not have a broadband connection.
Figure 3 General internet use and broadband connection
Text description of Figure 3 General internet use and broadband connection
Q1. Do you use the internet?
Q2A. Do you have a broadband connection?
Base: All respondents (n=3650)
Note 1: ‘Does not have a broadband connection’ includes respondents who were unable to say if they have broadband.
Note 2: Percentages may not add up to 100% due to rounding of decimals.
Although the level of internet use among those living in metropolitan (80%) and rural/remote (79%) areas is similar, there are differences in broadband access. Seven in ten (71%) who live in metropolitan areas have a broadband connection, in contrast to six in ten (62%) rural/remote residents. Regional residents have a similar level of broadband access (60%) as the rural/remote areas, though levels of internet use (74%) are lower.
One in five (18%) of those living in rural or remote areas reported that they do not use broadband because it is not available in their area. This compares with 16% of those from regional areas and 6% of those who live in a metropolitan area.
Figure 4 Broadband connection and internet use by location
Text description of Figure 4 Broadband connection and internet use by location
Q1. Do you use the internet?
Q2A. Do you have a broadband connection?
Base: All respondents (n=3650)
Households with children are more likely to have a broadband connection than households without children. Over four in five (84%) households of couples with children have a broadband connection, higher than couples with no dependent children (64%). Single parents with dependent children are more likely to have a broadband connection (68%) than single adults with no dependent children at home (46%).
Figure 5 Broadband connection by household type
Text description of Figure 5 Broadband connection by household type
Q2A. Do you have a broadband connection?
QD2. Which of the following best describes your household?
Base: Respondents with a broadband connection (n=2448)
2.3.2 Reasons for not having a broadband connection
The most common reasons for not having broadband are a belief it is too expensive (27%) and that no benefit could be seen in a connection (16%). Fifteen per cent did not use the internet enough to require it, while some (11%) simply had not got around to it or found it too difficult or too complicated (7%). One in ten (10%) reported that broadband was not available where they lived and a similar proportion did not have a computer (9%).
Figure 6 Most common reasons for not having a broadband connection
Text description of Figure 6 Most common reasons for not having a broadband connection
Q2B. What are the main reasons you do not have a broadband connection?
Base: Respondents without a broadband connection (n=1193)
Note 1: Respondents were able to provide more than one reason.
Note 2: Only the most common reasons are summarised in the above figure.
2.4 Use of Newer Communication Technologies
All respondents were asked about their use of newer communication technologies. Over four in five (84%) people undertake at least one of these activities at least monthly, if not more regularly. The most common activities are:
- email, used by 75%
- text messaging using a mobile (SMS3 ), used by 61%
- news feeds (RSS4), used by 39%
- instant messaging5, used by 29%
- social networking sites6 , used by 26%
- blogs7, read by 22%.
There has been no significant shift in patterns of use between the 2007 and 2008 studies.
The more established technologies, email and text messaging, continue to have relatively high levels of use. More recent applications such as social networking sites and blogs have notable levels of use.
Figure 7 Use of newer communication technologies
Text description of Figure 7 Use of newer communication technologies
QD1. Do you do any of the following online activities at least monthly?
Base: All respondents (n=3650)
Note 1: Respondents were able to provide more than one activity.
Note 2: ‘Used wikis’ and ‘use a social networking site ’were not asked in 2007.
There is a strong correlation between use of newer communication technologies and age, with nearly all those under 35 involved in some form of activity at least once a month. This declines to 49% for those 65 or more.
Figure 8 Use of newer communication technologies—by age
Text description of Figure 8 Use of newer communication technologies—by age
QD1. Do you do any of the following online activities at least monthly?
Base: All respondents (n=3650)
There are differences in the age profile of those who use specific technologies at least monthly and those who do not.
Social networking sites, for example, are more likely to be used by younger people with an average age of 32, compared with an average age of 51 for non-users. Those using a mobile phone to access the web are also likely to be younger, with an average age of 34 compared with 47 for non-users. There is less of an age difference, however, between those making phone calls over the internet (40 years compared with 47 years). There is a 21 year gap between the average age of those who use at least one newer communication technology monthly (43 years) and those who do not use any (64 years)
The following figure shows the relative gap between the average age of those who use each specific technology at least monthly and those who do not.
Figure 9 Use of newer communication technologies—average age of users and non-users
QD1. Do you do any of the following online activities at least monthly?
Base: All respondents (n=3650)
As noted earlier, those living in regional areas are the least likely to use the internet, although three-quarters (74%) do. A similar pattern can be seen in use of newer communication technologies. While the difference is relatively small, people living in rural/remote and metropolitan regions have a consistently higher take-up rate than regional residents.
Newer technologies hold considerable potential for governments to expand the ways services are delivered to the public, particularly to more remote areas.
Figure 10 Use of newer communication technologies—by location
Text description of Figure 10 Use of newer communication technologies—by location
QD1. Do you do any of the following online activities at least monthly?
Base: All respondents (n=3650)
Note: Respondents were able to provide more than one activity.
There is also a close relationship between use of newer technologies and the degree to which a person already uses the internet.
People who do use the internet
Newer technologies offer new options for governments in communicating with internet users. For example, over nine in ten (95%) of those who have used the internet to contact government during the previous twelve months use email at least monthly. Over four in five (84%) people who are internet users but used some other form of communication when contacting government over the previous twelve months use email regularly.
Internet users are also heavy users of text messaging (73% of those who have used the internet to contact government; 61% of those who have not contacted government by internet) and to a lesser extent instant messaging (39% and 26%).
Social networking sites have emerged as an important form of communication for a third (36%) of those currently using the internet to contact government. One in five (21%) of those who have not contacted government by internet use a social networking site at least monthly.
Just over half (53%) of those who have contacted government by internet are also news feed readers (RSS). Use of RSS is lower among those who have not used the internet to contact government (30%).
A relatively large proportion of those already communicating with government by internet also use blogs (30%), post to online forums (23%), or use wikis (23%) and podcasts (22%).
Newer phone technologies also play an important role for internet users. One in five (21%) of those who have used the internet to communicate with government make phone calls over the internet and 15% access the web with a mobile phone at least monthly. Use of these technologies is lower among those who have not used the internet to contact government (8% make phone calls over the internet and 7% access the web with a mobile phone).
People who do not use the internet
Two-thirds (64%) of those who do not use the internet do not use any newer technologies.
Despite this, some of these technologies do offer a potential means of communicating with non‑internet users. For example, three in ten (29%) people who do not use the internet did report using text messaging at least once a month.
Figure 11 Use of newer communication technologies—frequency of contact with government by internet
Q1. Do you use the internet?
Q12. Thinking of ALL the contacts that you had with government agencies and services over the past 12 months, about what proportion of these took place over the internet?
QD1. Do you do any of the following online activities at least monthly?
Base: Respondents who do not use the internet (n=755); Respondents who use the internet and who used the internet in last 12 months to contact government (n=2218); Respondents who use the internet but did not use the internet in last 12 months to contact government (n=663)
Footnotes:
- The studies collect data about an individual’s most recent contact with government in the previous 12 months and the extent to which they have used the internet during this period. It was not designed to collect all contacts nor the extent to which people use multiple ways of contacting government to resolve an issue. In some cases an individual has reported using more than one service delivery channel as part of their most recent contact with government. This data about use of multiple channels for contact with government should be regarded as indicative only.
- Telephone—This refers to use of a landline in this report. In 2006, 2007 and 2008 respondents have also had the option of nominating a mobile phone, SMS, or using a mobile phone to access the internet as the way they last made contact with government. To date the numbers of responses in these categories have not been of sufficient size to allow extensive analysis. Where possible, mobile phone results have been noted, but some caution should be taken due to the relatively small sample sizes. Where sample sizes were too small to allow meaningful analysis, mobile phone results are included in the ‘Other’ category where relevant. References to the telephone in the 2006, 2007 and 2008 reports exclude these means of contact.
- Short Messaging Service
- RSS – Really Simple Syndication – An online file format used to let people know when a certain website or part of a website has been updated with new content (e.g. news bulletins)
- Instant messaging – Real time communication between two or more people over the internet.
- Websites such as Facebook or MySpace
- Blog: (Weblog) – A website which provides a list of text articles, videos or opinion pieces and allows people visiting the website to post their own comments on the articles
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