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Use of E-Government Services Through the Internet

• 4.1 Introduction
• 4.2 Level of Government Accessed by Internet
• 4.3 Transaction Type Accessed by Internet
• 4.4 Services Accessed by Internet
• 4.5 Attitudes Towards Government Websites
• 4.6 Awareness and Knowledge of the Australian Government Portal

4.1 Introduction

The number of people who access government services by internet is continuing to grow, but growth has slowed compared with previous years of this study. In 2008, over three in five (63%) people who contacted government in the previous twelve months had used the internet to do so at least once. This has increased from 39% in 2004–05, 48% in 2006 and 59% in 2007.

Those who use the internet to contact government are also using it more often. More than three in ten (31%) people now use the internet for the majority (all or most) of their contact with government. This is double the rate reported in 2004–05 (14%).

Focus group participants indicated that as they became more experienced in using the internet to contact government they were more likely to use it more often.

‘I think it's a learning curve.  Once you’ve done it once you're more inclined to do it a second time, or hear someone else talking about they’ve done it that way.  So I think as time goes on, internet will be used more and more.’

Figure 18 Use of the internet to contact government in the previous 12 months

Text description of Figure 18 Use of the internet to contact government in the previous 12 months

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?
Base: All respondents (n=3650)
Note: Percentages may not add up to 100% due to rounding of decimals.

There are a number of factors that affect the likelihood of people having used the internet to contact government at least once in the previous twelve months:

• Age–Younger people are more likely to use the internet to contact government. More than three‑quarters (77%) 44 or younger use the internet to do so, compared with just over a quarter (27%) of those 65 or older. Those aged 25 to 34 have the highest rates of use (81%).
  
  Rates are increasing across all ages, but growth in the use of the internet to contact government has been strongest in the older age groups. Rates have doubled for those aged 55 to 64 (28% in 2004–05 to 57% in 2008) and nearly tripled for those aged 65 or more (10% in 2004–05 to 27% in 2008).
• Personal income–Those with lower incomes are less likely to have contacted government by internet.  At least four in five of those with a personal income above $70,000 have used the internet to contact government compared with three in four among those earning between $50,000 and $70,000; two-thirds of those earning between $30,000 and $50,000 and half of those with a lower income.
• Employment–Those in the workforce⁹ (73%) are more likely to have contacted government using the internet to contact government than people not in the workforce (59%) and those who are retired (35%).
• Nature of employment–People employed in office based occupations¹⁰ (78%) are more likely to have used the internet to contact government than those engaged in non-office occupations¹¹ (65%).
• Education–Three-quarters (76%) of those who have completed, attempted or are currently completing some form of post secondary studies used the internet to contact government. This compares with three in five (59%) who had completed high school, but no other studies, and a third (35%) who had not completed year 12 of high school (or its equivalent).
• Household type–Households with dependent children¹² (72%) are more likely to have used the internet to contact government than other families¹³ without dependent children (60%) and single adults without dependent children (53%).
• Location–Those living in regional areas (54%) are less likely to have used the internet to contact government than those in metropolitan (66%) or rural/remote (62%) areas. The proportion of those living in rural or remote areas that have used the internet to contact government in the previous twelve months has increased notably: from 45% in 2007 to 62% in 2008.

Figure 19 Contacting government by internet—age profile

Text description of Figure 19 Contacting government by internet—age profile

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?
Base: All respondents (n=3650)

Figure 20 Characteristics of those who used the internet to contact government in the previous 12 months

Text description of Figure 20 Characteristics of those who used the internet to contact government in the previous 12 months

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?
Base: All respondents (n=3650)

4.2 Level of Government Accessed by Internet

The proportion of people who use the internet to contact each level of government has grown each year of this study. The proportion of people contacting the Australian Government by internet has increased by nearly two-thirds (from 21% in 2004‑05 to 34% in 2008). Use has doubled for contacting state and territory governments (19% in 2004‑05; 39% in 2008) and grown by 150% at local government level (14% in 2004‑05; 34% in 2008).

Figure 21 Level of government accessed by internet

Text description of Figure 21 Level of government accessed by internet

Q3C. What was the level of government for this contact?
Q4. Thinking of this most recent contact, did you do this…?
Base: Respondents who used the internet in their most recent contact with government (n=1340)
Note 1: Percentages may not add up to 100% due to rounding of decimals.
Note 2: Percentages may not add up to 100% because some respondents were unable to say what level of government they had dealt with.

The decision to use the internet to contact a particular level of government, or to use another channel, was explained in some focus groups as being related to the nature of the transaction usually associated with that level of government.

‘Local government, because it tends to be about something you want to do in your neighbourhood … It tends to be a thing of action you need to have done or something you don’t want in writing [if you are complaining about someone] so local government tends to be over the counter or maybe on the phone.  You can always follow up with an email or letter. Other [levels of] government are more about filling in forms or finding out what you are entitled to … so then I use the internet.’

‘It varies in the sense of what they are there for  … its usually face-to-face in local council and then fall back on anything else, a quick phone call or whatever.  In state government I’m likely to use a phone, or email, or whatever in some form or another, but I wouldn’t go to deliberately see somebody.  … As far as Canberra’s concerned you resort to internet or phone … anything that saves time and [then] you hope for pot luck.’

4.3 Transaction Type Accessed by Internet

Those who use the internet to contact government are more likely to be seeking information than undertaking another type of transaction. Half (50%) of those contacting government by internet were seeking but not providing information, a third (30%) were exchanging information, and one in five (19%) used the internet to provide information but did not seek any.

This was supported by the majority of focus group participants who used the internet to contact government.

‘The internet is a very, very valuable tool, especially if it’s used properly and particularly if you just want information it’s very efficient.’

‘My usage of [the internet] depends on what it is I want to do; I’ll go to the website if it’s information or something I know that’s going to be on there. If there is someone I know I might ring them but I would get my information from the web first. I would talk to them just to explain something.’

Figure 22 Contacting government by internet—type of transaction

Text description of Figure 22 Contacting government by internet—type of transaction

Q3B. What was the reason for this contact?
Base: Respondents who used the internet in their most recent contact with government (n=1340)

4.4 Services Accessed by Internet

There are some differences in the categories of service for which the internet is used to contact government. The internet is less likely to be used for accessing ‘community and social services’ (22% compared with 30% for all methods of contact) or ‘health and health services’ (3% compared with 9%). The internet is more likely to be used to contact government for ‘business services, economics, finance and taxation’ (15% compared with 10% for all methods of contact).

There have been no major changes in the categories of government service that have been accessed over the four years of the study.

Figure 23 Government services accessed by internet

Text description of Figure 23 Government services accessed by internet

Q3A. I would like you to think of government services, of any type at all in Australia, including local councils, state governments and the Australian Government. I am interested in all contact you have had with ANY government services in the PAST 12 MONTHS. Contact can include applying for things, providing information about yourself, making payments, enquiries, or looking for information. What was the MOST RECENT contact you had with a government service? Please name the service you contacted and the reason for the contact.
Base: All respondents (n=3650); Respondents who used the internet in their most recent contact with government (n=1340)
Note 1: Percentages may not add up to 100% due to rounding of decimals.
Note 2: Only the most common reasons are summarised in the above figure.

4.5 Attitudes Towards Government Websites

Respondents whose most recent contact with government was by internet were asked how they found the website and their views about its content, design and ease of use.

Those who had used the internet to contact government sometime in the previous twelve months were asked about finding government websites and to rate government websites in terms of quality, trustworthiness and the extent to which they would recommend them to others.

4.5.1 Recent use of the internet and government websites

Two in five (38%) people used the internet for their last contact with government, whereas three in five (62%) used a non-internet channel. Of those who used the internet, the majority (90%) accessed a website and eight per cent used email.

Those whose last contact with government was through a website were asked how they had found it. A quarter (26%) already knew about the website because they had previously used it. The same proportion (26%) found out about the website by searching for it. One in six (17%) obtained its address from a printed source (such as a printed article or brochure), while 13% obtained it from a government department or employee.

Broadband users and those in older age groups were more likely to know about the website because they had used it before.

Figure 24 How the most recent government website visited was found

Text description of Figure 24 How the most recent government website visited was found

Q6C2. How did you find out about this website?
Base: Respondents whose most recent contact was visiting a website by internet or website by mobile phone (n=1217)
Note: Percentages may not add up to 100% due to rounding of decimals.

4.5.2 Attitudes towards the most recent government website visited

Respondents were asked to rate¹⁴ the government website they had most recently visited in terms of it being:

• up to date
• easy to use and clearly written
• designed:
  • to help find information
  • to get things done quickly
  • for all kinds of people.

The strength of government websites is that they are seen as being up-to-date, with seven in ten people (72%) rating this factor as excellent.

Those accessing either Australian Government or state or territory government websites were more likely to provide a rating of excellent (73% and 74% respectively) than those accessing local government (67%).

Government services which received higher than average ratings for each factor included transport routes or timetables and government jobs.

Ease of use and being designed to help find information was rated as excellent by just over half  (57%) of government website users. The rating for being designed for all kinds of people were still positive, though more moderate than for the other factors (only 37% rated this as excellent).

Figure 25 How the most recent government website visited was rated

Text description of Figure 25 How the most recent government website visited was rated

Q6C3a-3e. Still thinking about your most recent contact with this Government website, I am going to ask you to rate various aspects of that website. On a scale of 10 to zero, where 10 is excellent and 0 is very poor. how would you rate [the website] on ... ?
Base: Respondents whose most recent contact was visiting a website by internet or website by mobile phone (n=1217)
Note: Percentages may not add up to 100% due to rounding of decimals.

The most notable trend is that the higher the use people make of government websites, the higher their opinion is of them. This was evident for each of these issues.

Broadband users were more likely than those without broadband to provide a favourable rating for the following factors:

• being designed for all kinds of people (70% of those with broadband rated this as excellent or good compared with 60% of non-broadband users)
• being easy to use and clearly written (86% of those with broadband rated this as excellent or good compared with 77% of non-broadband users)
• designed to help you find out information (83% of those with broadband rated this as excellent or good compared with 75% of non-broadband users).

Figure 26 Positive perceptions of government websites by proportion of contact by internet

Text description of Figure 26 Positive perceptions of government websites by proportion of contact by internet

Q6C3a-3e. Still thinking about your most recent contact with this Government website, I am going to ask you to rate various aspects of that website. On a scale of 10 to zero, where 10 is excellent and 0 is very poor... how would you rate [the website] on…?
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?
Base: Respondents whose most recent contact was visiting a website by internet or website by mobile phone (n=1217)
Note: A positive perception is defined as being a rating of 6-10.

The lower their use of government websites, the more likely people are to have a poor opinion of them.

The category ‘being designed for all kinds of people’ received the highest proportion of poor ratings (12%), though this is still a low level of dissatisfaction.

Figure 27 Negative perceptions of government websites by proportion of contact by internet

Text description of Figure 27 Negative perceptions of government websites by proportion of contact by internet

Q6C3a-3e. Still thinking about your most recent contact with this Government website, I am going to ask you to rate various aspects of that website. On a scale of 10 to zero, where 10 is excellent and 0 is very poor... how would you rate [the website] on…?
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?
Base: Respondents whose most recent contact was visiting a website by internet or website by mobile phone (n=1217)
Note: A negative perception is defined as being a rating of 0-4.

4.5.3 Government websites used in the previous 12 months

The majority (90%) of people use a search engine to find government websites. There were also a range of other methods identified, including using a link from another site (21%) and finding the website address on written material from the organisation (also 21%).

Very few focus group participants indicated they automatically went to an organisation’s website when wishing to contact a government agency by internet. The most common action was to ‘google’ either the name of the organisation or the subject matter they were interested in. This was also true among those who knew the website address or were aware of government portals such as australia.gov.au.

‘I think everyone uses Google as their starting point for everything for government. It’s there so no matter what they're looking for you just have to type into Google and then it’s point and click, you don’t have to type anything in, so if you're looking for australia.gov.au I’d probably go to Google and put in australia.gov and there it would be.’

One of the motivations for ‘googling government’ is that focus group participants find government websites too complicated and that search results do not always provide relevant information. Participants did recognise, however, that commercial sites offer a relatively simpler set of choices.

‘The commercial sites tend to be much simpler … if you go to a bank they really only offer a few things … it’s a range of loans or deposits and accounts so it’s a lot more intuitive, you can go there and find out what you want without going to a big manual … a government [department] is very complicated unless you know exactly where to go ... and if you do a search you tend to get hundreds of choices … I don’t want the minutes from a meeting six months ago when they discussed something. So rather than look at a government website I just google what I am looking for and see what pops up.’

Figure 28 How government website and email addresses are found

Text description of Figure 28 How government website and email addresses are found

Q16e. If you wanted to contact a government organisation using the internet, how would you go about finding their website or email address?
Base: Respondents who used the internet in last 12 months to contact government (n=2295)
Note: Percentages add up to more than 100% because respondents were able to provide more than one response.

Those living in rural or remote areas (97%) are more likely to use a search engine than regional (88%) or metropolitan residents (91%). Broadband users (92%) are also more likely than those without broadband (84%) to use a search engine.

Those aged over 65 are less likely to use a search engine (72%) compared with the average (90%).

4.5.4 Attitudes towards government websites visited in the previous 12 months

Respondents who had used the internet to contact government in the previous twelve months were asked to rate¹⁵ the quality of government websites compared with non-government business websites, their trustworthiness and the likelihood of recommending them to someone else.

Ratings tended to be very positive on each of these issues. This was particularly the case in relation to their trustworthiness, with 60% rating government websites as excellent for this and a further 23% rating them as good.

Ratings for the extent to which people would recommend them to someone else also rated well, with half (49%) rating them as excellent and a further 30% rating them as good.

The ratings for quality compared to non-government business websites was still high, though slightly more moderate with 43% rating government websites as excellent and 33% as good.

Figure 29 How government websites visited in previous 12 months were rated

Text description of Figure 29 How government websites visited in previous 12 months were rated

Q16a-c. Thinking about government websites you have used in the last 12 months, overall, how would you rate them on a scale of 10 to 0, where 10 is excellent and 0 is very poor in terms of...?
Base: Respondents who used the internet in last 12 months to contact government (n=2295)
Note: Percentages may not add up to 100% due to rounding of decimals.

The ratings for government websites on each of these issues vary with age. Younger people (those aged 18 to 24) have the highest ratings on each of these issues, and ratings decrease steadily as age increases.

The biggest difference was in quality compared with non-government business sites. Eighty-two per cent of those aged 18 to 24 provided a rating of either good or excellent. This declines steadily with age to a low of 66% for those 65 and older.

4.6 Awareness and Knowledge of the Australian Government Portal

Those who had used the internet to contact government sometime in the previous twelve months were also asked about their awareness of the Australian Government internet entry point (portal), australia.gov.au.

4.6.1 Awareness of australia.gov.au

Awareness of the Australian government portal is consistent with the last study (59% in 2008 compared with 61% in 2007).

Figure 30 Awareness of australia.gov.au

Text description of Figure 30 Awareness of australia.gov.au

Q20A. Have you heard of www.australia.gov.au?
Base: Respondents who used the internet in last 12 months to contact government (n=2295)

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Footnotes:

9. “The workforce” includes those working full or part time or looking for work.  “People not in the workforce” includes students, non‑workers and people undertaking home duties.
10. Managers or administrators, professionals, community and personal service workers and clerical and administrative workers
11. Technicians or trade workers, sales workers, machinery operators or drivers, labourers
12. Includes couples and single parents with dependent children
13. Couple without dependent children or extended families
14. These ratings were based on an 11 point scale where ‘0’ was very poor and ‘10’ was excellent. For reporting purposes, these have been summarised as follows:
    0 to 2 are ‘very poor’
    3 to 4 are ‘poor’
    5 is ‘neither poor nor good’
    6 to 7 are ‘good’
    8 to 10 are ‘excellent’.
15. These ratings were based on an 11 point scale where ‘0’ was very poor and ‘10’ was excellent. For reporting purposes, these have been summarised as follows:
    0 to 2 are ‘very poor’
    3 to 4 are ‘poor’
    5 is ‘neither poor nor good’
    6 to 7 are ‘good’
    8 to 10 are ‘excellent’.

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