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Figure 1 Trends in general internet use by age

Figure 1 Trends in general internet use by age shows the growth since 2004–05 in the percentage of people who use the internet across different age groups.

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Figure 2 General internet use and broadband connection

Figure 2 General internet use and broadband connection compares the growth in the use of the internet and broadband connections since 2004–05.

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Figure 3 General internet use and broadband connection

Figure 3 General internet use and broadband connection shows the break-up of people’s use of the internet and whether they have a broadband connection.

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Figure 4 Broadband connection and internet use by location

Figure 4 Broadband connection and internet use by location shows broadband connection and use of the internet by location.

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Figure 5 Broadband connection by household type

Figure 5 Broadband connection by household type shows the percentage of people with broadband connection according to the composition of their household.

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Figure 6 Most common reasons for not having a broadband connection

Figure 6 Most common reasons for not having a broadband connection shows the most frequently reported reasons for not having a broadband connection. In addition to the reasons discussed in the report, 5% said that they were able to access broadband elsewhere.

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Figure 7 Use of newer communication technologies

Figure 7 Use of newer communication technologies shows the percentage of people who use specific newer technologies at least monthly in 2007 and 2008. Email, text messaging and reading news feeds (RSS) are the most commonly reported activities.

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Figure 8 Use of newer communication technologies—by age

Figure 8 Use of newer communication technologies—by age shows that younger people are more likely to use a newer communication technology at least monthly.

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Figure 9 Use of newer communication technologies—average age of users and non-users

Figure 9 Use of newer communication technologies—average age of users and non-users shows the relative gap between the average age of those who use each newer communication technology at least monthly and those who do not.

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Figure 10 Use of newer communication technologies—by location

Figure 10 Use of newer communication technologies—by location shows differences in the use of newer communication technologies by people living in metropolitan, regional and rural or remote locations. People living in rural/remote and metropolitan regions have a consistently higher take-up rate than regional residents. Email and text messaging are by far the most commonly used newer technologies, followed by RSS.

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Figure 11 Use of newer communication technologies—frequency of contact with government by internet

Figure 11 Use of newer communication technologies—frequency of contact with government by internet shows differences in the use of newer communication technologies by people who do not use the internet; people who are internet users but have not used the internet to contact government in the last twelve months; and people who are internet users and have used the internet to contact government in the last twelve months. It shows that internet users are more likely to use newer communication technologies than non-internet users. Internet users who have used the internet to contact government are most likely to use newer communication technologies at least monthly.

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Figure 12 Changes in method of contacting government—by year

Figure 12 Changes in method of contacting government—by year shows the break-up of the main methods for people’s most recent contact with government in each year since 2004–05.

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Figure 13 Changes in method of contacting government—by service delivery channel

Figure 13 Changes in method of contacting government—by service delivery channel shows the growth of use of the internet for people’s most recent contact with government compared to other methods. It shows that this growth is mainly at the expense of contact in-person.

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Figure 14 Method of contacting government—males by age

Figure 14 Method of contacting government—males by age shows the methods used by males to contact government in different age groups.

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Figure 15 Method of contacting government—females by age

Figure 15 Method of contacting government—females by age shows the methods used by females to contact government in different age groups.

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Figure 16 Type of transaction involved in most recent contact with government

Figure 16 Type of transaction involved in most recent contact with government shows that 37% of people only sought or obtained information in their most recent contact with government but did not provide information; 20% provided information but there was no exchange of information; and 41% exchanged information. Two per cent were unable or refused to say what sort of transaction was involved.

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Figure 17 Most common services used in most recent contact with government

Figure 17 Most common services used in most recent contact with government shows the type of services accessed during people’s most recent contact with government since 2004–05. ‘Community and social services’ remains the most commonly accessed category of government service. ‘Transport’ and ‘business services, economics, finance and taxation’ remain the next most common categories of services used.

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

Figure 18 Use of the internet to contact government in the previous 12 months shows the changes in how frequently people used the internet in the last twelve months to contact government in each year since 2004–05.

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Figure 19 Contacting government by internet—age profile

Figure 19 Contacting government by internet—age profile shows the growth since 2004–05 in the percentage of people who use the internet to contact government across different age groups.

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

Figure 20 Characteristics of those who used the internet to contact government in the previous 12 months shows different types of demographic information about those people who have used the internet to contact government in the last twelve months.

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Figure 21 Level of government accessed by internet

Figure 21 Level of government accessed by internet shows which level of government was accessed by people whose last contact with government was by internet in each year since 2004–05.

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Figure 22 Contacting government by internet—type of transaction

Figure 22 Contacting government by internet—type of transaction shows that 50% of people whose most recent contact with government was by internet only sought or obtained information but did not provide information; 19% provided information but there was no exchange of information; and 30% exchanged information. One per cent were unable or refused to say what sort of transaction was involved.

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Figure 23 Government services accessed by internet

Figure 23 Government services accessed by internet shows the type of services most commonly accessed by people whose most recent contact with government was by internet compared with all contacts. ‘Community and social services’ remains the most commonly accessed category of government service. ‘Transport’ and ‘business services, economics, finance and taxation’ remain the next most common categories of services used.

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Figure 24 How the most recent government website visited was found

Figure 24 How the most recent government website visited was found shows that 26% of those whose most recent contact with government was by internet said that they had already known about the website because they had used it before; 26% found out about the website by searching for it; 17% obtained the information from a printed source; 13% obtained it from a government department or employee; 4% found it through a link on another website; 2% heard about it through work or their employer; 2% saw it in a newspaper advertisement; 2% saw it in a TV advertisement and 1% said they had heard about it at school or university.

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Figure 25 How the most recent government website visited was rated

Figure 25 How the most recent government website visited was rated shows how people whose most recent contact with government was by internet rated the website that they visited.

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

Figure 26 Positive perceptions of government websites by proportion of contact by internet shows the break-up of people’s positive perceptions of government websites according to how much of their contact with government in the last twelve months was by internet.

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

Figure 27 Negative perceptions of government websites by proportion of contact by internet shows the break-up of people’s negative perceptions of government websites according to how much of their contact with government in the last twelve months was by internet.

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Figure 28 How government website and email addresses are found

Figure 28 How government website and email addresses are found shows that 90% of those who contacted government by internet in the last twelve months said they would use a search engine to go about finding a government website or email address; 21% would use a link from another site; 21% would find it on written material from the organisation; 16% from advertising; 14% would have saved it as a ‘favourite’; 14% would use a government entry point; 12% would ring them up and 1% would use the phone book, yellow or white pages.

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

Figure 29 How government websites visited in previous 12 months were rated shows the overall perceptions of government websites of people who had contacted the government by internet in the last twelve months.

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Figure 30 Awareness of australia.gov.au

Figure 30 Awareness of australia.gov.au shows that in 2008, 59% of people said that they were aware of Australia.gov.au and 41% said that they were not aware of it. In 2007, 61% of people said that they were aware of Australia.gov.au and 38% said that they were not aware of it. One per cent were unable to say.

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Figure 31 Type of telephone contact

Figure 31 Type of telephone contact shows that 51% of people whose most recent contact with government was by telephone used an automated system and then spoke to someone; 34% spoke to someone without going through an automated system and 12% used an automated system and did not speak to anyone. Three per cent were unable to say what sort of transaction was involved.

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Figure 32 Level of government accessed by telephone

Figure 32 Level of government accessed by telephone shows which level of government was accessed by people whose last contact with government was by telephone in each year since 2004–05.

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Figure 33 Contacting government by telephone—type of transaction

Figure 33 Contacting government by telephone—type of transaction shows that 37% of people whose most recent contact with government was by telephone only sought or obtained information but did not provide information; 16% provided information but there was no exchange of information; and 45% exchanged information. Two per cent were unable or refused to say what sort of transaction was involved.

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Figure 34 Government services accessed by telephone

Figure 34 Government services accessed by telephone shows the type of services most commonly accessed by people whose most recent contact with government was by telephone compared with all contacts. ‘Community and social services’ remains the most commonly accessed category of government service. ‘Business services, economics, finance and taxation’ and ‘land, property, planning and construction’ were the next most common categories of services used.

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Figure 35 Satisfaction with services received

Figure 35 Satisfaction with services received shows that the majority of people are satisfied with the level of service they receive. Eighty seven per cent of people were satisfied with the outcome of their last contact with government while 10% were dissatisfied; 83% of people were satisfied with waiting for a reply while 14% were dissatisfied; 89% of people were satisfied with the ease of finding specific information and 8% were dissatisfied; and 91% of people were satisfied with the ease of using the service while 8% were dissatisfied. Some respondents were unable to say if they were satisfied or dissatisfied.

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Figure 36 Average ratings for achieving what was intended—by channel

Figure 36 Average ratings for achieving what was intended—by channel shows the extent to which people achieved their intended outcome in their most recent contact with government since 2006 depending on the method of contact.

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Figure 37 Average ratings of achieving what was intended—by type of transaction

Figure 37 Average ratings of achieving what was intended—by type of transaction shows the extent to which people achieved their intended outcome in their most recent contact with government since 2006 depending on the reason for contact.

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Figure 38 Average ratings of achieving what was intended—by level of government

Figure 38 Average ratings of achieving what was intended—by level of government shows the extent to which people achieved their intended outcome in their most recent contact with government since 2006 depending on the level of government contacted.

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Figure 39 Satisfaction with outcome—time series by channel

Figure 39 Satisfaction with outcome—time series by channel shows how satisfied people were with the outcome in their most recent contact with government depending on the method of contact since 2004–05.

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Figure 40 Satisfaction with outcome—by channel

Figure 40 Satisfaction with outcome—by channel shows the extent to which people were satisfied with achieving their intended outcome in their most recent contact with government depending on the method of contact.

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Figure 41 Satisfaction with outcome—by type of transaction

Figure 41 Satisfaction with outcome—by type of transaction shows the extent to which people were satisfied with the outcome in their most recent contact with government depending on the reason for contact.

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Figure 42 Satisfaction with outcome—by level of government

Figure 42 Satisfaction with outcome—by level of government shows the extent to which people were satisfied with the outcome of their most recent contact with government depending on the level of government contacted.

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Figure 43 Satisfaction with length of wait for reply—by channel

Figure 43 Satisfaction with length of wait for reply—by channel shows how satisfied people were with how long they had to wait for a reply to their inquiry in their most recent contact with government depending on the method of contact.

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Figure 44 Satisfaction with length of time waiting for reply—by type of transaction

Figure 44 Satisfaction with length of time waiting for reply—by type of transaction shows the extent to which people were satisfied with how long they had to wait for a reply to their inquiry in their most recent contact with government depending on the reason for contact.

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Figure 45 Satisfaction with length of time waiting for reply—by level of government

Figure 45 Satisfaction with length of time waiting for reply—by level of government shows the extent to which people were satisfied with how long they had to wait for a reply to their inquiry in their most recent contact with government depending on the level of government contacted.

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Figure 46 Satisfaction with ease of finding specific information—by channel

Figure 46 Satisfaction with ease of finding specific information—by channel shows how satisfied people were with the ease of finding the specific information or service in their most recent contact with government depending on the method of contact.

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Figure 47 Satisfaction with ease of finding specific information—by type of transaction

Figure 47 Satisfaction with ease of finding specific information—by type of transaction shows how satisfied people were with the ease of finding the specific information or service in their most recent contact with government depending on the reason for contact.

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Figure 48 Satisfaction with ease of finding specific information—by level of government

Figure 48 Satisfaction with ease of finding specific information—by level of government shows how satisfied people were with the ease of finding the specific information or service in their most recent contact with government depending on the level of government contacted.

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Figure 49 Satisfaction with ease of using the service—by channel

Figure 49 Satisfaction with ease of using the service—by channel shows how satisfied people were with the ease of using the service in their most recent contact with government depending on the method of contact.

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Figure 50 Satisfaction with ease of using the service—by type of transaction

Figure 50 Satisfaction with ease of using the service—by type of transaction shows how satisfied people were with the ease of using the service in their most recent contact with government depending on the reason for contact.

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Figure 51 Satisfaction with ease of using the service—by level of government contacted

Figure 51 Satisfaction with ease of using the service—by level of government contacted shows how satisfied people were with the ease of using the service in their most recent contact with government depending on the level of government contacted.

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Figure 52 Dissatisfaction by service delivery channel used to contact government 2007­2008

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Figure 53 Most common factors influencing choice of channel

Figure 53 Most common factors influencing choice of channel shows the relative importance of convenience, channel features and availability in influencing people’s choice of contact method used in their most recent contact with government.

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Figure 54 Use of the internet to contact government services

Figure 54 Use of the internet to contact government services shows the growth in the use of the internet to contact government from 19% of most recent contacts with government in 2004–05, to 25% in 2006, 29% in 2007 and 38% in 2008.

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Figure 55 Most common reasons for making contact by internet

Figure 55 Most common reasons for making contact by internet shows people’s main reasons for choosing to use the internet in their most recent contact with government sorted by the themes of convenience, channel features and availability. Issues of convenience were the main reasons people chose to use the internet to contact government.

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Figure 56 Use of the telephone to contact government services

Figure 56 Use of the telephone to contact government services shows the changes in the use of the telephone to contact government from 28% of most recent contacts with government in 2004–05 and 2006, to 32% in 2007 and 30% in 2008.

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Figure 57 Most common reasons for making contact by telephone

Figure 57 Most common reasons for making contact by telephone shows people’s main reasons for choosing to use the telephone in their most recent contact with government sorted by the themes of convenience, channel features, availability and cost. Issues of convenience and channel features were the main reasons people chose to use the telephone to contact government.

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Figure 58 In-person contact with government

Figure 58 In-person contact with government shows the decline in the use of in-person contact with government from 46% of most recent contacts with government in 2004–05, to 43% in 2006, 37% in 2007 and 34% in 2008.

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Figure 59 Most common reasons for making contact in person

Figure 59 Most common reasons for making contact in person shows people’s main reasons for choosing to make contact in person in their most recent contact with government sorted by the themes of convenience, channel features and availability. Issues of convenience and availability were the main reasons people chose to contact government in person.

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Figure 60 Use of mail to contact government services

Figure 60 Use of mail to contact government services shows the decline in the use of mail to contact government from 13% of most recent contacts with government in 2004–05, to 10% in 2006 and 2007 and 9% in 2008.

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Figure 61 Most common reasons for making contact by mail

Figure 61 Most common reasons for making contact by mail shows people’s main reasons for choosing to use mail in their most recent contact with government sorted by the themes of availability, convenience and channel features. Issues of availability and convenience were the main reasons people chose to use mail to contact government.

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Figure 62 Those who can be encouraged to increase their use of the internet to contact government

Figure 62 Those who can be encouraged to increase their use of the internet to contact government shows the break-up of people who could be encouraged to increase their use of the internet to contact government and their current use of the internet.

This group comprises people who already use the internet and have previously contacted government by internet (40% of all people); people who already use the internet but have not used it to contact government (12% of all people); and people who are not current users of the internet (11% of all people).

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Figure 63 Those who can NOT be encouraged to increase their use of the internet to contact government—by current internet use

Figure 63 Those who can NOT be encouraged to increase their use of the internet to contact government—by current internet use shows the break-up of people who could not be encouraged to increase their use of the internet to contact government and their current use of the internet.

This group comprises internet users who have previously contacted government by internet (21% of all people); people who already use the internet but have not used it to contact government (6% of all people); and people who are not current users of the internet (11% of all people).

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Figure 64 Most common factors that would encourage increased use of the internet to contact government

Figure 64 Most common factors that would encourage increased use of the internet to contact government shows the most commonly reported factors in 2008 and 2007 which would encourage people to increase their use of the internet to contact government.

Website usability factors were mentioned by 22% in 2008 and 26% in 2007; website content by 10% and 12% in 2007; infrastructure by eight per cent in 2008 and 10% in 2007; better access by 7% in 2008 and 9% in 2007; increased awareness by 7% in 2008 and 8% in 2007; skills by 7% in 2008 and 9% in 2007; and cost by 5% in both 2007 and 2008.

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Figure 65 Factors that would encourage increased use of the internet to contact government

Figure 65 Factors that would encourage increased use of the internet to contact government compares different factors which would encourage internet users and non-users to increase their use of the internet to contact government. For internet users, the most commonly reported factors which would encourage people to increase their use of the internet to contact government concern usability, better content and features, infrastructure and awareness. For non-internet users, the most commonly reported factors which would encourage people to increase their use of the internet to contact government concern access, skill and cost.

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Figure 66 Those who can be encouraged to increase their use of the internet to contact government

Figure 66 Those who can be encouraged to increase their use of the internet to contact government shows that 62% of people could be encouraged to increase their use of the internet to contact government and 38% could not be encouraged. This compares to 73% in 2007 who could be encouraged to increase their use of the internet to contact government and 27% who could not.

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Figure 67 Those who can NOT be encouraged to increase their use of the internet to contact government—by proportion of internet contact with government

Figure 67 Those who can NOT be encouraged to increase their use of the internet to contact government—by proportion of internet contact with government shows the break-up of people who could not be encouraged to increase their use of the internet to contact government with how frequently they used the internet to contact government in the last twelve months.

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Figure 68 Preferred means of contacting government—what would encourage increased internet use

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Figure 69 Preference between re-entering information and agency storing the details

Figure 69 Preference between re-entering information and agency storing the details shows the changes in people’s preferences between re-entering personal information and the agency storing that information for next time they visited that website in each year since 2004–05.

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Figure 70 Preference between personalised services and anonymity

Figure 70 Preference between personalised services and anonymity shows the changes in people’s preferences between providing information which could be used to customise what they were able to see or do or remaining completely anonymous in each year since 2004–05.

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Figure 71 Preference between telling government once and advising agencies separately

Figure 71 Preference between telling government once and advising agencies separately shows the changes in people’s preferences between telling the government just once when updating personal information such as a change of address or advising each agency separately in each year since 2004–05.

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Figure 72 Preference for security over ease of use

Figure 72 Preference for security over ease of use shows the changes in people’s preferences between a higher level of security that adds time to transactions or a lower level of security that is faster and easier to complete in each year since 2004–05.

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Figure 73 Most common reasons for not using the internet to contact government

Figure 73 Most common reasons for not using the internet to contact government shows the most frequently reported reasons for not using the internet to contact government in 2007 and 2008. The most frequently reported reasons in both years were that an online option was not available, the features offered by other channels and access.

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Figure 74 Most common reasons for not using the internet to contact government—time series and themes

Figure 74 Most common reasons for not using the internet to contact government—time series and themes shows the changes in the most frequently reported reasons for not using the internet in their most recent contact with government since 2004–05. These reasons fall under the categories of the features of other channels; availability; infrastructure; access; and awareness.

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Figure 75 Most common reasons why attempts to find government information or services online were unsuccessful

Figure 75 Most common reasons why attempts to find government information or services online were unsuccessful shows the most frequently reported reasons why people who tried to use the internet to contact government in the last twelve months had been unsuccessful in their attempt. These reasons fall under the categories of content not being available, website usability and discoverability of content.

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Figure 76 Most common reasons why internet users contacted government in person rather than by telephone

Figure 76 Most common reasons why internet users contacted government in person rather than by telephone shows the most frequently reported reasons why internet users made their last contact with government in person rather than by telephone.

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Figure 77 Most common reasons why internet users contacted government in person rather than by internet or telephone—individual reasons by category

Figure 77 Most common reasons why internet users contacted government in person rather than by internet or telephone—individual reasons by category shows the break-up of the most frequently reported reasons why internet users made their last contact with government in person rather than by telephone. These reasons fall under the categories of ability, process requirement, availability, convenience and usability.

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Figure 78 Most common reasons for using the internet to contact government instead of the telephone

Figure 78 Most common reasons for using the internet to contact government instead of the telephone shows the most frequently reported reasons why people used the internet rather than the telephone for their last contact with government.

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Figure 79 Most common reasons for using the internet to contact government instead of the telephone 2007–2008

Figure 79 Most common reasons for using the internet to contact government instead of the telephone 2007–2008 shows the most frequently reported reasons for using the internet rather than the telephone to contact government in 2007 and 2008. The most frequently reported reasons in both years were that they could do it at a time that suits them, the online option requires a shorter time and they do not have to wait in a queue.

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Figure 80 Preferred method of contacting government

Figure 80 Preferred method of contacting government shows the changes in people’s preferences for contacting government since 2004–05, and the growth in preference for the internet. It shows that this growth is mainly at the expense of contact in person.

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Figure 81 Internet—preferred use compared with actual use

Figure 81 Internet—preferred use compared with actual use shows the difference between people’s preference for using the internet to contact government and the actual use of the internet in their last contact with government since 2004–05. A gap between preference and actual use still exists, but has declined.

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Figure 82 Telephone—preferred use compared with actual use

Figure 82 Telephone—preferred use compared with actual use shows the difference between people’s preference for using the telephone to contact government and the actual use of the telephone in their last contact with government since 2004–05.

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Figure 83 In-person contact—preferred use compared with actual use

Figure 83 In-person contact—preferred use compared with actual use shows the difference between people’s preference for contact with government in person and the actual use of in-person contact in their last contact with government since 2004–05. It shows that both preference and use of contact in person is declining.

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Figure 84 Preferred way of contacting government compared with method actually used

Figure 84 Preferred way of contacting government compared with method actually used shows the differences between people’s preferred method of contacting government and the method actually used in their last contact. People who made contact using the internet or telephone are most likely to have used their preferred method of contact. People using mail are least likely to have used their preferred method of contact.

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Figure 85 Preferred service delivery channel and broadband connection

Figure 85 Preferred service delivery channel and broadband connection shows the differences in people’s preferred method of contacting government depending whether they have a broadband connection. It shows that people with a broadband connection are more likely to prefer to make contact with government by internet. Those without a broadband connection are most likely to prefer to make contact with government by telephone.

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Figure 86 Preferred service delivery channel by age

Figure 86 Preferred service delivery channel by age shows the differences in people’s preferred method of contacting government depending on age. The internet is the preferred method of contact for all age groups under 55; the telephone is the preferred method of contact over 55 and contact in-person is the second most preferred method of contact for people over 65.

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Last Modified: 18 December, 2008