The Australian Digital Inclusion Index tracks and reports on digital inclusion in Australia
The Australian Digital Inclusion Index (ADII) measures the extent to which people in Australia can access, afford and have the ability to benefit from digital technologies. Drawing on data from the biennial Australian Internet Usage Survey, the Index tracks three dimensions — Access, Affordability and Digital Ability — across different population groups and geographic areas. A score between 0 and 100 is provided for each group or region, with higher scores indicating greater inclusion.
Results are categorised into four groups
Delivered biennially, the Index provides a robust measure to identify who benefits most from digital technologies, who is being left behind and the factors contributing to digital exclusion.
Today, meaningful participation in society depends on:
Low scores in any one dimension can limit participation and compound existing disadvantage.
For example, a household might have access to a connection but be constrained by high costs, small amounts of data, or limited digital skills, leading to reduced opportunities to use digital technologies for work, learning and connection.
The ADII provides government, industry and community organisations with a detailed, comparable measure of digital inclusion over time. It identifies where barriers are most acute, and highlights groups at greatest risk of exclusion, such as low-income households, people in remote areas or those with disability.
By tracking progress and pinpointing emerging and persistent gaps, the Index supports the design of policies, programs and investments that address all three dimensions simultaneously. The ultimate aim is to ensure every person in Australia can access, afford and confidently use digital technologies in ways that support their full participation in a digital society.
ADII scores range from 0 to 100. The higher the score, the greater the level of digital inclusion. ADII scores are relative: they allow comparisons across different social groups, different geographic areas, and over time.
Each of the Index dimensions – Access, Affordability and Digital Ability – are equally weighted to derive the total Index score.
All ADII scores and percentages are weighted to the Australian population.
In 2025, the Affordability dimension was revised to consider the changing needs across households and to accommodate more varied household composition and geography.
We retain our definition of an adequate internet bundle that is comprised of both unlimited home broadband and a mobile phone with 61GB or more of data.
Estimated mobile phone costs are derived for each person in the household assumed to require their own phone (aged 13 years and above). The price of mobiles and broadband are derived from average costs across remoteness areas.
We take a residual income approach to measuring household expenditure relative to income. A residual income approach subtracts the remaining income available after paying for internet costs in the household. After internet income is then transformed and normalised to provide a score out of 100 consistent will all dimensions.
Age categories in the Index are broken into five ranges:
Classified into two categories:
Education status is grouped according to four levels of completion:
Classified into three groups:
Describes people who identify as being of Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander origin.
The 2025 ADII draws on an increased sample of First Nations people across urban, regional and remote areas. This includes 807 First Nations survey respondents in remote and very remote communities through the Mapping the Digital Gap project and 1,998 First Nations survey respondents across urban, regional and some remote areas through the Measuring Digital Inclusion for First Nations Australians project.
Prior to 2023, samples did not include sufficient First Nations respondents to generate reliable data, and we therefore did not provide a score for First Nations people.
Describes the difference between Index scores. For example, the gap between the national average Index score and the score given to a specific region or group in that same year. The term is also used to describe the difference between Index scores among social groups within the same year (e.g. the difference in Index scores between the oldest and youngest Australians).
Note, the sample used to develop the ADII does not include sufficient non-binary respondents to generate reliable data. The Index therefore does not provide a score for non-binary populations.
Respondents are classified into four groups based on their Index scores:
The threshold for classification as ‘Included’ indicates that a person scoring above that level can make accessible, affordable, and effective use of the internet.
Housing tenure is presented in four categories:
Household type is presented in five categories:
Income is presented in five income ranges, and is calculated at the household level. Each range covers approximately 20% of the population (one quintile or Q1-Q5). The ranges from low- to high-income are:
A bundle of goods that enables a household to access adequate connectivity through:
People who speak a language other than English (LOTE) at home.
Occupations are grouped into one of the following high-level categories:
People who report the presence of a chronic disability, health condition or injury that restricts their everyday activities.
Based on self-selection of one or more of the following:
Level of remoteness is broken down into:
These five levels are based on the Australian Statistical Geography Standard (ASGS) Remoteness Structure developed by the Centre for Housing at the University of Adelaide and the ABS.
Small sample sizes can make survey results less reliable. A note will show if the sample size is low and should be treated with caution. Data will not appear in the interactive data dashboards if the sample sizes are not reliable.
Data was collected in 2024.
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