Explore key findings from the latest wave of the study
Digital inclusion at the national level continues to improve.
Access has improved since 2023, with scores rising 4.8 points nationally to 76.8.
The 2025 Affordability score is 70.3, with significant levels of affordability stress for low-income households.
Digital Ability has improved since 2023, with scores rising 8.7 points to 73.6.
Around one in five (20.6%) Australians are excluded or highly excluded and roughly one in ten (9.2%) are highly excluded. Rates of exclusion are much higher for people aged 75+ years (66.5%), those who did not complete secondary school (54.5%), public housing residents (45.2%) and First Nations people (40.9%).
Digital inclusion remains higher in capital cities than elsewhere. Outside capitals, gaps are largest for Digital Ability (7.8 points) and Affordability (5.3 points).
The national gap between First Nations and other Australians is 10.5 points. It widens sharply in remote (16.5) and very remote (22.8) areas. 40.9% of First Nations people are digitally excluded.
People with disability score 11.4 points lower than people without disability, reflecting combined access, cost and skills barriers.
Since 2023 Access has risen 4.8 points, from 72.0 to 76.8.
Over one in ten households lack a fixed home service, limiting access to opportunities and services that assume fixed connectivity with large data limits.
Almost one in ten Australians rely solely on mobile access, limiting opportunities for work, study and access to essential services. Rates are higher for public-housing residents (18.8%), those without secondary school completion (17%), people with disability (14.3%) and those living outside capital cities (12.4%).
30.4% of mobile users use a pre-paid service.
Almost one fifth of Australians (19.4%) find themselves compromising on the speed and/or data allowance of their internet connections to afford them. Six per cent of Australians see price as a barrier to access, with higher rates for unemployed households (14.8%), and public-housing residents (14.7%).
Since 2023, Digital Ability has increased 8.7 points, from 64.9 to 73.6. This increase is greater for Australians aged 75 years and over (18.2), and for Australians who did not complete secondary school (15.9).
Almost half of Australians recently used a generative AI tool. Use is higher among people aged under 45, students and those working in professional and managerial roles.
Over half of Australians reported working from home at least weekly, with over a third (35.2%) working from home daily.
