Publicis Sapient’s latest Digital Citizen Report has revealed the impact of the cost of living crisis and increased financial pressures on Australia’s ‘digital divide’, which has worsened since 2022.
The 2024 report, based off a survey of 5,000 Australian adults conducted in February, indicated 33 per cent of lower-income households found it difficult to find, use or understand online government services, compared to only 23 per cent of higher-income households. There was also a 10 per cent gap between higher- and lower-income earners who were also myGovID and digital wallet users.
While 93 per cent of survey participants responded positively to online government ‘life-event’ services, there was a clear disparity in the digital services engagement rate among the unemployed (16 per cent less than employed respondents), lower-income households (11 per cent less) and those without university education (also 11 per cent less).
“The third edition of our landmark survey reveals that Government digital services are clearly effective with the vast majority of Australians who engage with online services being satisfied,” Steven Metzmacher, VP and Industry Lead, Public Sector at Publicis Sapient ANZ, said.
“There is, however, a growing digital divide which needs to be addressed. More needs to be done to increase adoption and reach sections of the public to ensure the services benefit all Australians, in particular those that need them the most.”
The survey also suggested the majority of respondents were supportive of the government’s use of artificial intelligence (AI) to improve its service delivery, however this support was noticeably higher among those aged under 45 years (65 per cent), in higher-income households (62 per cent) and those who are already satisfied with a government service following a life-event (65%).
Also despite this support, respondents emphasised the importance of clear risk management and governance frameworks, with 94 per cent concerned about AI, 92 per cent wanting more government regulation of AI and 46 per cent wanting full transparency into the technical code behind AI.
“Australians are broadly satisfied and supportive of the work that the government is doing. There are clearly areas for improvement which the government should continue to pursue to build a stronger, simpler and more accessible digital government for everyone, ” Metzmacher said.
More broadly, survey respondents also expressed concern over data security and privacy and its connections to increased use of AI; 52 per cent said they had lost trust in the government because of these issues, and there was an 11 per cent rise year-on-year in data privacy concerns (48 per cent this year, compared to last year’s 37 per cent).
The younger generation was also more likely to have lost their trust in the government’s ability to protect their data (59 per cent).
“When citizens worry about their data privacy and security, it dampens their enthusiasm for digital services and can slow down adoption rates. Security, privacy and data governance are foundational to the government’s digital agenda – and clear, reassuring communication about safety measures is just as critical,” Metzmacher said.
