PROJECT SUMMARY
Measuring Digital Inclusion for First Nations Australians
Focus Area: News and Media
Research Program: People
Status: Active
Measuring Digital Inclusion for First Nations Australians is a three-year project funded by the Australian Government to measure digital inclusion for First Nations people nationally and track changes in the scale and nature of the digital gap relative to non-First Nations Australians.
By expanding on the Australian Digital Inclusion Index (ADII) and acting in conjunction with the Mapping the Digital Gap (MTDG) research project, this project will enable measurement and tracking of progress towards Closing the Gap Target 17 (CTG 17):
‘By 2026, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people have equal levels of digital inclusion’.
The project has First Nations leadership and governance throughout, including key staff within the research team, a First Nations steering group, contracting of a First Nations survey company, and partnership with First Nations organisations in targeted regional research sites.
The Measuring Digital Inclusion for First Nations Australians project is guided by the core values and principles outlined in the NHMRC Guidelines for ‘Ethical Conduct in Research with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples and Communities’ (2018), AIATSIS (2021) Code of Ethics for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Research, and Principles of Indigenous Data Sovereignty (e.g., Kukutai and Taylor 2016), in accordance with the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (2007).
Data collected in this project will be weighted and merged with data from the ADII and Mapping the Digital Gap project to generate an index of First Nations digital inclusion across Australia. First Nations Index scores will be benchmarked against non-First Nations scores to establish a comparative framework for measuring progress on Closing the Gap Target 17. The data will be shared with the public via an expanded First Nations Dashboard on the ADII website.
To ensure a representative sample of First Nations Australians, the project is partnering with First Nations led survey company Ipsos Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Research Unit to undertake 1350 surveys in two rounds of data collection across 2025/6 and 2026/7, using a mix of online and face to face surveys.
In addition, the research team will partner with First Nations organisations to conduct in-person surveys in 10 regional locations to ensure a nationally representative sample.
Online surveys delivered by Ipsos Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Research Unit‘s iMob panel
Face-to-face surveys in targeted regional locations delivered by Ipsos Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Research Unit
Face-to-face surveys conducted with local partner organisations in 10 targeted regional locations. This will address any sample gaps by region, remoteness and demography.
RESEARCH SITES
Ipsos research sites
Urban and regional sample being delivered by Ipsos Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Research Unit via its iMob panel and research partner network. This map represents the geographic and demographic spread of the data collection.
MORE INFORMATION
Project Plan
Participant Information Sheet
PUBLIC RESOURCES
Australian Digital Inclusion Index
Target audience: Government agencies, researchers, general public
The Australian Digital Inclusion Index uses data from the Australian Internet Usage Survey to measure digital inclusion across three dimensions of Access, Affordability and Digital Ability. We explore how these dimensions vary across Australia and across different social groups.
First Nations Digital Inclusion Dashboard
Target audience: Government agencies, researchers, general public
This First Nations page provides a snapshot of the scale of the Digital Gap for First Nations people compared with other Australians, by remoteness categories. It includes results from 10 remote and very remote communities surveyed under the Mapping the Digital Gap project (2022-2024).
RESEARCH TEAM
RESEARCH SUPPORT
PARTNERS
This project received funding support from the Australian Government
Ipsos Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Research Unit