USE OF INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY (IT)

This section focuses on the key indicators of the use of IT - computer use and access to the Internet - made by businesses, households and farms in Australia.


Businesses

In the five-year period 1999-2000 to 2004-05, the proportion of businesses using a computer grew from 76% to 89%; in the same period the proportion of businesses with access to the Internet increased from 56% to 77% and that with a web presence from 16% to 27% (table 25.4).

In 2004-05 all businesses with 100 or more people employed used computers, 99% used the Internet, while 91% had a web presence. A much lower proportion of businesses with 0-4 people employed used IT; 85% used computers, 71% used the Internet and 17% had a web presence.

In 2004-05 the proportion of businesses which used IT varied considerably across industries. The industries with the highest proportion of businesses which used a computer were Electricity, gas and water supply, and Cultural and recreational services (both 97%). These industries also had the highest proportion of businesses which used the Internet (both 90%). Accommodation, cafes and restaurants had the lowest proportion of businesses which used a computer (77%). Internet use was lowest in Accommodation, cafes and restaurants and Communication services (both 62%). Web presence was highest in Cultural and recreational services (50%) and Wholesale trade (44%). Construction had the lowest proportion of businesses with a web presence (11%).

Use of IT by businesses in capital cities was higher than other areas for computer use, Internet use and web presence. The proportions of businesses using computers, the Internet and having a web presence were 89%, 78% and 29% respectively for capital cities, compared with 87%, 74% and 22% respectively for other areas.

25.4 BUSINESS USE OF SELECTED TECHNOLOGIES(a), By selected business characteristics - 2004-05
		Computer use	Internet use	Web presence
		%	%	%
Employment size
	0-4 persons	85	71	17
	5-19 persons	95	86	41
	20-99 persons	97	92	59
	100 or more persons	100	99	91
Total income
	Less than $100,000	80	62	^10
	$100,000 to less than $1m	89	77	24
	$1m to less than $5m	97	90	49
	$5m or more	100	99	70
Industry(b)
	Mining	92	88	38
	Manufacturing	88	75	38
	Electricity, gas and water supply	97	90	43
	Construction	84	66	11
	Wholesale trade	95	87	44
	Retail trade	84	73	^24
	Accommodation, cafes and restaurant	77	62	31
	Transport and storage	82	67	16
	Communication services	84	62	19
	Finance and insurance	95	85	28
	Property and business services	95	89	33
	Health and community services	94	80	19
	Cultural and recreational services	97	90	50
	Personal and other services	82	66	25
State
	New South Wales	87	75	23
	Victoria	89	75	30
	Queensland	90	80	29
	South Australia	92	82	31
	Western Australia	90	76	26
	Tasmania	92	86	^28
	Northern Territory	95	83	^28
	Australian Capital Territory	92	84	^28
Region
	Capital cities	89	78	29
	Other areas	87	74	22
Total businesses		89	77	27
^ estimate has a relative standard error of 10% to less than 25% and should be used with caution
(a) Proportions are of all businesses in each category.
(b) Classified according to the Australian and New Zealand Standard Industrial Classification (ANZSIC), 1993 edition.
Source: Business Use of Information Technology (8129.0).

Households

In 2005-06, 70% of all households had access to a computer and 60% had home Internet access (graph 25.5). Over the period from 1998 to 2005-06, household access to home Internet has grown considerably, from 1.1 million households in 1998 to 4.7 million in 2005-06.

In 2005-06 the proportion of households with home computer access was higher for households with children under 15 years of age (89%) compared with those without children under 15 years (63%). Home computer access was lowest for all households in Tasmania (60%) and highest in the Australian Capital Territory (82%). In 1998, only a third of all households with a computer had home access to the Internet; by 2005-06 this proportion had increased to 86%.

During 2005-06, the number of households with broadband access to the internet almost doubled from the previous year to 2.3 million (48%). The Australian Capital Territory continued to register the highest proportion of households with broadband Internet connection (55% of the households with Internet connection), while Tasmania recorded the lowest proportion of broadband connection (35%). Both household and personal access to broadband was more prevalent in metropolitan areas and major cities of Australia compared with ex-metropolitan areas and remote Australia.


Farms

In 2004-05, 56% of the almost 130,000 farms in Australia, with an estimated value of agricultural operations of $5,000 or more, used a computer as part of their business operations; 53% used the Internet (table 25.6).

Western Australia recorded the highest proportion of farms using a computer for business operations (70%) and the highest proportion using the Internet for business operations (68%) in 2004-05. Tasmania recorded both the lowest proportion of farms using a computer (52%) and the lowest proportion of farms using the Internet (48%).

25.6 FARM USE OF COMPUTERS AND THE INTERNET FOR BUSINESS OPERATIONS - 2004-05
	Using a computer(a)		Using the Internet(a)
	no.	%	no.	%
New South Wales	21 051	53	20 266	51
Victoria	17 122	53	16 077	50
Queensland	14 865	55	14 169	52
South Australia	9 122	65	8 686	62
Western Australia	8 389	70	8 044	68
Tasmania	1 999	52	1 848	48
Northern Territory	230	61	226	60
Australian Capital territory	49	57	47	55
Australia	72 828	56	69 362	53
(a) Percentages are of all farms.
Source: Use of information Technology on Farms, Australia (8150.0).

Previous Page

Next Page