8146.0 - Household Use of Information Technology, Australia, 2005-06

ARCHIVED ISSUE Released at 11:30 AM (CANBERRA TIME) 15/12/2006

Page tools: Print Page Print All
Main Features About this Release Broadband Internet access doubles (Media Release)	NOTES INTRODUCTION This publication presents results compiled from household use of information technology (HUIT) data collected from two different surveys conducted by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS), the Multi-Purpose Household Survey (MPHS) for 2005-06 and the 2006 Children's Participation in Cultural and Leisure Activities (CPCLA) Survey. ABOUT HOUSEHOLD USE OF INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY (HUIT) DATA Data on HUIT was previously collected by the ABS in the Population Survey Monitor (1996, 1998, 1999 and 2000), Survey of Education, Training and Information Technology (2001), General Social Survey (2002), National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Survey (2002), Survey of Disability, Ageing and Carers (2003), the CPCLA Surveys (2000 and 2003) and the MPHS 2004-05. ABOUT THE 2005-06 MPHS The MPHS, conducted as a supplement to the Monthly Labour Force Survey (LFS) included a HUIT module in 2005-06. The survey collected information from 16,212 randomly selected private dwelling households across Australia. In the survey, one randomly selected person per household was asked about their household's access to, and their own use of, computers and the Internet. ABOUT THE 2006 CPCLA This survey was conducted in April 2006 as part of the ABS Monthly Population Survey. The survey collected information about the activities of 8,682 children aged 5 to 14 years living in selected households across Australia. HISTORICAL COMPARISONS Due to the difference in the scope of previous surveys, some person level data on household use of information technology are not comparable across surveys for all years. For example, the HUIT data for 2003 were obtained from the Survey of Disability, Ageing and Carers (SDAC), and person level data from this survey only relate to persons with a disability aged 15 years or over, and are thus not comparable with results from MPHS 2005-06. SDAC data are comparable at the household level. EFFECTS OF ROUNDING Where estimates have been rounded, discrepancies may occur between the sums of the component items and totals. MORE INFORMATION ON ABS INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY(ICT) STATISTICS Information about ABS activities in the field of ICT statistics is available free from the ABS website. Details of other ABS publications relating to the production and use of ICT in Australia can be found in paragraph 61 of the Explanatory Notes. COMMENTS The ABS welcomes comments and suggestions from users regarding future surveys of IT use by households and individuals. These comments should be addressed to the Director, Innovation and Technology National Statistics Centre, Australian Bureau of Statistics, Locked bag 10 Belconnen, ACT, 2616. INQUIRIES For further information about these and related statistics, contact the National Information and Referral Service on 1300 135 070 or Afroza Rahman on Canberra (02) 6252 6365. SUMMARY COMMENTARY SUMMARY OF FINDINGS In 2005-06, 60% of Australian households had home Internet access and 70% had access to a home computer. During 2005-06, whilst the proportion of households with access to the Internet increased by 4 percentage points, in the same period, the proportion of households with access to a computer increased by 3 percentage points. HOUSEHOLD HOME INTERNET OR COMPUTER ACCESS - 1998 to 2005-06 Of the 4.7 million households with home Internet access in 2005-06, 51% had dial-up access and 48% had broadband Internet access. In 2005-06, the number of households with broadband Internet connection almost doubled to 2.3 million households. TYPE OF HOUSEHOLD INTERNET CONNECTION-2004-05 and 2005-06 The uptake of broadband Internet access varied across states and territories with the Australian Capital Territory reporting the highest proportion of households (55%) with broadband Internet access. In terms of region, both household and personal access to broadband Internet was more prevalent in metropolitan areas than in ex-metropolitan areas. Of the households with broadband access, the dominant type of technology used was Digital Subscriber Line (DSL), reported by 83% of households with broadband access. BROADBAND INTERNET ACCESS, by type of technology-2004-05 and 2005-06 At the personal level, the majority of people (52%) accessing the Internet at home used a broadband connection. High income earners, people with higher levels of educational attainment and younger people (15 to 24 years) registered relatively higher levels of broadband access. Overall, 57% of people aged 15 years and over accessed the Internet at home during 2005-06. Personal or private purposes was stated as the most popular purpose of Internet use at home (97% of those using the Internet at home), followed by work or business related purposes (49%). 65% reported Personal or private purposes as the main purpose of Internet use, followed by Work or business related purposes (18%) and Education or study related purposes (13%). Main purpose of Internet use at home-2005-06 In 2005-06, home was reported to be the most popular site of Internet use, with 57% of people aged 15 years or over using this site. An estimated 29% of people aged 15 years or over used the Internet from work. Aside from home or work, at 23% the next most popular site of Internet use in 2005-06 was a neighbour's, friend's or relative's home. Overall, 66% of people aged 15 years or over accessed the Internet from any site. INTERNET USE, by site-2005-06 The number of Australian households without access to home Internet decreased by 20% from 2002 to 3.2 million households. Of the households without home Internet access, the main reasons for not having home Internet access were reported to be "No use of the Internet" (24%), "Lack of interest in the Internet (23%) and "Costs are too high" (19%). Main reason for not having Internet access, by selected reasons-2005-06 The 2006 Children's Participation in Cultural and Leisure Activities survey indicated that of the 2.7 million children aged 5 to 14 years, 92% used a computer and 65% used the Internet at any site. While a higher proportion of children tend to use a computer at school compared to other sites, home is reported as the most common site of Internet use. Using computer or Internet for school or educational activities was the dominant activity. Of the 1.3 million children accessing the Internet for school or educational activities or leisure, the most popular Internet sites accessed related to "Technology and science" (accessed by 39% of the children), followed by "Music" (34%). During 2006, broadband Internet connection was the most common form of Internet connection used by children at home, representing 65% of children accessing the Internet from this location. Use of computer or Internet by children at any site - 2003 and 2006 OTHER INFORMATION The publication also contains further detailed information relating to computer and Internet use, including: Selected characteristics of households with computers or Internet access Selected characteristics of persons using the Internet at home by purpose Selected characteristics of persons using the Internet at home by main purpose Selected characteristics of persons using the Internet by site Main reason for not having access to the Internet at home by selected characteristics of households Frequency of Internet use by site by selected characteristics of persons Type of Internet connection used by households or persons by selected household or person characteristics Type of technology used for broadband Internet access by selected household characteristics Children's use of computers by site by selected characteristics of children Children's use of computers at home by selected activities by selected characteristics of children Frequency of computer use by children by selected characteristics of children Children's use of the Internet by site by selected characteristics of children Children's use of the Internet at home by selected activities by selected characteristics of children Children's use of the Internet at home by type of Internet sites accessed by selected characteristics of children Frequency of Internet use by children by selected characteristics of children Children's use of the Internet by type of Internet access by selected characteristics of children International comparisons for households with access to a home computer and the Internet International comparisons for households with broadband access. Document Selection These documents will be presented in a new window.