2914.0.55.002 - 2006 Census of Population and Housing: Media Releases and Fact Sheets, 2006  
ARCHIVED ISSUE Released at 11:30 AM (CANBERRA TIME) 27/06/2007  First Issue
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MEDIA FACT SHEET
June 27, 2007
Embargoed 9.30 am (AEST)
70/2007
Australia connected: Census reveals 58% of households have Internet
  • On Census night, 58% of Australian households reported that they had an Internet connection. Broadband was the most common type of connection (37%), close to double the proportion with a dial-up connection (20%).
  • Connectivity rates of households varied by state and territory. The ACT had the highest rates of both broadband (50% of households) and total Internet connections (71% of households). In the majority of states, broadband rates were considerably higher than dial-up rates. However, states with low rates of total Internet connection tended to have similar levels of broadband and dial-up connections. In Tasmania, 52% of households were connected to the Internet (the lowest of any state), with broadband access in 27% and dial-up in 24% of households.
  • Total Internet connection rates were higher in capital cities than the rest of the country. In Sydney, for example, 62% of households were connected to the Internet compared to 52% in the remainder of NSW. Broadband connection rates followed a similar pattern, with higher rates in the capital cities. With the exception of the Northern Territory, dial-up rates were lower in capital cities than the rest of the state or territory.
  • In each of the capital cities, broadband connection rates were higher than dial-up rates, with rates more than double in several states. For example, in Melbourne, 43% of households had broadband access compared to 18% with a dial-up connection. Outside the capital cities, broadband connection rates were higher than dial-up rates in the majority of states (NSW, Victoria, Queensland, WA and NT) although the differences tended to be much smaller.
  • The 2001 Census was the first Census to seek information on Internet use. For the 2006 Census, this topic was reviewed and the question related to the dwelling's connection to the Internet rather than to personal use of the Internet.

NB: The figures in this fact sheet exclude overseas visitors. Where an answer to a question has not been provided (i.e. not stated) these occurrences form a separate category in the data and therefore some percentages do not total to 100%.

Source: ABS 2006 Census.


Table 1. 2006 Census: Internet connections of dwellings
NSW
Vic.
Qld
SA
WA
Tas.
NT
ACT
Aust.
%
%
%
%
%
%
%
%
%
Capital city
With Internet connection
Broadband connection
45.0
42.8
44.4
31.1
41.1
31.2
31.9
50.3
42.3
Dial-up connection
16.5
17.7
19.3
24.5
20.3
22.6
23.1
19.9
18.7
Other connection
0.7
0.5
0.5
0.6
0.6
0.7
1.1
0.6
0.6
Total with Internet connection
62.1
61.0
64.3
56.3
62.0
54.4
56.1
70.8
61.6
No Internet connection
29.0
31.5
29.1
37.7
30.5
39.4
31.1
23.6
30.8
Remainder of state/territory
With Internet connection
Broadband connection
28.1
32.2
27.8
19.4
29.1
23.7
22.0
6.0
28.6
Dial-up connection
23.8
22.0
23.9
29.1
22.2
25.2
17.1
56.0
23.5
Other connection
0.6
0.6
0.5
0.7
0.8
0.6
0.9
3.6
0.6
Total with Internet connection
52.4
54.8
52.3
49.2
52.0
49.5
40.0
65.5
52.7
No Internet connection
41.3
36.8
41.9
44.3
38.4
44.8
45.7
31.0
40.2
Total state/territory
With Internet connection
Broadband connection
38.5
38.6
37.6
28.0
37.9
26.8
28.0
50.3
37.2
Dial-up connection
19.3
19.4
20.8
25.7
20.8
24.1
20.7
19.9
20.4
Other connection
0.6
0.5
0.6
0.6
0.6
0.7
1.0
0.6
0.6
Total with Internet connection
58.4
58.6
59.0
54.4
59.4
51.6
49.8
70.8
58.3
No Internet connection
33.7
34.4
33.4
39.5
32.5
42.5
36.9
23.6
34.3