USE OF INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY (IT)

This section focuses on the key indicators of the use of Information Technology (IT) made by Australian businesses, households and farms in Australia.


Businesses

In the five year period from 2002-2003 to 2007-08, the proportion of Australian businesses with access to the Internet increased from 71% to 87% and those with a web presence from 23% to 36% (table 25.3).

In 2007-08, nearly all (99%) businesses with 200 or more employees accessed the Internet, while the proportion dropped from 94% to 83% for businesses with 0-4 employees. Most businesses with 200 or more employees had a web presence (96%), while only a quarter (27%) of businesses with 0-4 employees had a web presence.

In 2007-08 the proportion of businesses using IT varied considerably across industries. The industries with the highest proportion of businesses which used the Internet were Financial and insurance services, Information media and telecommunications, and Professional, scientific and technical services (all 98%). Accommodation and food services had the lowest proportion of businesses which used the Internet (71%), followed by Transport, postal and warehousing (76%). Web presence was highest in Information media and telecommunications (62%) and Wholesale trade (53%), while Construction and Transport, postal and warehousing had the lowest proportions of businesses with a web presence (15% and 18% respectively).

25.3 Business Use of Information Technology, Australia - Business use of selected technologies(a), By employment size and industry - 2007-08
		Businesses with internet use	Businesses with web presence
		%	%
Employment size
	0-4 persons	83	27
	5-19 persons	92	48
	20-199 persons	98	65
	200 or more persons	99	96
Industry
	Mining	93	48
	Manufacturing	89	46
	Electricity, gas, water and waste services	87	33
	Construction	84	15
	Wholesale trade	94	53
	Retail trade	82	40
	Accommodation and food services	71	37
	Transport, postal and warehousing	76	18
	Information media and telecommunications	98	62
	Financial and insurance services	98	48
	Rental, hiring and real estate services	85	52
	Professional, scientific and technical services	98	51
	Administrative and support services	92	38
	Health care and social assistance	89	26
	Arts and recreation services	92	52
	Other services	81	29
Total		87	36
(a) Proportions are of all businesses in each category.
Source: Business use of Information Technology (8129.0).

Households

In 2008-09, 78% of all Australian households had access to a computer and 72% had home internet access (graph 25.4). More than five times as many households had home access to the internet in the 2008-09 financial year, compared with the 1998 calendar year.

In 2008-09, the proportion of households with home computer access was higher for households with children under 15 years of age (91%) compared with those without children under 15 years (73%). Home computer access was lowest for all households in Tasmania (71%) and highest in the Australian Capital Territory (88%). In 1998, only a third of all households (36%) with a computer had home access to the internet; by 2008-09 this had increased to 92%.

In 2008-09, the number of households with a broadband internet connection had almost quadrupled from 2004-05 to an estimated 5.0 million households. This represented three out of five (62%) households in Australia and 86% of households with internet access.

The Australian Capital Territory continued to register the highest proportion of households with a broadband internet connection (74% of all households), while Tasmania and South Australia still had the lowest proportion of households with a Broadband internet connection (49% and 54% respectively).

The dominant type of technology used by households for broadband connection to the internet continued to be Digital Subscriber Line (DSL), although the percentage of households using this type of technology decreased from 69% of all broadband connections in 2007-08 to 64%. There was a corresponding increase over this period in the take-up of wireless technologies from 1% to 7%.

Certain socioeconomic characteristics of households continued to be associated with low rates of computer, internet and broadband connectivity across Australia, such as households which do not have children under 15 years; are located in ex-metropolitan Australia; and/or had low household incomes.


Farms

In 2007-08 in Australia, there were 141,026 farms with an estimated value of agricultural operations of $5,000 or more. Of these farms, nearly half (48%) accessed a broadband internet connection, while 17% accessed the Internet via a dial-up connection (table 25.5).

Western Australia continued to record the highest proportion of farms using the Internet for business operations (73%) in 2007-08, while Tasmania recorded the lowest proportion of farms using the Internet (59%).

25.5 Use of the Internet on farms for business operations, by States and Territories and type of connection, 2007-08
	All farms		Farms using the Internet(a)			Dial-up connection			Broadband connection
	no.		no.	%		no.	%		no.	%
New South Wales	44 500		28 417	64		6 502	15		21 477	48
Victoria	34 257		21 258	62		5 625	16		15 394	45
Queensland	29 192		19 637	67		5 390	18		14 024	48
Adelaide	15 044		10 567	70		3 087	21		7 349	49
Western Australia	13 135		9 524	73		2 481	19		6 956	53
Tasmania	4 211		2 483	59		^684	16		1 764	42
Northern Territory	605		435	72		*100	^17		332	55
Australian Capital Territory	82		61	74		^11	^13		50	62
Australia	141 026		92 383	66		23 881	17		67 347	48
^ estimate has a relative standard error of 10% to less than 25% and should be used with caution
* estimate has a relative standard error of 25% to 50% and should be used with caution
(a) Percentages are of all farms.
Source: Use of the Internet on Farms (8150.0).

Map 25.6 below depicts the proportion of farms that are not using the Internet for business operations, by statistical division. Smaller farms located around urban areas are less likely to use the Internet for business operations, whilst a higher proportion of farms in remote areas use the Internet for business operations.

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