Why we need the strategy

NSW is a diverse and evolving state, with a thriving economy and rich cultural landscape. However, there is a large digital divide that threatens to leave a significant portion of the population behind.

Different people and communities experience digital exclusion in various ways and at different life stages. This is more likely to include people aged 60 years and over, people with disability, low-income and homeless individuals, people in social housing, culturally and linguistically diverse communities, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, rural and remote communities, people with low levels of education or who are unemployed, women, and people in the LGBTIQ+ community.

Digitally included people may also face unforeseen disruptions that make them temporarily digitally excluded, such as loss of communications during natural disasters. During natural disasters, it is often critical for a person to digitally access, understand and act on local and statewide emergency information. Essential digital information can include warnings about hazards that are impacting or likely to impact them.

As we continue transitioning to digital services, the exclusion gaps are widening, particularly affecting those who are less digitally enabled.

The diversity of community groups facing disadvantage, and the multifaceted nature of the problems, make digital exclusion challenging and complex to address. There is a need to continue and broaden existing initiatives and develop new responses, both from government and the broader ecosystem, under a unified all-of-government strategic framework for digital inclusion. 

Digital inclusion is a government priority 

Digital inclusion and its underlying pillars are critical enablers to both NSW and Australian government priorities and delivery of effective government services. Key strategies and frameworks that rely on or seek to deliver equitable access to digital services include (but are not limited to) the following.

• NSW Performance and Wellbeing Framework – tracks delivery of the NSW Government’s long-term reform plans. It specifically embeds equity, inclusion and fairness across all themes in the outcome ‘People and businesses have access to digital services’.

• Target 17 of the National Agreement on Closing the Gap – commits all Australian governments to ensuring Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people have equal levels of digital inclusion by 2026. This recognises the benefits of digital inclusion to health, education and social outcomes for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. 

• NSW Digital Strategy – includes Mission 1 ‘Make digital services accessible, inclusive and connected for all people in NSW’ and Mission 4 ‘Keep NSW safe and resilient during emergencies online and in-person’.

• NSW Connectivity Strategy – seeks to address the digital divide between regional and metropolitan NSW. Connectivity is one of the pillars of digital inclusion.

• Future Transport Strategy – sets the overall strategic mobility priorities for Transport for NSW and recognises the important role of digital connectivity alongside physical connectivity networks on transport corridors and throughout customer journeys. 

• NSW eHealth – focuses on Virtual Care and Telehealth, among other things, to provide patients with customised healthcare and education when and where they need it. Digital inclusion can improve patients’ access to, knowledge of and confidence in using facilities with appropriate technology. 

• Department of Education Rural and Remote Education Strategy – aims to ensure ‘rural and remote schools have equity of access to digital devices and networks to enable flexible delivery of the curriculum and to build digital skills in the student population and community’. This recognises children in regional NSW deserve access to the same quality of education as their metropolitan peers.

• NSW Disability Inclusion Plan – sets out how the NSW Government will improve the lives of people with disability.  One of the 4 focus areas is ‘Improving access to mainstream services through better systems and processes’, which has actions related to ensuring all people in NSW can easily access services and information through NSW Government digital products and services being inclusive and fully accessible.

• Ageing well in NSW: Seniors Strategy Action Plan 2023-2024 – sets out how the NSW Government will support seniors to live safe, happy, healthy and fulfilling lives. Action 82 recognises that digital inclusion is key to ensuring all NSW residents can access government services and transactions and commits government to keeping people digitally connected and included.

• NSW Health Virtual Care Strategy – envisions a sustainable health system that delivers outcomes that matter to patients and the community, is personalised, invests in wellness and is digitally enabled. Key outcomes of this strategy recognise that digital inclusion is essential for equity of access to care and building confidence in consumers of virtual care and care providers.