Cost of living crisis widening the digital divide for government services: report

The number of Australians suffering financial hardship has surged by 85% in the past year, with lower-income households not using online government services available to them compared to higher-income households, according to the latest Publicis Sapient Digital Citizen Report 2024.

The third edition of the annual report, "No Citizen Left Behind" — Delivering Exceptional Digital Services for Every Australian, analysed responses from more than 5000 participants across Australia to examine how people engage with governments through digital services.

The report reveals that a third (33%) of households earning less than $100K struggled to find, use or understand online government services, compared to 23% of households with higher incomes. This disparity was also borne out in other parts of the research, with a roughly 10% gap between higher and lower earners who used myGovID and digital wallets.

Government life-event services are a clear success story, with a 93% satisfaction rate among users. But the survey found that not everyone is taking advantage. There was lower engagement with digital services among the unemployed (16 points lower than employed citizens), lower-income households (11-point disparity) and those without university education (11-point disparity).

Concerningly, citizens on lower incomes have a noticeably worse experience of online government services than higher earners. While this isn’t an issue with the quality of services overall — 93% of users are satisfied — it does indicate that experiences may be harder to navigate for those under financial stress.

“The third edition of our landmark survey reveals that government digital services are clearly effective, with the vast majority of Australians who engage with online services being satisfied,” said Steven Metzmacher, VP and Industry Lead, Public Sector at Publicis Sapient ANZ. “There is, however, a growing digital divide which needs to be addressed. More needs to be done to increase adoption and reach sections of the public to ensure the services benefit all Australians, in particular those that need them the most.”

The rise and role of AI in government services

The majority of Australians are supportive of the government using AI to improve services, with 55% in favour of “extensive usage”. Support for AI usage was especially high among under-45s (65%), high-income households (62%), and those who are already satisfied with a government service following a life event (65%).

Australians also express a need for reassurance about risk management and clear governance, with 94% having concerns about AI and 92% wanting government regulation of AI. Nearly half (46%) of respondents want full transparency into the code behind the AI. This desire was higher among some of the most concerned groups, such as those with recent mental health struggles (52%) and those with precarious finances (56%).

“Australians are broadly satisfied and supportive of the work that the government is doing. There are clearly areas for improvement which the government should continue to pursue to build a stronger, simpler and more accessible digital government for everyone,” Metzmacher said.

Building trust vital to increase service adoption

Data security and privacy are also rising concerns, with 52% of Australians losing trust in the government around these issues. There was also an 11% rise in Australians more concerned about data privacy this year (48%) compared to 37% in 2023.

The decline in trust is especially sharp among younger citizens, with 59% of under-45s losing trust in the government’s ability to protect personal data in recent years. Those in a precarious financial situation are also less likely to trust the government with their data.

“When citizens worry about their data privacy and security, it dampens their enthusiasm for digital services and can slow down adoption rates. Security, privacy and data governance are foundational to the government’s digital agenda — and clear, reassuring communication about safety measures is just as critical,” Metzmacher said.

The report can be found here.

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