Study: Govt digital experience falls behind other sectors

Sixty per cent of Australians are 'satisfied' or 'very satisfied' with the federal government's response to the pandemic, a figure that places the nation fourth after the UAE, Singapore and Denmark and higher than the global average of 48%.

The figures are from the Publicis Sapient Digital Life Index 2021, which delves into consumer attitudes, behaviours and perspectives towards a digital life and surveyed more 9300 respondents globally, including over 1000 in Australia.

The research findings also show that men are more 'satisfied' (61%) than women (58%), while 47% of Gen Z and 68% of those 65+ are 'satisfied' with the federal government’s pandemic response.

Interestingly, respondents rated their digital experiences with government services lower in comparison to the financial services, retail, energy, travel & hospitality, and electronics & technology sectors, with only 21% of respondents rating their government services online experience 10 or 9 on a scale of 1 to 10.

The survey findings also reveal a higher rating for Australia's state governments' pandemic response, with 66% of respondents giving a 'satisfied' or 'very satisfied' rating compared to 60% for the federal response. When it came to ranking state government performance, men and women reported being equally 'satisfied' (66%), while 56% of Gen Z and 73% of those 65+ are 'satisfied' with their state government's response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

"The Digital Life Index 2021 findings indicate that we rate our government's efforts in handling the pandemic higher than the majority of other countries and that we are particularly satisfied with the response of our state governments.

"However, the rating is sub-par when it comes to the respondents' experience of accessing the various government services online vis-a-vis services offered by other sectors.

"There is clear headroom for improvement and significantly more work to be done in elevating the online interaction of citizens with their government," said Steven Metzmarker, Vice President Public Sector, Publicis Sapient.

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