Review of 2021 Census Topics

Response 681617862

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Contact details

Who you are representing

Please select one item
(Required)
Commonwealth government department
State/territory government department
Ticked Local government
Business
Industry body/association
Community group
Educational institution
An individual
Other

What is your submission about?

Please provide a brief summary of your submission

Topic name
Requesting continued inclusion of the question about internet connection.

Choose your area of interest

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(Required)
Population
Sex and gender
Households and families
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples
Income and work
Unpaid work and care
Education and training
Disability and carers
Housing
Location
Transport
Cultural diversity
Religion
Ticked Other topic
If Other topic please specify
Internet connection

Topics on Households and families

Choose one or more of the following topics that relates to your submission

Please select all that apply
Household and family relationships
Marital status
Persons temporarily absent on Census night
Ticked Other/unknown
If other please specify
Internet

Assessment Criteria 1

1. This topic is of current national importance.

National Importance
A lack of internet access is a key indicator of disadvantage and social exclusion through lack of digital literacy. This issue has been recognised at national level by programs such as Be Connected https://beconnected.esafety.gov.au/

Assessment Criteria 2

2. There is a need for data from a Census of the whole population.

For whole population
Local governments, such Redacted text, use information on internet access at home, combined with other demographic information, to provide targeted information and services via libraries for increasing digital literacy. This is particularly relevant to low-income households and/or older population cohorts (50 years +).

Assessment Criteria 3

3. The topic can be accurately collected in a form which the household completes themselves.

Easy to answer
N/A we are recommending that the existing question remains, as is

Assessment Criteria 4

4. The topic would be acceptable to Census respondents.

Acceptable
N/A we are recommending that the existing question remains

Assessment Criteria 5

5. The topic can be collected efficiently.

Collected efficiently
N/A we are recommending that the existing question remains

Assessment Criteria 6

6. There is likely to be a continuing need for data on this topic in the following Census.

Continuing need
Until such time as universal internet access to all households, internet access will remain important for contributing information on the proportion and location of the population that is likely to have low digital literacy and experience exclusion.

Assessment Criteria 7

7. There are no other alternative data sources or solutions that could meet the topic need.

No alternatives
Given the relevance of digital literacy to operating in today’s society and the need for targeted local services to address relevant issues, we argue that SA1 datasets provide critical information for local government and library services.