The Federal Government says it is rolling out a $68 million package aimed at improving digital inclusion and digital literacy for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities across Australia.
In a media release the government said up to 52 remote communities across the Northern Territory, Western Australia, South Australia, Queensland and Tasmania would benefit from free publicly accessible Wi‑Fi through the $20 million First Nations Community Wi‑Fi Program.
The government said the new Wi‑Fi rollout builds on a previous Community Wi‑Fi Program that had already delivered free Wi‑Fi to 23 remote communities.
The same announcement also launched a new national data collection report and a public dashboard under the Measuring Digital Inclusion for First Nations Australians project. The government said the three‑year project is led by RMIT University and Swinburne University of Technology.
According to the release, the project’s data includes more than 2,800 surveys from major cities, regional towns and remote communities, collected in partnership with First Nations organisations. The government said the results show First Nations people are highly digitally engaged, but that engagement is not evenly spread across the population.
Communications Minister Anika Wells said “Digital connectivity is vital for all Australians” as the government works towards Closing the Gap Target 17, which aims for equal levels of digital inclusion by 2026.
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