Digital equality deadline arrives, but the gap remains wide

This year marks the deadline set under the National Agreement on Closing the Gap for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people to achieve equal levels of digital inclusion with other Australians but experts warn the target will not be met, and the gap in some remote communities is actually widening.

Target 17 of the National Agreement, agreed to by all Australian governments in 2020, commits to equal levels of digital access, affordability,and ability for First Nations Australians by 2026. The target underpins Outcome 17, which is about ensuring First Nations people have access to the information and services they need to make informed decisions about their own lives.

Digital inclusion is more than a technology question. It shapes access to telehealth, Centrelink services, online education, and employment, and underpins progress on many of the other 18 targets in the National Agreement. Researchers and advocates have long argued it is among the most cross-cutting goals in the entire Closing the Gap framework.

But the Australian Digital Inclusion Index has shown the gap between First Nations and other Australians persists across access, affordability, and digital ability. Most critically, the gap widens sharply with remoteness – from roughly two points in major cities to more than 25 points in very remote areas, where connectivity can fail entirely by mid-morning.

Macquarie University professor Bronwyn Carlson, a member of the First Nations Digital Inclusion Advisory Group, said last year that the target had little hope of being met given how large the gap was at the outset and how limited the government response had been.

“Given how big the gap was to start with, the lack of importance based on gathering relevant data and the insufficient government action since, we know the target is highly unlikely to be met” Professor Carlson said.

The federal government has committed $68 million to First Nations digital inclusion programs, including free community Wi-Fi in remote communities, a First Nations Digital Support Hub and a network of digital mentors. A new First Nations Digital Inclusion dashboard was also launched in November 2025, providing communities with tools to explore local data and track progress for the first time.

The First Nations Digital Inclusion Advisory Group has released a roadmap (titled 2026 and beyond) that looks past the current deadline toward long-term structural change. The roadmap calls for a dedicated national peak body for First Nations digital inclusion, place-based rather than one-size-fits-all connectivity solutions and sustained investment that goes beyond short-term program funding.

A recent adult media literacy report found that nearly half of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander participants did not understand what artificial intelligence is or the risks and opportunities it presents – a finding advocates say risks deepening existing inequalities as AI becomes embedded in more government and commercial services.