AIATSIS

The majority of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australian’s who live in regional and remote areas are unable to utilise the digital economy to fully engage with the broader community at both the cultural and economic level. The exclusion of so many Indigenous people from the online Australian community due to lack of infrastructure, but also lack of skills, is a matter of serious concern. It is disappointing that a platform with enables such diverse opportunities for expression and engagement is not widely accessible to many Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. Significant barriers exist including geographical isolation and related lack of infrastructure, as well as endemically low levels of literacy.

The interaction between the identified objectives of the Close the Gap program and the goal of developing Australia’s digital skills must be acknowledged and incorporated into any proposed solutions. Provision and delivery of appropriate training packages in the use of digital technologies also has the capacity to create pathways to employment for Indigenous people within the broader Australian community and should be explored.

One method of delivery of this training is via existing locally based Indigenous Knowledge Centres (IKCs). These IKCs already act as hubs for the Indigenous community and increased technical infrastructure, know-how and support is one way of enhancing Indigenous Australian’s capacity to fully utilise all that the digital economy has to offer.