Online engagement by Australian businesses and not-for-profit organisations
Digital Economy Goal: by 2020, Australia will rank in the top five OECD countries in the percentage of businesses and not-for-profit organisations using online opportunities to drive productivity improvements, expand their customer base and enable jobs growth.
The increasing availability of ubiquitous high-speed broadband connections and the establishment of an effective online presence will allow Australian businesses, particularly small businesses, and not-for-profit organisations, to participate in a global marketplace. Greater use of online opportunities will enable Australian businesses to conduct their existing business processes more efficiently to maximise their overall competitiveness, grow revenues and increase productivity. For not-for-profit and community service organisations, engaging online can expand their supporter pool to include potentially the entire world and support more innovative fundraising models.
Presently, Australian businesses and not-for-profit organisations are not as digitally engaged as our international competitors. Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) data indicates that, as at June 2009, 41.5 per cent of Australian businesses had a web presence and 27.1 per cent of Australian businesses took orders via the internet. In 2008-09, internet income as a proportion of total income from sales of goods and services for all Australian businesses that received orders via the internet or web was only 5.2 per cent.
A recent report also indicates that Australia’s community service organisations may not be fully utilising broadband and digital technologies. A majority of surveyed organisations were found – [PDF - 833.45kb] to lack digital proficiency and have no technology plan in place.
The government will provide $12.4 million over three years to a Digital Enterprise initiative to assist small-to-medium enterprises and not-for-profit organisations (including local cultural organisations) in the 40 communities that will first benefit from the NBN to better understand how they can take advantage of the NBN and online opportunities more generally. Recognising the importance of a vibrant retail sector for Australia’s future digital economy, the government has hosted an Online Retail Forum and also asked the Productivity Commission to conduct an inquiry into the economic structure and performance of the Australian retail industry.
