The Australian Government’s commitment to prioritise the roll-out of the NBN in regional Australia will promote greater engagement in the digital economy in these areas.

For the Digital Communities and Digital Enterprise initiatives, a minimum of 23 communities targeted will be in regional Australia. The Digital Communities initiative will deliver economic and social benefits to regional communities by improving access to information, health, education and government services. The Digital Enterprise initiative will assist local businesses and not-for-profit groups, including local cultural institutions, to increase their productivity, expand their customer base and grow their revenues.

The Tele-health trials, the NBN education and skills services program and the NBN-enabledTele-education project in regional areas will clearly demonstrate the benefit to regional Australia in these important areas and allow expertise to be developed locally.