Appendix 3. Australian Precedent: The Current State of Play
The National Office for the Information Economy (NOIE) sets out the following information in their report The Current State of Play of June 2001. This summary produced quarterly documents Australia's progress against both past national indicators and international benchmarks. The methodology very closely follows the OECD recommendations identified in Appendix 2. The Australian reporting exercise represents the most comprehensive national reporting of Knowledge Economy performance found during the literature review for this report. We note, however, that while it reports statistics captured, it refrains from undertaking any analysis of the reasons behind the changes in performance observed.
A complete summary of the statistics reported by classification as Readiness, Intensity and Impact and their source follows:
Readiness
Population and Household Readiness
- Characteristics of Australian adults online (persons 18 years and over) as at November 2000, determined by:
- Age profile
- Employment status
- Personal income
- Gender profile
- Region
Source: ABS
- Adult Australians accessing the Internet from August 1998 to November 2000 from home, work and other sites
Source ABS8147
- Australian households using select technology August 1998 to November 2000 divided into households with PCs and households online.
Source ABS8147
Characteristics of Australians Accessing the Internet
- Australian Internet use in capital cities by geographical area as at April 2000.
Source ABS
- Internet access in metropolitan and other areas from November 1998 to November 2000, reported annually. Detailed by:
Source ABS
- Characteristics of Australians accessing the Internet from November 1998 to November 2000, reported annually and broken down into the following categories:
- Age
- Gender
- Employment status
Source ABS8147
- Characteristics of Australian households online from November 1998 to November 2000 reported on an annual basis in the following categories:
Source ABS
Use of the Internet by Children
- Use of the Internet by children aged 5 - 14 in Australian households during the period April 1999 to April 2000, broken down into the following categories:
- Age
- Gender
- Family type in metropolitan and other areas
- Parents employment status
- Site of Internet access
- Home Internet activity
- Access by State / Territory, with breakdowns for metropolitan and other areas (with the exception of Australian Capital Territory and Northern Territory)
Source ABS8147
International Benchmarking: Population, Household, Demographic
- Worldwide Internet access and PC use reported for 2000 and forecast for 2002 and 2005, broken down into Web/Internet appliances in use, PCs in use and Internet users.
Source ePaynews, 2000
- Worldwide percentage of Internet access via home PC for the 4th quarter 2000, broken down into:
Source AC Nielsen
- Worldwide anticipated Internet users as at October 2001.
Source American Express
- Worldwide online populations (age 16+) with Internet access from any location for the 4th quarter 2000.
Source AC Nielsen
- Worldwide mobile telephone penetration for the 4th quarter 2000.
Source AC Nielsen
Business Readiness
- Australian business use of PCs and the Internet June 1998 - June 2000 reported annually, divided into use of PCs, use of Internet and those with a web site.
Source ABS8129
- Australian business use of IT and Internet determined by firm size as at June 2000. Firm size broken down into very small (1 - 4 people), small (5 - 19), medium (20 - 99) and large (100+). This is divided into those using PCs, accessing the Internet and/or having a web site or home page.
Source ABS9128
- Growth in Internet access by business size in Australia, reported in June 1998 and June 2000.
Source ABS8129
- Australian business use of PCs and the Internet by region as at June 2000. Divided into businesses in capital cities and other areas, and among those using computers, accessing the Internet and/or having web site or home page.
Source ABS8129
- Australian business use of PCs and the Internet by State/Territory over 1999/2000. Broken down into those using PCs, accessing the Internet and/or having a web site or home page.
Source ABS8129
- Australian industry sectors using PCs and the Internet as at June 2000. Broken down into those using PCs, having Internet access and/or having a web site or home page.
Source ABS8129
- Growth in Internet access by Australian industry reported in June 1998 and June 2000.
Source ABS8129
Barriers to Business Use of E-Commerce Enabling Technologies
- Barriers to business computer use within Australia, reported in June 1998 and June 2000. Barriers broken down into cost, lack of training or skills, lack of interest, unsuitability for business type and other.
Source ABS8129
- Barriers to business Internet access within Australia, reported in June 1998 and June 2000. Barriers broken down into cost, security concerns, speed, lack of skills or training, lack of interest and unsuitability for business type.
Source ABS8129
International Benchmarking: Business
- E-business readiness rankings based on the US Economist Intelligence Unit survey of 60 countries published in May 2000 and May 2001. Percentages of businesses online in Finland, Denmark, Sweden, Australia and Norway. Data relevant to the end of 1999 for all countries with the exception of Australia, which refers to June 2000.
Source: ABS and Scandinavian national statistical offices.
- Online businesses by firm size for Australia, Denmark, Finland, Norway and Sweden based on percentage of all businesses by employee size. Breakdown of 10 - 19 employees, 20 - 49, 50 - 99 and 100+. Data for Scandinavian countries is in respect of the end of 1999 and for Australia is June 2000.
Source: ABS and Scandinavian national statistical offices.
ISP Industry
- Internet Service Provision in Australia as at the end of December 2000, broken down into State / Territory and detailed as follows:
- Number of Internet Service Providers
- Number of Internet access subscribers
- Teledensity: subscribers per access line
Source ABS8153
Intensity
Frequency of Internet Access
- Frequency of Internet access in Australia reported as at November 1999 and November 2000, in the following categories:
- Home access
- Adult home access
- Adult work access
- Adult access from other sites
Source ABS8147
- Average time spent online per week in November 2000 in the USA, Australia and Europe.
Source PricewaterhouseCoopers
- Total volume of data downloaded at the end of December 2000 by State / Territory, measured in millions megabytes.
Source ABS8153
- Average volume of data downloaded at the end of December 2000 by State / Territory, measured in megabytes.
Source ABS8153
Online Activities: Business to Consumer
- Australian adults undertaking selected electronic transactions reported in November 1999 and November 2000. Data broken down into bills paid via an information kiosk, use of Internet to access government services, bills paid or funds transferred via the Internet, bills paid or funds transferred via telephone, bills paid or funds transferred via EFTPOS, transfer or withdrawal of funds via ATM and Internet shopping.
Source ABS8147
- Percentage growth in the use of selected electronic transactions over the November 1998 to November 2000 period. Transactions divided into Internet shopping, bills paid or funds transferred via telephone, bills paid or funds withdrawn via EFTPOS, funds transferred or withdrawn via ATM and bills paid or funds transferred via the Internet.
Source ABS8147
Characteristics of Shoppers and Users
- Characteristics of Australian adult Internet shoppers and users reported at November 2000 in the following categories:
- Gender
- Age
- Income level
- Region
Source ABS8147
- Goods and services purchased or ordered online by Australians, reported as at November 1999 and November 2000, in respect of the following:
- Top nine goods and services purchased
- Number of online purchases/orders made
- Value of online purchases/orders made (November 2000 only)
Source ABS8147
- Location of online purchases/orders as at November 2000 categorized into Australia and overseas, for percentage of online purchases/orders.
Source ABS8147
- Factors influencing online shopping in Australia, reported in October 2000. Areas include language, trust in product brand name and trust in online retailer, ease of site navigation, attractive graphics and good descriptions of products/services.
Source American Express
- Barriers to online shopping in Australia, reported in 2000. Factors include product or service cost, security, shipping costs, personal sizing or fitting and the need to see/feel an item before purchase.
Source Ernst & Young
Business Use of the Internet
- Australian Industry sectors' online activities 1999 - 2000. Broken down between industries into banking, selling related activities, buying related activities and email/information searches.
Source ABS8129
- Australian business online activities by State/Territory as at June 2000, divided into banking, selling related activities, buying related activities and email/information searches.
Source ABS8129
- Australian business use of Internet commerce in 1999 - 2000, broken down into email/information searches, selling related activities, buying related activities and banking, in the following categories:
- Firm size
- Sales/order volume
Source ABS8129
- Barriers to Australian business use of Internet e-commerce reported at June 2000. Businesses are divided into groups on turnover range and categories include cost, lack of skills, security concerns, quality and reliability of Internet infrastructure and low use of e-commerce by customers and suppliers.
International Benchmarking: B2C E-Commerce
- Global e-commerce spending (1999 actual and 2003 forecast) for global regions, divided into Latin America, Asia Pacific, Canada, Japan, USA, Western Europe and the rest of the world. Measured as percentage of global e-commerce spend.
Source IDC
- Estimated worldwide online buyers reported annually, with actual figures from 1998, 1999 and 2000 and estimated figures for 2001, 2002 and 2003.
Source ePaynews
- Worldwide population purchasing online in the last six months of 2000, based on percentage of people over 16.
Source AC Nielsen
- Factors influencing online shopping in ten countries as at October 2000. Factors include ease of site navigation, trust in brand name of product and trust in brand name of online retailer, price, language, quality of product or service description and graphics.
Source American Express
- Worldwide convenience of Internet transactions reported as at October 2000, with measurement being percentage of respondents who indicated it is more convenient. The following areas were evaluated:
Source American Express
- Leading products or services purchased online in 2000 in Australia, USA, Great Britain, Germany, Hong Kong and Japan.
Source Taylor Nelson Sofres and ABS
Internet Banking
- Number of Internet banking users in Australia, measured in June 2000 and September 2000.
Source ecommercetoday.com
- Worldwide use of online banking, current and predicted near future usage measured in 2000.
Source Angus Reid Group
International Benchmarking: Business Use of the Internet
- Online securities trading in Australia and USA, measured in June 1999 and April 2000 as percentage of total trades.
Source Global Online Trading
- Global Internet awareness measured in 2000 by the number of respondents who believe they are making good use of the Internet.
Source American Express
Government Online
- Government online services within Australia with measurements as below:
- Commonwealth Government online services as at December 2000.
- Types of Government services measured by percentage and type, both already online and expected online at December 2001.
- Complexity of current and future Government online services.
- Complexity of additional government online services.
- Potential services for online integration
- Percentage of suppliers paid electronically
Source Commonwealth Government Online Progress Report 2000
- Use of the Internet to access Government services in 2000, divided between adult users and businesses.
Source ABS8147 and ABS8129
- Business access to online Government services by sales/order value, 1999 - 2000.
Source ABS8129
Impacts
Australia
- Percentage change on Gross State Product and Gross Domestic Product following e-commerce implementation. Reported for 2000, 2005 and 2010.
Source Allen Consulting 2000
International Benchmarking
- Global e-commerce revenues for 1999 and forecast for 2003, reported for Latin America, Canada, Japan, Asia Pacific, Western Europe, USA and the rest of the world. Measured in US$ billions for the following:
- Business to consumer
- Business to business
Source IDC
- E-commerce business to consumer revenues in Asia Pacific countries for 2000.
Source eMarketer
- E-commerce business to business revenues in Asia Pacific countries for 2000 and forecast for 2001 - 2004.
Source eMarketer
Internet Sales and Ordering in Australia and the US
- Total value of sales and orders originating from the Internet in Australia as at 30 June 2000, measured in $A billions.
Source ABS8129
- Total value of retail e-commerce sales in the USA for 2000, measured in $US billions.
Source US Bureau of Census
- Value of sales originating from the Internet by firm size in Australia at June 2000. Measured as percentage of each size group.
Source ABS8129
Teleworking
- Emergence of teleworking in Australia and the UK as at November 2000, measured by percentage of employed persons.
Source ABS8147
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