Principles of Successful Digital Inclusion Initiatives in Remote Australia

Digital inclusion remains elusive for many people living in remote Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities of Australia. People in many communities experience limited access, high cost, and often struggle with digital literacies. The policy environment increasingly assumes that government and financial services are universally accessible. The Australian Government has initiated several digital inclusion strategies. However, remote communities are marginalised by rapidly changing technologies and systems that are increasingly complex to navigate. To understand these complexities, we use spatial justice theory as a lens for a discussion of these strategies and our own empirical data. We suggest six principles that can underpin successful digital inclusion initiatives and strategies, designed for and delivered in remote communities. These emerge from an evaluation of a programme called inDigiMOB, managed by First Nations Media Australia. Interviews with 31 digital inclusion stakeholders discussed opportunities and challenges for future initiatives. Principles underpinning success are: place-based community hubs, the need to address digital inclusion issues, prioritisation of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander languages and cultures, affordable and reliable technology access, digital skills, and cyber safety. While the evaluation had inDigiMOB in mind, these principles can be more broadly applied to support strategies designed to address spatial injustices.