The federal government has established the First Nations Digital Inclusion Advisory Group, an initiative designed to recommend the development of policies to support digital inclusion for First Nations people across Australia.
The Advisory Group will work closely with First Nations people and communities and will provide advice to the minister for communications on initiatives that will support progress towards Target 17 of the National Agreement on Closing the Gap, which aims for equal levels of digital inclusion for First Nations people by 2026.
The Advisory Group will focus on ways to address the access, affordability and digital ability barriers to First Nations digital inclusion, across the telecommunications, media and broadcasting sectors.
It will also consider initiatives to improve national collection of data relating to digital inclusion, both to help develop a deeper understanding the digital inclusion challenge in different communities, and to enable measurement of progress towards Target 17.
The work of the Advisory Group will be guided by the objectives and priorities set out in the National Agreement, as well as the importance of shared decision-making in the design, implementation and monitoring of digital inclusion measures and progress.
Achieving this goal will help enable a range of benefits for First Nations Australians, including employment opportunities, social connectedness, and improved access to online services such as telehealth and online education.
The Advisory Group will be chaired by Dorothy West, a Noongar woman from the south west of Western Australia.
West was a member of the SBS Board from 2012 to 2022 and has worked in the media industry since 1987 in various capacities. She has also served on numerous other boards, including as the inaugural vice chairperson of NITV, Screenwest, and as chair of First Nations Media Australia.
West will be joined by a number of First Nations Australians as Advisory Group members: Lyndon Ormond-Parker, an expert in First Nations digital inclusion, cultural heritage and on-country learning; Bronwyn Carlson, an expert in First Nations social media use and online safety; Talei Elu, a community advocate for digital inclusion and member of the Queensland government First Nations Consultative Committee; and Naomi Moran, the chair of First Nations Media Australia (FNMA) and GM of the Koori Mail newspaper.
The Terms of Reference for the Advisory Group will be made available on the web site following the first meeting of the Advisory Group.
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