Digital Inclusion Standard

The Digital Inclusion Standard incorporates a wealth of thinking and research traditionally residing in siloed user groups. It seeks to build upon and elevate best practices to a whole-of-government level to foster digital inclusion and accessibility for all people and business.

The Digital Inclusion Standard is part of a suite of standards and guidance that sits within the Digital Experience Policy. The Digital Experience Policy supports a whole-of-government focus on improving the experience for people and business interacting digitally with government information and services. The Digital Experience Policy includes a suite of standards and guidance that supports agencies to deliver cohesive and consistent digital experiences, including but not limited to the Digital Service Standard, the Digital Performance Standard and the Digital Access Standard.

The Digital Inclusion Standard builds on the new Digital Service Standard Criterion 3 – Leave No One Behind, forming part of a set of standards and guidelines committed to improving digital experiences across government.

The scope of the Digital Inclusion Standard aligns to a digital experience (as defined in the Services covered by the Digital Inclusion Standard page). The Digital Inclusion Standard does not attempt to address barriers related to:

• access or infrastructure
• affordability
• non-digital services.

These issues are the focus of a range of government digital inclusion programs and initiatives.

The Digital Experience Policy mandates four standards to put people and business at the centre of government through our digital services. The Digital Inclusion Standard is one of them. When we design and deliver digital services, we can make sure nobody gets left behind by meeting the Standard's 5 criteria.

1. Embrace diversity from the outset by applying co-design and consider the different needs of users.
2. Make your service easy to use and communicate its benefits to encourage digital use. 
3. Protect your users by countering scams and misinformation, providing transparency and offering a feedback mechanism.
4. Complying with relevant legislation and standards, and make sure your service is accessible from the start. 
5. Provide a seamless experience between service delivery channels so users can choose how they want to engage.

As the Australian Government continuously improves its digital services, these criteria ensure the people who need the most won't be left behind. So ready to design, deliver and set the standard? Search 'Digital Inclusion Standard' on digital.gov.au.