The data has been published in the ACMA's latest interactive report, “Communications and media in Australia: How we use the internet”, with the direct link to the interactive report here. 

It shows the ways Australians are using the internet, including devices we use to connect, how often we go online, and the activities and services we engage with.

The report reveals 99% of Australians were online in 2020, up from 90% in 2019. The biggest increase was by those aged 55 and over.

In 2020, more Australian internet users engaged in multiple online activities, some of which were driven by COVID-19 restrictions introduced in March. Four in 5 started or increased their participation in telehealth consultations. Meanwhile, 82% started or increased video conferencing or calling, and 65% started or increased working online from home.

Around 1 in 3 Australians aged 55+ (29%) started video conferencing or calling, compared to 21% of those aged 18 to 54.

Australian adults are using many device types to access the internet. In 2020, 46% of us accessed the internet using 5 or more different types of devices. Mobile phones and laptops were most commonly used, particularly among 18 to 54-year-olds.

In 2020, 73% of Australians had a smart device connected to the internet (excluding computers, tablets and mobile phones). Nearly two-thirds of Australians aged 55 and over owned a smart device. Most popular were smart TVs, wearables and voice-controlled smart speakers.

Data downloads surged in the 3 months to June 2020, with more than 7 million terabytes (TB) downloaded over fixed networks and nearly 1 million TB using mobile devices.

The “How we use the internet report” is part of the Communications and media in Australia series. It is driven by the ACMA research program, which gathers evidence that informs ACMA’s decisions as a regulator. ACMA says this ensures it is “up-to-date on market developments and consumer trends.”