First Nations Digital Inclusion: Why Getting Online Is Only the First Step
Getting online is only the first step. If the websites, forms and services people reach are inaccessible, digital inclusion can still end in exclusion.
8 June 2026 · Insight · Industry
Most of the services we all rely on, such as disability support, healthcare, education, banking, government services and employment now happen online. Digital access is not optional anymore, and not everyone experiences the same access to the digital world.
The Australian digital inclusion index shows that the digital inclusion gap is quite massive, with 40.9% of First Nations people digitally excluded from these important digital spaces, compared with 20.6% of Aussies overall. First Nations people are digitally excluded at almost double the rate of Aussies overall, this, when coupled with the fact that an Australian Bureau of Statistics report on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples with disability showed “one-quarter (25.3%) or 183,700 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people had disability”, emphasises the importance of closing these gaps so that people can access required services.
There are incredibly important steps to closing the gap on digital access for First Nations people outlined in the First Nations Digital Inclusion Roadmap: 2026 and Beyond. These recommendations aim to improve digital ability through digital mentoring, targeted training, the First Nations Digital Support Hub and place-based cyber safety initiatives.
But once folks are supported to get online we must ensure that the digital world they encounter is accessible so that it isn’t just another level of exclusion.
Getting online is only the first step
If our digital world, such as websites, documents, forms and digital services are not accessible they can create substantial barriers for people with disabilities who are already experiencing digital exclusion. Web accessibility is one important part in ensuring that once someone is brought into the digital world that they can access vital services.
Digital inclusion efforts are excellent to help people get connected, build confidence and develop skills. Web accessibility ensures the digital world is usable when they arrive.
The following highlights the immense amount of effort that goes into digital inclusion and what can go wrong without implementing accessibility.
- Scenario 1
- Digital inclusion effort
- A person gets a device
- What can go wrong without accessibility
- The website doesn’t handle mobile screen sizes well and some of the functionality is missing or broken
- A person gets a device
- The website doesn’t handle mobile screen sizes well and some of the functionality is missing or broken
- Scenario 2
- Digital inclusion effort
- A community gets better connectivity
- What can go wrong without accessibility
- Essential services still rely on inaccessible PDFs and forms
- A community gets better connectivity
- Essential services still rely on inaccessible PDFs and forms
- Scenario 3
- Digital inclusion effort
- A person receives digital mentoring
- What can go wrong without accessibility
- The form they need to fill to access services is not accessible
- A person receives digital mentoring
- The form they need to fill to access services is not accessible
- Scenario 4
- Digital inclusion effort
- A person learns cyber safety
- What can go wrong without accessibility
- The login portal has inaccessible authentication or timeout issues
- A person learns cyber safety
- The login portal has inaccessible authentication or timeout issues
- Scenario 5
- Digital inclusion effort
- A person gains digital confidence
- What can go wrong without accessibility
- The service they are accessing uses confusing language, has unclear instructions, poor layout/design and inaccessible error handling
- A person gains digital confidence
- The service they are accessing uses confusing language, has unclear instructions, poor layout/design and inaccessible error handling
It is absolutely essential that we help people to get online, but we also need to make sure the digital services they reach are usable, understandable and accessible.
For NDIS providers, web accessibility means participants, nominees, families, carers and support networks can access your digital information, documents, forms and services in ways that work for them. Some of the people that would benefit from web accessibility are people that use screen readers, keyboard navigation, screen magnification or text spacing, voice control, captions, Easy Read/Plain language and various other forms of assistive technology.
When digital accessibility isn’t implemented it is almost certain that barriers will appear in the participant’s journey to getting care. Our recent scan across 6980 NDIS provider websites showed that 97.2% of NDIS provider websites failed WCAG 2.2 Level A or AA conformance (or relied on a third-party accessibility overlay widget). Here are some of the barriers that could impact someone on their journey to get care and would lead to further exclusion from the digital world:
Navigation barriers
Some people are unable to use a mouse (or physical devices) and may need to use a keyboard, switch device, eye tracking, voice recognition & dictation software, head tracking & facial expression cameras, trackballs or mouth operated joysticks. If parts of your site such as buttons or forms can only be used with a mouse people will not be able to access the services they need
Screen Reader barriers
Folks who are blind or have low vision use a screen read to navigate the digital world. If your website, form or documents are not structured correctly, have unclear links, meaningless or non-existent alt text, or PDFs are incorrectly tagged (if tagged at all) then people won’t be able to get the information they need or fill the forms required to get care.
Low colour contrast
All text and interactive elements need enough colour contrast with its background to be readable or perceivable. Interactive items also need focus indicators that have correct contrast so folks can determine where they have tabbed to. Contrast based issues can affect those with colour blindness, low vision, changes to vision through ageing or people using devices outdoors. 1 in 12 men (8%) and 1 in 200 women (0.5%) are colourblind so it is incredibly important to ensure our digital world meets colour contrast requirements.
Poor mobile accessibility
A lot of people access digital services from a mobile phone. This becomes more likely when people don’t have regular access to a computer or laptop. If websites, forms and documents do not reflow correctly or work well on little screens then people won’t be able to read or interact with the important information they are trying to access.
Assistive technology compatibility issues
The digital world must work with assistive technology and if digital services are not compatible with assistive technology the gap to someone accessing the services they need widens. This would further exclude people who are finally getting included in our digital world and we must do what we can to make sure that when they are here they can access what they need in a way that works for them.
Digital inclusion should not lead people into inaccessible systems
We fall short of inclusion if once someone is connected to our digital world, the service they need is inaccessible and impossible to use. A digitally included person remains excluded by an inaccessible website, form or document.
Organisations include more people when they:
- assess websites, forms and documents against WCAG and fix issues
- test digital content assistive technology and keyboard
- involve First Nations people with disability in research and testing
- design for mobile access
- provide plain English and Easy Read content
- avoid only having digital access to services
- make phone, email and in-person support easy to find and access
- treat digital accessibility as part of digital inclusion, not a separate technical or compliance task