In 2017, the Bureau of Communications and Arts Research found that the affordability of communications services in Australia had improved overall. In general, consumers were getting better value as prices stayed the same or fell, while product inclusions (such as data) increased. This paper updates and extends that analysis.

Prepared between November 2019 and March 2020, this report explores how the digital age has changed the cultural value chain and draws on existing literature and insights, as well as a range of actors from across the cultural ecosystem.

During the current period of home-based self-isolation, those without the ability to effectively and affordably access and use digital technologies will find it immediately and increasingly difficult to participate in contemporary economic, social, cultural and civic life.

While slowing the pace of the Covid-19 Pandemic is critical, reducing the growth of inequality – including in education – will be an equally important and complex challenge.

This article asks whether Australian school students are sufficiently digitally literate and confident to effectively transition to online learning and whether teachers have demonstrated the capacity to use digital technologies in their teaching and learning practice to facilitate this transition.