How did we survey?
Average completion time: 20 min
Participation rate: 88%
*respondents who completed the Survey
The Survey is completed online, as a questionnaire. The Baseline wave of data collection for the Survey was conducted from 19 to 31 March 2019, collecting responses from 5,103 respondents.
Adults 18 years and older were invited to participate.
Ethical clearance to administer the Survey was obtained from a Committee of Peers in November 2018. Informed consent of participants was obtained to complete the Survey.
The Survey was refined through two exploratory waves conducted between November 2018 and February 2019. Representativeness of results.
The Survey aims to collect responses from all those eligible for Australian public services. This includes Australian citizens (living in and outside Australia), permanent residents and temporary visitors in Australia.
Coverage
How a survey is conducted influences the ability of people to participate, creating potential issues of population 'coverage'.
The Survey is currently delivered in English only. This results in a lack of coverage of those who do not speak English proficiently - Census 2016 results indicating this is 3. 7% of the Australian population. Future waves will consider alternative ways to survey those with low English language proficiency.
The Survey is delivered online, with participants needing an internet connection to complete the Survey on their device (e.g. computer, smartphone). This means those without internet access-estimated at 14% of Australian households (ABS 2016)-are not adequately covered in this survey. PM&C is currently conducting a telephone survey to ensure these perspectives are not missed. A telephone survey also enables the visually impaired to participate.
Sampling
During sampling, hard quotas for gender, age and location were set based on Census population benchmarks. No other hard quotas were set. For further information on the Survey sample, see over page.
Respondents were sampled through an online panel, where minor financial incentives are provided. The panel used for this Survey recruits respondents through marketing approaches such as advertising. This type of 'non-probability ' panel differs from 'probability ' panels where respondents are recruited via targeted methods like random-digit-dialing. This approach creates a number of potential biases to be considered:
- People enrolled in panels generally feel more comfortable transacting online than those who are not on panels. This can influence their perspectives on digital service delivery.
- Panels tend to have a higher proportion of those on lower incomes and those not in employment when compared to Census population benchmarks.
- People enrolled in panels may have completed more surveys than the average person, meaning •respondents who completed the Survey they can become 'conditioned' to surveys.
Participants from this Survey recruitment panel complete on average 1.3 surveys per month.
Cleaning of data
Survey data is quality assured to check respondents are completing it correctly. Respondent data is removed for two reasons:
- Speeding: If respondents answer the Survey in less than 30 per cent of the average completion time, this likely means they could not have read the questions properly.
- Nonsense answers in open-ended questions: The Survey allows for open ended free text responses. Where responses are assessed as consistently nonsense (e.g. incomplete, incomprehensible or irrelevant statements), they're removed.
Method
A seven point response scale is provided through the Survey. Responses that demonstrate categorical satisfaction or trust in services are included in the overall trust and satisfaction statistics of the results.
Responses that are less certain (e.g. somewhat trust, neither trust nor distrust, somewhat distrust) are non-aligned. This method avoids the introduction of uncertainty into findings. Trust and satisfaction results reflect the average and are not service-specific.
Future survey waves
Please note actual percentage point results from this baseline data may vary when combined with future waves to create a time-series.
Who did we survey?
Sample
5103 Respondents
Citizenship
- 89% Australian Citizens
- 8% Permanent Residents
- 1% Special Protected Category Visa
- 2% Individual in Australia temporarily
ATSI
2.7% Identified as Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander
Gender
- 49% Female
- 50% Male
- 0.4% Identify as non-binary, gender diverse, or descriptors other than man/boy or woman/girl
Age
- 12%: 18-24
- 18%: 25-34
- 19%: 35-44
- 18%: 45-54
- 16%: 55-64
- 18%: 65+
Residence
- 2% Australian Capital Territory
- 32% New South Wales
- 0.9% Northern Territory
- 20% Queensland
- 7% South Australia
- 25% Victoria
- 10% Western Australia
- 2% Tasmania
- 0.1% Living overseas
Languages
- 88% English only
- 12% Languages other than English
Education
- 14% Year 10 or below
- 17% Completed Year 12
- 20% Certificate-level I to IV
- 13% Advanced Diploma or Diploma
- 36% Tertiary education (Bachelors and Post Graduate studies)
Place of birth
- 76% Born in Australia
- 24% Born outside of Australia
Parents place of birth
- 54% Both parents born in Australia
- 46% At least one parent born outside Australia
Employment
- 34% Employed, full-time
- 15% Employed, part-time
- 8% Employed, casual/temporary
- 11% Unemployed
- 7% Not actively looking for employment
- 20% Retired
- 4% Permanently unable to work
Household
- 33% Married or in a defacto relationship, living with partner, no dependent(s)
- 28% Married or in a defacto relationship, living with partner, with dependent(s)
- 19% Single, living alone
- 7% Single, with dependent(s)
- 8% Single in a group household / sharehouse arrangement
- 4% Other
Total household income
- 10%: $ 156, 000 or more
- 23%: $ 91 000 - $155 999
- 18%: $ 65, 000 - $90, 999
- 20%: $ 41, 600 - $64, 999
- 21%: $ 20, 800 - $41, 599
- 8%: < $ 20,799
Life satisfaction
- 42% Satisfied
- 8% Dissatisfied
Interpersonal trust
- 22% Trust
- 12% Distrust