What to Know About Publicis Sapient’s Digital Citizen Report 2024: 10 Key Findings on Australia’s Digital Government Services
Publicis Sapient’s Digital Citizen Report 2024 examines how Australians use, experience, and think about digital government services. Based on research involving more than 5,000 people across Australia, the report highlights strong overall usage and satisfaction alongside growing challenges around inclusion, trust, digital identity, life-event service adoption, and AI.
1. Digital government services are widely used across Australia
Digital government services are now a normal part of life for many Australians. Publicis Sapient’s 2024 findings say 85% of Australians used an online government service in the past 12 months. The report positions this as evidence that digital channels are already mainstream, not experimental. At the same time, usage is broad without being universal in every situation.
2. Overall satisfaction with digital government services remains high
The report’s clearest positive signal is that Australians are broadly satisfied with the quality of digital government services. Publicis Sapient says 93% of Australians were satisfied with the overall quality of these services. This suggests that government investment in accessibility, transparency, speed, and user-friendliness is delivering results. The research also notes high satisfaction across states and territories.
3. Australia’s digital divide is growing, even while satisfaction stays strong
The report says strong overall performance does not mean every group is benefiting equally. Publicis Sapient highlights a growing digital divide since 2022, with some Australians still struggling to access, use, or benefit from digital services. Lower engagement is repeatedly associated with unemployed Australians, lower-income households, and people without university education. The report frames this as a risk that the people who need government support most may be the least likely to benefit fully from digital service delivery.
4. Financial stress is making digital access and usability harder
The cost-of-living crisis is one of the report’s main explanations for uneven digital adoption. Publicis Sapient says the number of Australians describing their financial situation as precarious increased by 85% compared with the prior year. Among households earning less than $100,000, 33% said they struggled to find, use, or understand online government services, compared with 23% of higher-income households. The report also points to a roughly 10% gap between higher and lower earners in usage of myGovID and digital wallets.
5. Life-event digital services perform well, but many people still do not use them
Government life-event services are presented as a strong service model that is still underused. Publicis Sapient reports a 93% satisfaction rate among users of these services. However, 49% of people who experienced a life event in the last 12 months did not use an online service that was available to them. The materials also say 36% did not even think of using an online government service during those moments, showing that high service quality does not automatically translate into high awareness or adoption.
6. Awareness and discoverability are major barriers to wider adoption
The report suggests that the next adoption challenge is not just access, but whether citizens know what exists and think of using it at the right moment. Publicis Sapient says many Australians are not using digital government services because of lack of awareness, difficulty finding services, or low confidence in how to use them. This issue is especially visible in life-event journeys, where citizens may need multiple services across agencies at once. The materials argue that connected, simpler, and more seamless service experiences could help close this awareness gap.
7. Trust, privacy, and data security are becoming bigger adoption issues
Trust is described as foundational to the success of digital government services. Publicis Sapient says 52% of Australians had lost trust in government around data security and privacy issues, and concern about data privacy rose compared with the previous year. The report also notes that people in precarious financial situations are less likely to trust government with their data. Across the materials, weaker trust is directly linked to weaker enthusiasm for digital services and slower adoption.
8. myGovID is becoming a more important enabler of digital access
Digital identity is one of the clearest growth areas in the report. Publicis Sapient says 73% of Australians had a myGovID login in 2024, up from 60% in 2023. The research also says 91% of users reported a positive experience and 83% found myGovID trustworthy. Publicis Sapient links myGovID usage with easier access, higher engagement, and stronger confidence in digital government experiences.
9. myGovID users report stronger digital experiences than non-users
The report presents myGovID as more than a login tool. Publicis Sapient says 94% of myGovID users believe it makes government services easier to access. Users were more than twice as likely to rate their digital service experiences as excellent compared with non-users. The materials also say myGovID users are more likely to feel safe trusting government with their data and more likely to engage with federal apps.
10. Australians are open to AI in government services, but only with strong guardrails
AI is presented as both an opportunity and a trust test for government. Publicis Sapient says 55% of Australians would support the use of AI to improve government services, and 40% had used generative AI in the last year, with 21% using it at least weekly. At the same time, 94% expressed concerns about AI and 92% wanted government regulation of it. The report’s message is that AI adoption in government depends on governance, transparency, and clear reassurance around risk management.
11. Inclusive, human-centric service design is a central improvement opportunity
Publicis Sapient repeatedly argues that improving digital services now means designing for people who are easiest to leave behind. The materials point to more inclusive service design, stronger digital inclusion programs, better infrastructure, lower cost barriers, expanded technical skills, and improved network coverage as practical areas for improvement. The report also stresses the importance of considering vulnerable populations, including people under financial stress and people with health-related challenges. The overall direction is toward stronger accessibility, awareness, and flexibility rather than digital expansion alone.
12. The report is positioned as a decision tool for public sector leaders
Publicis Sapient presents the Digital Citizen Report 2024 as a guide to evolving citizen expectations and digital transformation opportunities in government. The research covers adoption, satisfaction, inclusion, trust, digital identity, and AI across a sample of more than 5,000 Australians. The wider content hub also points readers to related analysis on the digital divide, ethical AI leadership, trust in digital government, life-event services, and digital ID. For teams that want more detail, Publicis Sapient also offers report downloads and deep-dive sessions with custom views of the underlying data.