Supporting digital inclusion

auDA is committed to enhancing digital inclusion and improving the utility of .au for the benefit of all Australians.

As part of this commitment, auDA actively contributes to our communities and works to improve digital inclusion through the following initiatives:

Since 2006 auDA has delivered an annual Community Grant Program which provides funding to not-for-profit organisations and research institutions working on community projects, education and research activities that support digital innovation and inclusion. auDA’s Community Grant Program has a specific focus on supporting the following groups within the Australian community:

• Rural, regional, and remote Australians
• Australians living with disability
• Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples
• Older Australians (65+ years)
• Young Australians (12-24 years).

Applications for the 2025 funding round of auDA’s Community Grant Program will open later this year.

auDA is proud to support the annual Australian Internet Governance Forum (auIGF) which facilitates multi-stakeholder discussion on internet governance and public policy issues related to the internet. Multi-stakeholder internet governance refers to the collaborative approach of shaping the development and application of the internet and covers a wide range of policy areas (for example, cyber security, data privacy, cross-border data flows, digital inclusion and connectivity), which sit at the intersection of technology, public policy, and human rights.

The auIGF is a forum designed to provide an open and inclusive platform to discuss internet governance issues in Australia. At the 2024 auIGF, which auDA supported as Secretariat, several session topics focused on digital inclusion and we look forward to continuing to bring diverse voices and experiences to the auIGF through our support as Secretariat again in 2025. auDA encourages all those interested to join us at this year’s auIGF on 23-24 September in Adelaide and online. Registrations open soon and you can find out more at www.auigf.au.

auDA works to support greater access to internet services that operate over the internet and increased participation in the internet governance space in our local and regional communities.

In November 2024 we hosted the inaugural Asia Pacific Internet Governance Academy Australia (APIGA Australia) which supported young Australians to learn about and get involved in internet governance.

In September 2024, we also collaborated with country code Top Level Domain (ccTLD) managers located in the Pacific Ocean (or Oceania) to deliver the inaugural Pacific ccTLD forum. The forum facilitated knowledge sharing, capacity building and strengthening relationships between Pacific ccTLDs. We will again facilitate this forum in July 2025. This will be held in conjunction with the 2025 Pacific Internet Governance Forum (PacIGF) which auDA is also supporting as a sponsor.

auDA’s .au member program is an essential part of ensuring Australians have a voice on the .au, its policies and auDA’s direction as an organisation. auDA has a focus on building a diverse membership base that reflects the Australian community and we proactively encourage members to have their say on matters regarding auDA and .au. Members are an important part of our multi-stakeholder community and help us understand the diverse and changing needs of Australians online.

auDA explored the potential of an Indigenous namespace in .au.

We engaged with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities and sought feedback as to whether a namespace with a distinct identity available to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander individuals, businesses and organisations would advance Indigenous digital inclusion and benefit the community.

Our engagement included the following activities:

• An environment scan, considering indigenous namespaces in other jurisdictions and how an Indigenous namespace could be used in Australia
• A roundtable discussion with stakeholders from Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander organisations, government, government agencies, chambers of commerce, academics, legal experts and other country code Top Level Domain managers managing Indigenous namespaces, to explore the concept and understand how it might work in an Australian context
• We attended relevant key forums including Garma Festival and the Australia Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies Summit (AIATSIS). At AITSIS we presented on the concept of an Indigenous namespace and discussed its opportunities and challenges with an extended range of stakeholders
• We also engaged an Indigenous consultant specialising in Indigenous cultural and intellectual property, to consider the value of an Indigenous namespace with key Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander stakeholder groups, community leaders and academics.

Common feedback from these engagements included:

• The existence of a range of .au options (including com.au and org.au) that are in common use and of significant utility for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander businesses and individuals
• A single namespace would not appropriately or adequately represent the diverse groups that make up Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples in Australia
• The determination of eligibility for an application for an Indigenous namespace to ensure the integrity of such a namespace, would be difficult to administer appropriately
• The many different language groups that exist across Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander nations and cultures would pose challenges with the practicalities of a single Indigenous namespace.

In consideration of this feedback, it was concluded that an Indigenous namespace is not the most practical approach to support digital inclusion and improve the utility of the .au for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, at this time. auDA would be open to revisiting this issue in the future, if a shared community desire for such a name space was presented in the future.

auDA will continue to support digital inclusion through our ongoing initiatives including auDA’s Community Grant Program, member engagement and events, APIGA Australia, auIGF, and initiatives in the Pacific. We will also continue exploring new ways in which we can effectively contribute.

We released our 2026-30 Strategy in June 2025, which outlines auDA’s focus for the next five years, including how we plan to positively impact our communities.

Keep an eye on the auDA website and social media for updates as we continue our work to increase digital inclusion and support digital innovation for all Australians.