Issues Paper: Digital Inclusion, Disability and Housing

This issues paper brings together insights from two research projects undertaken by the Queensland University of Technology’s (QUT) Digital Media Research Centre’s (DMRC) Digital Inclusion and Participation program, primarily in 2021-23. The purpose is to communicate relevant findings from these projects, that form a new research agenda to policymakers, sector leaders, relevant stakeholders, and participant organisations. It focuses on intersecting issues related to digital inclusion, disability, and housing, which emerged as priority areas requiring further investigation, understanding, and intervention in pursuit of closing the digital divide in Australian communities. We draw attention to the need for deeper consideration of barriers to digital inclusion at three levels: 1. Infrastructural challenges relating to access to reliable, affordable digital connections, devices, and data; 2. Organisational challenges relating to capacity and capabilities of social infrastructure that works to support people in social and community housing and living with a disability; and 3. Individual challenges relating to opportunities for digital skilling and participation. These insights inform a proposed research agenda to drive best practices for developing community-led digital inclusion interventions in Australia and beyond.