8167.0 - Selected Characteristics of Australian Business, 2007-08 Quality Declaration 
ARCHIVED ISSUE Released at 11:30 AM (CANBERRA TIME) 17/09/2009   
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BUSINESS USE OF INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY



This section of the previous issue of this release contained some detailed tables for the use of IT in Australian business. As indicated in the Explanatory Notes, the Business Characteristics Survey (BCS) collects key indicators of IT use and innovation in Australian business annually and more detailed information for each of these topics is collected very second year (i.e. in alternating years). The 2007-08 BCS had a focus on IT use and detailed outputs were released in Business Use of Information Technology, 2007-08 (cat. no. 8129.0) in August 2009. Only a small amount of summary data are included here and users are advised to view the dedicated IT use release for detailed outputs and commentary. The datacube related to IT use in this release includes selected data items cross-classified by innovator status.

Business Use of Information Technology, selected indicators, by employment size(a), 2007 - 08

0-4 persons
5-19 persons
20-199 persons
200 or more persons
Total

Businesses with:
Internet access %
82.8
92.3
97.5
99.3
86.8
web presence %
26.8
48.3
65.4
95.8
36.3
Businesses with Internet access and broadband as main type of connection %
92.2
95.4
95.9
99.6
93.5
Businesses which:
placed orders via the Internet or web %
36.9
50.5
59.3
70.7
42.7
received orders via the Internet or web %
20.5
28.6
31.6
28.6
23.7
Internet income(b) $b
^9.2
^11.6
^19.1
41.1
81.0

^ estimate has a relative standard error of 10% to less than 25% and should be used with caution
(a) Proportions are of all businesses in each employment size category.
(b) Estimates related to Internet income should be used with caution. See Explanatory Note 20.


Almost 87% of businesses reported accessing the Internet (used the Internet) during the year ended 30 June 2008. The likelihood of a business using the Internet was greater for each successive employment size range.

A web presence was reported by 36% of Australian businesses; this includes businesses with a website, home page or presence on another entity's website.

The proportion of all businesses placing orders via the Internet or web during 2007-08 was 43%. The proportion of all businesses reporting receipt of orders via the Internet or web was 24%, with income derived from these orders totalling approximately $81 billion. Businesses with 200 or more employees generated just over half of total Internet income, at $41 billion.