By Adam Bowles
Australia has long assumed that young people who grow up with smartphones, tablets and social media will naturally become digitally capable adults. The latest national testing shows that assumption no longer holds true.
The Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority’s (ACARA) 2025 NAP ICT Literacy results show that Australian students’ digital literacy has fallen to its lowest level since testing began in 2005. Only 37 per cent of Year 10 students and 50 per cent of Year 6 students met the proficient standard. For Year 10 students, this marks a dramatic decline from the 67 per cent peak recorded in 2008.
A national wake-up call
Digital access is not the same as digital capability. Being able to use a phone, scroll through content or submit an online form does not mean someone can evaluate information, manage data, use digital tools appropriately, solve technical problems or adapt to workplace technology.
That distinction matters because digital skills are no longer confined to technology roles. They now sit at the centre of almost every education pathway, job application, training program and workplace function.
Whether someone is applying for a course, starting an apprenticeship, working in administration, managing rosters, using enterprise software, handling customer data or operating connected machinery, digital capability is now a baseline requirement.
Uneven digital skills for school leavers
The problem is that many school leavers enter vocational education, higher education and the workforce with uneven digital skills. Some may be confident with social and consumer technologies but struggle with structured digital tasks. Others may have gaps in literacy and numeracy that affect their ability to use online systems, complete assessments or engage with workplace platforms. These gaps are not always obvious while the student is at school.
This is why Australia’s digital skills problem can no longer be treated as a school issue alone. Schools are essential to the response, but the challenge now extends across the entire skills ecosystem. Registered training organisations (RTOs), TAFEs, employers, workforce development teams and government-funded programs all have a role in identifying capability gaps early and supporting learners before those gaps become barriers to participation.
Assessing the digital skills gap
For education and training providers, this means shifting from assumption to evidence. It is no longer enough to assume a learner is digitally capable based on their age, device use, or prior study. Providers need a clearer picture of each learner’s literacy, numeracy and digital capability at the start of the journey and the ability to provide targeted support.
That is where structured assessment plays an important role. Applications such as our assessment and learning tool, the Basic Knowledge Skills Builder (BKSB), are designed to help providers assess literacy, numeracy and digital skills, including alignment with the Australian Core Skills Framework.
A practical mechanism for inclusion
The value is not in testing for testing’s sake. It is in helping educators understand where learners are starting from, identifying gaps and providing personalised pathways so students have a better chance of succeeding.
This approach is already familiar in parts of Australia’s vocational education system, where skills checks are used to understand a student’s current ability in English, maths and digital technology before or during enrolment. The purpose should not be to exclude people; it should be to ensure learners receive the right support at the right time.
That distinction is critical because if digital skills assessments are framed only as a gatekeeping exercise, they risk discouraging the very people who need support most. If they are framed as a pathway to confidence, completion and employability, they can become a practical mechanism for inclusion.
Building digital capabilities as a foundational skill
Australia also needs to recognise that digital capability is not fixed. A learner who lacks confidence today can build capability with the right resources, feedback and support. An employee who struggles with one system may be able to adapt quickly if training is targeted to the actual gap. A student who fails to meet a benchmark should not be written off, but the gap should not be ignored either.
The ACARA results show that Australia cannot rely on exposure to technology to build competence. We need deliberate, measurable and inclusive approaches to digital skills development. That means assessing what people can do, supporting what they cannot yet do and tracking progress over time.
For policymakers, the message is clear. Digital capability should be treated as a foundational skill, alongside literacy and numeracy. For schools and further education providers, it is embedding digital skills assessment and support into learner pathways.
Under the revised standards for Registered Training Organisations (RTOs) that took effect on July 1, 2025, RTOs must formally assess prospective students' digital literacy and capabilities before enrolment. Providers must use validated tools mapped to Australian standards to ensure learners have the digital skills required to succeed in training and modern workplaces.
For employers, it means recognising that workforce digital readiness begins before a new system goes live.
Australia’s digital skills challenge did not emerge overnight, and it will not be solved by a single curriculum change, product or program. However, the latest results make one thing clear: the problem is now too significant to be left to schools alone.
If Australia wants a workforce ready for AI, automation and modern digital service delivery, it must build stronger bridges between school education, training and employment. That starts with knowing where people are, supporting them to progress and treating digital capability as an essential foundation for participation in the future workforce.
Adam Bowles is Country Director, Australia, at OneAdvanced, a British private enterprise software and cloud computing company founded in 2008. With 13 years of leadership positions in SaaS companies in both the UK and Australia, Adam is responsible for executing OneAdvanced’s corporate strategy in the Australia and New Zealand markets.