ICT overview

(Last updated: 27 Oct 2009)
 

ICT industry report

Austrade's first ICT industry report provides a picture of the international business activities of Australia's ICT industry. With over 1,000 responses the report identifies where Australia's ICT capability lies, the current top markets for Australian ICT exporters, constraints to export and the type of assistance valued by exporters. Download a copy of the report.
 

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Overview

Australia is one of the world’s most tech-savvy nations, with one of the fastest take-ups of new technology. It’s no surprise then that we were ranked fourth in the world for e-readiness by the Economic Intelligence Unit (EIU) in 2008. Our information and communication technology (ICT) market has grown at a rapid pace, thanks to our highly-educated workforce, investment in research and development and sophisticated business environment. The EIU also ranked us seventh in the world for the industry’s competitiveness in the 2008 survey, which it says was helped by the early deregulation of our telecommunications industry.

Today it is the fifth biggest ICT industry in Asia Pacific, and the 12th largest globally. In 2008, it was worth nearly $123 billion, employing around 388,000 people, a significant increase over a five year period. The workforce has a global reputation across a variety of specialties – which include security, intelligent transport systems, e-commerce, wireless networking and digital content. Most of these people were employed in the country’s growing number of small ICT companies – over 30,000 at last count – which include those in manufacturing, information media and telecommunications, wholesale trade, computer system design and related services, as well as electronic and precision equipment repair and maintenance.

Australia is also the source of a number of distinctive technologies – especially in the areas of e-health, e-government and financial services. Linked to this is Australia’s renown for protection of Intellectual Property, with a transparent and comprehensive set of IP legislation, which is strongly enforced.

The software industry has become the locus of a great deal of strategic foreign investment, thanks to a combination of low development costs and the highly-skilled workforce, traditionally delivering a high return to parent companies – thus further enhancing their competitiveness. Global giant Google have based their Google Maps division in Australia, and other major companies with well-established development facilities include NEC, Fujitsu and EDS.