Information – Literacy levels in Australia today

In Australia today, approximately 46% of adults aged 15 to 74 have a literacy level below what is considered enough to get by in everyday life.

The 2006 Adult Literacy and Life Skills Survey (ALLS) was conducted by the Australian Bureau of Statistics as part of an international study on literacy levels, coordinated by Statistics Canada and the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD).

The survey was broken into five different categories: prose, documents, numeracy, problem solving and health.

The developers of the study regarded a literacy level of 3 as the "minimum required for individuals to meet the complex demands of everyday life and work in the emerging knowledge-based economy."

In most of the categories, large percentages of people fell into the lowest levels of literacy: level 1 and level 2:

• Prose – 46% of the general population at Level 1 or 2
• Document – 47% of the general population at Level 1 or 2
• Numeracy – 53% of the general population at Level 1 or 2
• Problem solving – 70% of the general population at Level 1 or 2
• Health – 60% of the general population at Level 1 or 2

These results have important implications for large organisations and government departments. Successful communication strategies take these figures into account and shape printed resources or web content accordingly.

Under the Federal Disability Discrimination Act 1992, all governments in Australia – Commonwealth, State, Territory and local government – have a responsibility to provide equal access to information on laws and government programs.

The Information Access Group can assist in developing accessible materials that meet the diverse literacy needs of the contemporary Australian community.