Literacy affects access to government services and information

Literacy is a person’s ability to read and write. It is also how well they can access written text in digital and print formats.

The effect of literacy on people’s lives is profound. It influences how they interact with each other and how they approach education, work and government.

Low literacy can make it hard to access government services and information.

Factors that affect literacy in English include:

• where people live
• their linguistic background
• their education
• how old they are
• their abilities and limitations
• how they access information.

Reading levels in Australia

‘Reading level’ is the level of education someone needs to be able to read text. It is one way to measure literacy.

In Australia:

• about 44% of adults read at literacy level 1 to 2 (a low level)
• 38% of adults read at level 3
• about 15% read at level 4 to 5 (the highest level).

People at a reading level 1 read at a primary school equivalent level. They can understand short sentences.

Note: Percentages do not add to 100.

Sources: Reading level statistics are from ABS (2013). Australian school-level equivalents for each OECD classification level are from ABS et al. (2017).

Education and literacy

People with higher literacy – as measured by reading level – generally have had access to a better education.

Many factors influence people’s access to education, including where they live.

Post-school education is easier to access if you live in a major city. For example, people in cities are more likely to have a bachelor degree than people in regional areas. But there are also areas of disadvantage in the major cities.

An education doesn’t guarantee a reading level that matches the qualification. For example, about 30% of Australians have a diploma or higher, but only 1.2% of Australians can read at that level.

Many people maintain their high-school reading level even if they go on to tertiary studies.

Clear content helps all users

Regardless of literacy levels, all users want to be able to interact with government easily. Respect their time by writing in plain language. Check that your content is a reading level 2 (Australian year 7 equivalent). This level also helps users with higher literacy. 

Users with higher education also prefer content that’s easy to read. People with the highest literacy levels tend to be time-poor and have the most to read. The preference for plain English increases with:

• a person’s level of education
• the complexity of the topic.

Content for general consumption needs to be accessible by everyone, regardless of literacy. Specialist content is more accessible for technical users when written in plain language.

Understanding users

Before you start writing, do user research. Don’t assume that everyone can access, read and understand what you write.

Always make it simple for people to get what they need to do with government done. People might need an alternative to the digital service.