Cyber safety in remote Aboriginal communities and towns: interim report

In September 2015, the Swinburne Institute for Social Research commenced a two year research project on safety and wellbeing as they relate to communication technologies, in remote Aboriginal communities and towns. This report provides an overview of findi ngs from the first phase of the project. A final report will be available in mid 2017. Telstra is funding the project as an action within the 'Connection and Capability' priority focus area of its Reconciliation Action Plan 2015 - 18. The research has been i nitiated for the benefit of Indigenous people and is being conducted to inform Telstra's strategy regarding cyber safety for this particular consumer group. It is also intended to inform social and community obligations related to Telstra's recent partners hip with the Northern Territory Government to extend mobile phone reception to remote areas, including Indigenous communities. The first , needs - analysis phase of the project, conducted from September 2015 to June 2016, involved seeking feedback on these is sues from a cross - section of Northern Territory (NT) Aboriginal people living in a regional centre, a larger community and a smaller settlement, with different histories of exposure to I nformation and Communication Technology (ICT). As described in this re port, we found that there are particular mobile phone practices and internet uses occurring among remote Aboriginal people in the Northern Territory leading to identifiable cyber safety problems. Some of these practices, and the resulting issues, appear to be different from those experienced by other segments of the Australian population.