About the industry

Video Clipping about ICT Industry

The ICT Sector

The Australian information and communications technology (ICT) sector is a dynamic industry spanning a diverse array of businesses in areas from computer hardware and software, networking and communications to the Internet, telecommunications, multimedia and more.

As technology becomes ever more entrenched in our modern lifestyle, enabling every aspect of commerce, government, education, communications and entertainment, the ICT sector is playing an increasing role in driving economic growth and prosperity, accounting for 4.6% of GDP and 13.8% of total investment in Australia.

According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS), ICT makes a greater contribution to the economy than agriculture, forestry and fishing, defence and education.

A report released in March 2006 by the Department of Communications, Information Technology and the Arts (DCITA) also highlighted the importance of ICT as the main technological driver of productivity growth.

The report, entitled Forecasting productivity growth: 2004 to 2024, forecast that Australia will continue to benefit from the strong technological momentum in ICT and its many applications for the next two decades. Growth is particularly expected in areas that are already heavy users of technology, such as finance, manufacturing, telecommunications and trade.

In 2002-03, the Australian ICT sector comprised around 24,000 companies which together achieved revenues of almost $80 billion, according to the ABS. Computer services businesses dominate the industry at 77 per cent, followed by whole trade companies (8 per cent). A significant percentage of these revenues related to imported products, with locally produced goods and services valued at $49.1 billion during the same period.

The vast majority (over 95 per cent) of ICT businesses are small, employing fewer than 20 people. Around 68 per cent of ICT workers are male, with men dominating technical and professional roles (79 per cent). A range of initiatives have been developed to encourage more women into the ICT workforce, including a number spearheaded by the ACS.

Foreign ownership is high, with multinational companies accounting for 43 per cent of all employment in 2001, and earning 60 per cent of industry income.

Geographically, NSW and Victoria are the main focus for ICT business, employing roughly three-quarters of Australian ICT specialists, however the ACT, Queensland and WA have each achieved substantial growth in recent years.

Australia imports ICT goods primarily from Asia and Europe, with the main sources for 2004-05 being China ($4.2 billion), Malaysia ($1.7 billion), Republic of Korea ($1.25b), Singapore ($1.1b), Taiwan ($1b), Japan ($1b), Thailand ($361 million), Hong Kong ($321m), Germany ($308m) and the UK ($258m).

Australia's largest export market continues to be New Zealand ($648 million), followed by the United States ($262m), Singapore ($125m), Hong Kong ($85m), the UK ($80m), Germany ($79m), India ($67m) and China ($57m).

In terms of employment, there were 274,132 people employed by Australia's ICT industries at the end of June 2005, according to the ABS. ICT specialist business accounted for 89.1 per cent of this employment. The business groupings employment the most people were computer services (41.1 per cent), telecommunications services (27.1 per cent), and wholesale trade (24.6 per cent).

Across the wider economy, the ABS Labour Force Survey recorded 371,150 people employed in ICT related positions in August 2006. This consisted of 253,850 people in direct ICT roles (including IT managers, computing professionals and computing support technicans) and 117,300 in engineering and trades" occupations. 91.8 per cent fo these people were employed full-time.

Of these ICT employees, 84.5 per cent were male and people under 30 years of age make up 27.7 per cent.

The ACS is the recognised professional association for the Australian ICT sector, representing the views of technologists to government, industry and the community.

The ACS believes that Australia's future prosperity is totally dependent on ICT professionalism. True professionalism, and its underlying commitment to a Code of Ethics and Code of Professional Conduct and Practice, continuing knowledge and skills development, demands a level of excellence, rigour, integrity and honesty that must represent a key competitive advantage.

In mid-2006, the ACS initiated the Technologists in the Public Interest (TIPI) program, which is designed to build public trust and business confidence in the ICT profession. Through TIPI, the ACS seeks to create a stronger identity for ICT professionals and to introduce recognised minimum standards and certifications for those working in safety-critical or high risk areas such as security.

While it is unusual for an industry to seek self-regulation for itself, the ICT profession believes this is the best way to raise professional standards and ultimately to boost confidence in ICT.

In the absence of a nationally-recognised certification, the ACS believes that choosing security professionals who are members of a professional association - and bound by a code of ethics and conduct as well as being committed to their own professional development - is a legitimate risk mitigation strategy.