Arabic version: التحول الرقمي يتحدى استقلالية كبار السن الأستراليين

According to ABC News, older Australians are struggling to retain independence as banking, government support and other everyday services move online. The gap is placing greater responsibility on relatives, neighbours and retirement-village staff who help people navigate digital systems.

In Balingup, Western Australia, 72-year-old Wendy Trow helps her 85-year-old sister, Marjorie Jones, access online aged-care services and banking. Ms Trow said the bank’s move away from cheques was a turning point, leaving Ms Jones to give up financial independence and rely on her sister. Ms Jones, a former nurse, said computers make her nervous and that she would be in aged care without Ms Trow’s support.

Balingup, nearly three hours southeast of Perth, has a median age of 58, about two decades above the Australian figure. Ms Trow has also organised volunteers to assist older residents with My Aged Care services, though she said they had received no training. She said people in rural towns and cities could be falling through the cracks because digital access is too difficult.

Australian Digital Inclusion Index data showed more than 65 per cent of people over 75 were digitally excluded. Its 2025 study recorded improved access and digital ability over the previous two years, but access for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, regional and remote residents, people with disability and public-housing residents remained below the national average.

Patricia Sparrow, chief executive of Council on the Ageing Australia, said services could be digital first but not digital only, warning exclusion can leave people isolated. Brisbane’s Bolton Clarke retirement villages began digital-literacy seminars three years ago, covering online searches, scams and artificial intelligence. Wendy Trow said vulnerable residents needed face-to-face help with banking and government support in every community.