ACS Australia’s Digital Pulse 2019

There are three pillars to the ACS strategy; Capacity is about ensuring there are sufficient technology professionals in Australia to underpin a successful digital economy and be the fuel that materially lift living standards, Capability is about enabling productive Australian industries and ensuring that the skills available in the profession are higher up the value chain in order to attract higher paying jobs, while Catalyst relates to sparking innovation by facilitating tech R&D and supporting Australian technology commercialisation.

ACS Australia’s Digital Pulse is an annual snapshot on the state of Australia’s digital economy. Capacity and Capability remain a focus of the snapshot where we look at employments and education trends in technology occupations. This year, we wanted to explore Catalyst in depth and the types of policy levers that could deliver a material lift in living standards.

In doing so, we ask a number of fundamental questions:

• Digitally enabled growth requires investments in new technologies. Capital is globally mobile. Is Australia an internationally competitive destination that will attract the investment required to drive future growth and innovation?
• How may government foster innovative ecosystems by directing and regulating markets?
• To what degree do different rates of technology investment and adoption determine productivity and living standards growth?
• How well suited is Australia’s tax policy framework to digital investments?
• While university technology course completions have been seen slight growth, the future forecast for technology skills has not materially changed over the last four years. Previously we have investigated skills migration and overseas student participation in Australia’s university system. This year, we seek to analyse the economics of reskilling.

Finally, with the large infrastructure commitments across Federal and State Governments, we undertake a case study investigating the economic benefits of Smart Cities and Smart Infrastructure.