2024/25 Be Connected program impact

More than 48K people was supported during the last year, and 81.5% of learners reported increased digital skills in one or more areas.

The Be Connected program empowers older people in Australia to use technology and feel safer and more confident online. It is an initiative funded by the Department of Social Services and delivered in partnership with Good Things and the eSafety Commissioner.

Under the Be Connected program, Good Things offer four funding opportunities that also include free training, resources and support for participating community organisations.

Building Digital Skills: $3,000 – $20,500 funding so organisations can run a program to support over 50s to be connected. Applications open almost every month of the year.
Capacity Building: $52,500 to run train-the-trainer programs for staff or volunteer digital mentors, so more people learn how to support others. Two rounds open per year
Digital Device: $5,000 funding to create a digital device library and loan devices to over 50’s so they can be connected. Applications open once a year.
Get Online Week: Every year, hundreds of fun digital skills events are held in communities across Australia for Get Online Week. Community organisations can apply for $1,000 to host an event. Grant is available once a year.

Be Connected has been running in Australia since 2017 and has helped over 2 million people to be safer and more confident online.

We’ve been crunching the numbers for the last financial year and are thrilled with the impact the program continues to have across the country.

Through our Be Connected programs in FY 24/25:

50,000 people were supported to learn digital skills
$4M+ grant funding was awarded to community organisations to power their work closing the digital divide

We have also seen some great outcomes for people learning through and delivering this program.

Be Connected learners this year

Since July 2024, older Australians participating in the Be Connected program at a local network partner have built up their digital skills and social connections.

82% of learners

said they increased their digital skills from participating in a Be Connected program in their local community

71% of learners

increased their everyday independence from participating in Be Connected at a local organisation.

90% of learners

said that their digital mentor listened to them and understood their needs.

92% of learners

would recommend this training to other people in their age group.

Over 50s getting support at a local organisation fill out a form before and after attending the sessions called Digital Skills Checkers, which assess a learner’s level of confidence in doing essential, everyday activities online and provide instant, actionable steps on how to improve. This form also gives us valuable data on their progress and the impact the program has had.

We love our digital mentors!

Digital mentors working in community organisations are at the heart of the Be Connected program’s success.

In FY 24/25, over 2,000 digital mentors were upskilled through our webinars, events and the Capacity Builders program, and are now ready to support people in their communities.

We are really pleased with the results and the positive impact the Be Connected program has on its participants. We couldn’t do it without our amazing network of community partners.

We look forward to to continue working with our network of more than 4,000 community organisations around Australia to close the digital divide so no one is left behind.

Video transcript

Trudy: A lot of people that come to our sessions are really afraid of technology, so we spend a lot of time teaching them that these things can’t be broken and to try things out. So much of life now is dependent on technology and being able to use technology, and so many people are being left behind.

So it’s really great to have people come along to our classes and we can help them to overcome that fear and even just learn one thing throughout the session.

Stephen: The most common questions we get often relate to things like passwords. These are the things that probably cause people the most grief and the most concern.

We get a lot of questions about security. A lot of people concerned about being scammed and amazing numbers of people that we engage with have been scammed. So, we get a lot of questions about that.

Also a lot of questions relating to how they communicate with their families. How to send photographs. How to do their online banking.

Robyn: I think its important to learn these skills with the way technology is moving forward. You really have to be able to keep up with it. I have learnt so much this year on how to make life easier with technology.

I do all my banking online now, which is fabulous, I don’t go to the bank. I do a lot of puzzles which is so much easier than the books in the old days. Google – I couldn’t be without Google. Because if you don’t know anything you look it up straight away! It’s wonderful, it’s wonderful!

I’m finding technology is making life a whole lot easier than what it was.

Bob: It is too easy to get left behind as an older person and stay with what your comfortable with rather than learning new things. And, using the computer and the phone, it allows you to access information, other people, it opens up a whole new world.

I don’t know all that’s on my phone so I want to learn more.

I want to be able to talk to my 16 year old grand daughter on the same level!

Get support to learn

Use our network map or contact us to be put in touch with an organisation in your area running a Be Connected program.

Access our grants program

Find out more about our grants and how your organisation can get involved.