Wujal Wujal
Wujal Wujal is an Aboriginal community located on the Bloomfield River in Cape York, North Queensland. While 4G mobile is the primary means of phone and internet access for Wujal Wujal residents, coverage is patchy and was described as unreliable, slow and having low penetration inside houses. In 2023, a major flood event severely impacted the community and left the local communications services inactive for several weeks. Long-term upgrades are required to ensure communications resilience, redundancy and reliability of the mobile and communications network in future.
170km from Cairns
Eastern Kuku Yalanji people
2025 Digital Inclusion score
ADII scores range from 0 to 100. The higher the score, the greater the level of digital inclusion. ADII scores are relative: they allow comparisons across different social groups, different geographic areas, and over time.
2025 Dimension scores
We measure digital inclusion across the three dimensions of Access, Affordability and Digital Ability; identified as the key requirements of digital inclusion. Where early research on digital inclusion focuses on questions of access, subsequent work highlights affordability challenges, and shows the importance of digital skills or abilities as the use of online technologies has grown. To understand and address digital inclusion, it is important to pay attention to Access, Affordability and Digital Ability simultaneously.
Community Outcomes Reports
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Wujal Wujal, QLD 2024 community update report5 May 2024 Read PDF online |
Summary
This report outlines updated findings on digital inclusion in Wujal Wujal, an Aboriginal community located in Cape York in Far North Queensland. It aims to assist community agencies, leaders and residents to better understand the barriers to digital inclusion, develop local strategies to address these barriers, and support planning and partnerships with government and industry.
Key findings
- Mobile phone access has declined since the 2022 survey, down from 97% to 88%.
- 83% of the population had no form of fixed home internet, down from 91% in 2022.
- Internet affordability was worse since the 2022 survey, with 73% compromising on internet speed or quality due to affordability and 40% cutting back on essential household costs to afford internet access.
- A majority of people were regularly using digital services such as online banking (86%), social media (86%) and online shopping (69%).
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Wujal Wujal, QLD community update report5 Dec 2023 Read PDF online |
Summary
Building on the 2022 community outcomes report, this update report is intended to assist community agencies, leaders and residents to better understand the barriers to digital inclusion, develop local strategies to address these barriers, and support planning and partnerships with government and industry stakeholders. This report presents research findings to date, comparing survey results from 2022 to 2023, outlining changes in communications and media services and usage, and renewing the analysis section with 2023 findings and quotes.
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Wujal Wujal, QLD community outcomes report4 Oct 2022 Read PDF online |
Summary
This report is intended to assist the Wujal Wujal Aboriginal Shire Council (WWASC) and community agencies to better understand the key barriers to digital inclusion in Wujal Wujal. It is designed to provide a basis for a local digital inclusion plan. This report along with a digital inclusion plan will assist in identifying infrastructure and program needs, to enable a targeted approach for advocacy with government and industry stakeholders. This report is also part our commitment to Indigenous data sovereignty, to ensure data collected and research findings from this project are available to the participating communities to use for their own analysis, planning and advocacy.
population (ABS 2021)
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders (ABS 2021)
occupied dwellings; 3.4 people per ATSI household (ABS 2021)
Research Partner
Wujal Wujal Aboriginal Shire Council
Wujal Wujal Aboriginal Shire Council is a community-focused organisation dedicated to empowering the people of Wujal Wujal. The Council collaborates with regional partners to enhance the growth of the town, and create a positive future for its residents. As a steward of local traditions and heritage, Wujal Wujal Aboriginal Shire Council prioritises programs that strengthen community ties and preserve cultural values.
Local Research Team
Community co-researchers are employed in each community to support research activities and contribute research findings between site visits. These roles provide local jobs and support capacity building.
Community co-researchers play a central role in the research, liaising between the research team and the local community, providing cultural guidance to the research team, acting as translators, facilitating research activities, identifying possible participants and communicating information to community members.
We’d like to extend our gratitude to the support of our Wujal Wujal co-researchers and research partners:
Lexton Nandy
Co-Researcher
Marie Shipton
Co-Researcher
Vincent Tayley
Co-Researcher
Dallas Walker
Co-Researcher
Kiley Hanslow
CEO, Wujal Wujal Aboriginal Shire Council
Photos from research activities
Mapping the Digital Gap
Mapping the Digital Gap is the first extensive study of digital inclusion and use of media and communications services in remote First Nations communities across Australia. Using qualitative and quantitative research methods, the project is providing data to help measure progress on Closing the Gap Target 17, which aims for equivalent levels of digital inclusion for First Nations people by 2026.
Mapping the Digital Gap is a partnership project between the ARC Centre of Excellence for Automated Decision-Making and Society (ADM+S) and funding partner Telstra, as part of the Australian Digital Inclusion Index research suite. The research team also partner with local First Nations organisations and co-researchers to undertake on-site research annually in participating communities.