The damning finding was included in Telstra’s Australian Digital Inclusion Index, which rates affordability, ability and access to the digital sphere.

Tasmania’s digital inclusion is 49.7, the lowest of any state or territory in Australia.

While the state’s score fell by two points between 2015 and 2016, it recovered by 1.6 points in 2017.

But the report discovered the gap between Tasmania and the national average was widening, with a national average gain of two points.

The state ranks last across all three sub-indices, which found digital ability and affordability were the biggest contributors to Tasmania’s digital divide.

Scores on both sub-indices are about seven points below the national average, and the gap has widened since 2014.

The Australian Capital Territory lead the country with an overall score of 59.9 followed by Victoria, New South Wales, the Northern Territory, Western Australia, Queensland, South Australia and Tasmania, which lagged at 49.7.

Hobart is the most digitally included place in Tasmania, with a ranking of 54.

Despite a strong statewide position, Hobart’s score has improved little over the past four years.

After recording a score of 52.2 in 2014, Hobart’s digital inclusion level fell for the next two years [52.1 and 50], before making a solid recovery in 2017 [up four points to 54].

Hobart’s score remains 4.6 points lower than the national average for capital cities, but this is an improvement from 2016, when the gap was 6.8 points.

Digital inclusion in rural Tasmania is relatively low, at 46.5 points, and has fallen from a high of 48.5 in 2015, when it was above the national rural average.

Rural Tasmania now sits 4.2 points below the national rural average of 50.7.

Launceston and North East Tasmania have experienced similar fluctuations, recording a high of 51.0 in 2015, before a sharp 4.2-point decline in 2016 [to 46.8], then a modest 0.9-point recovery to its current level of 47.7.

The executive of Tasmania’s peak information and technology body has described the results as “very concerning”, and renewed his calls for coding to be introduced in schools. 

TasICT chief executive Will Kestin said research had shown 75 per cent of future jobs will require STEM skills and estimates of 40 per cent of careers may be digitally disrupted or eliminated.

“If these projections are even close, it is only going to get worse for Tasmanians,” Mr Kestin said. 

“The government, educational institutions and industry must take responsibility to change the status quo in productive strategies and partnerships.

“Digital inclusion should be bi-partisan issue, as it underpins the success of every industry sector and will improve the lives of all Tasmanians.”

Mr Kestin cited Queensland’s system of teaching children from kinder about technology and coding.

“The same needs to happen here and these results clearly support that,” he said. 

“It’s important for educational institutions to partner more with industry to keep curriculum current and relevant with the jobs of the future.”