A raft of trending Australian and global news events resulted in 21.16 million people, or 95.6 per cent of online Australians aged 14 and over, using a news website or app during July, which was slightly up on the June data.
Australians spent nearly five hours (4.9 hours) consuming news content online during July, which was slightly down on the same time last year, when people were spending around 5.2 hours consuming news online.
Trending Australian news stories included the Melbourne childcare worker abuse scandal, the guilty verdict in the Erin Patterson “mushroom murder” trial and the subsequent stories about her life in prison, the search and successful rescue of missing German backpacker Carolina Wilga, the death of Australian actor Julian McMahon, the “bomb cyclone” event that lashed the NSW coast, and the deciding match of the 2025 NRL State of Origin series.
In global news, the “CEO kiss cam” scandal, where a tech company CEO and chief HR officer were allegedly caught in an affair on a “kiss cam” during a Coldplay concert in Boston dominated headlines, along with the Russian earthquake and Pacific tsunami warning, the deaths of Liverpool footballer Dioga Jota and Black Sabbath frontman Ozzy Osbourne, the Air India crash investigation, and Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs trial verdict.
Rise In Home & Property
Last month, 13.9 million, or 63 per cent, of Australians aged over 14 used a home and property website or app, spending an average of 44 minutes a month, researching both private and commercial property. The data reveals home and property content was most popular with women—who were 10 per cent more likely to consume home and property content, and particularly women aged over 55, who were 22 per cent more likely than men of the same age group to visit these websites and apps.
Energy Suppliers, Events & Health
Categories with the highest month-on-month growth in July were energy suppliers/utilities (+4.16 per cent), events and attractions (+2.06 per cent), and health (+1.8 per cent), with most other categories remaining stable or showing a modest decline, compared to the peak audiences recorded in June.
Categories with the largest year-on-year increases in online audiences were automotive (+5.3 per cent), energy suppliers/utilities (+4.2 per cent), health, and entertainment (both +3.4 per cent).
Ipsos iris, Australia’s digital audience measurement currency endorsed by IAB Australia, showed that 22.127 million Australians used the internet in July. Australians aged 14+ spent an average of 4.8 hours per day online in July, which was up 4.3 per cent compared to the same time last year.
The most consumed website and app categories in July were social networking (22 million), search (21.99 million), technology (21.9 million), and retail and commerce, and entertainment (both 21.7 million).
Ipsos iris, which officially launched in March 2023, provides accurate data about the 22.1 million Australians aged 14+ who access a wide variety of digital content and services across smartphone, PC/laptop and tablet devices.
