The average level of literacy in Australia, as reported in United Nations surveys of adult competencies, is lower than you might expect. 

On a scale of 0 to 5 (set by the Programme for the International Assessment of Adult Competencies), almost half the population surveyed (45%) registered below level 3, the minimum comprehension level needed for adult everyday reading:

• level 0 (readers can understand only basic vocabulary) – 5% of those surveyed 

• level 1 (readers can decode the meanings of words and sentences) – 10% 

• level 2 (readers can make low-level inferences from matching texts) – 30% 

• level 3 (readers can interpret and evaluate significant information from several texts) – 38% 

• level 4 (readers can synthesise layered and conditional information from complex or mixed text types, and evaluate their bases of argument) – 15%

• level 5 (readers can synthesise similar and contrasting arguments, evaluate the reliability of evidence, interpret rhetorical cues and make high-level inferences) – 2%.

It is important to refer to these levels when you are deciding what level of readability to aim for in your writing.