It's not compulsory, especially governments. I never deal with government on the web at a personal level. If they expect me to fill in forms I simply say that I do not have the web and would they please send me a paper copy - which they're obliged to do at law - same goes for the census.

If the government expects me to do business with it on the internet then it will have to legislate to make it compulsory AND then provide me with the necessary dedicated hardware for said purpose.

Why would I act this way? Well, for quite some years I was the IT manager for a government department and I know how they work (or I should say don't work).

BTW, as IT manager I never used email within the department (perfunctorily emails sent to my office were received by secretarial staff). If the CEO wanted to send me an important memorandum then he had to have it typed up on paper and personally sign it (and I would reciprocate the same). When in government you quickly realize that atoms on paper and especially a written signature is real guaranteed worth - unlike ephemeral emails that can vanish without trace.

I'm forever amazed at the trust the average person has in these vulnerability-ridden flaky systems.