Census explained

The Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) is taking a digital-first approach for the 2026 Census. Most households will get a letter with instructions to complete the Census online. This will include a Census number and temporary password. 

The ABS will provide paper forms to everyone who wants one. In areas where we expect a strong preference or need to use a paper form, we will deliver them directly to households.

Some of the reasons why areas will be selected to receive paper forms directly include:

• quality of the postal service  
• regional and remote locations
• past Census completion behaviours
• demographics.

In some areas Census staff will visit households to support people to understand and complete the Census form, or conduct in-person interviews.

The ABS works closely with local community organisations to ensure Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people are provided with culturally appropriate options to participate in the Census.

For remote Indigenous communities, the Census will be conducted over an extended period between July and September. This will give Census remote teams more time to visit remote communities and help people complete the Census

Census staff will visit remote communities between July and September to help people to complete the Census through face-to-face interviews.

• Doing the Census

For the first time, the ABS is partnering with Services Australia on a new option for people to subscribe to updates and access the 2026 Census through myGov.

myGov is a secure online service that allows people to access government services in one place. It is just one way to access the 2026 Census.

People who subscribe to Census updates through myGov will receive a link to the online form in their myGov Inbox when it is time to complete the Census. People who do not subscribe will still receive instructions by mail on how to complete the Census online or request a paper form.

Census information is collected and used by the ABS only for Census purposes. It is not collected or used by myGov or any other government services.

This means personal information is not prefilled when accessing the Census through myGov.

• Census updates through myGov

The ABS will have a range of support available to help people participate in the 2026 Census, including:

• people living with disabilities
• older Australians
• Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and their communities  
• people from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds
• people experiencing homelessness. 

A range of information and resources will be available to help people complete the Census, including educational resources, translated information, Census Pop-up Hubs and fill in form sessions, the Census Contact Centre and more, with support from the Translating and Interpreting Service (TIS National) and the National Relay Service (NRS).

• Help and support
• Complete with help

There are 66 questions on the 2026 Census form.

Census questions are categorised into nine topics:  

• Address
• People in the household
• Personal details
• Cultural background
• Personal characteristics and education
• Income and work
• Details of people who are away
• Dwellings and housing
• National Archives 

• About the Census questions

The 2026 Census includes new questions on gender and sexual orientation. These questions will help build a clearer picture of Australia’s LGBTQ+ population and support planning for health and community services.

The 2026 Census asks about a person’s sex recorded at birth. For people aged 16 years and older it also asks what a person’s gender is and how the person describes their sexual orientation.

A ‘prefer not to answer’ option is included for both new questions.

A question on sex has been included in every Australian Census since 1911. In 2026, that question has been updated to ask about sex recorded at birth alongside the new gender question.

Asking both questions will improve the quality of the data collected. Together, the answers will help produce data about cisgender, trans and gender diverse Australians.

The ABS recommended these new questions to government after extensive public consultation.

Because the Census is for everyone in Australia, the questions need to be easy to understand for people from a wide range of backgrounds and experiences.

The ABS carried out extensive public consultation and testing to develop the wording and response options.

More information

• About the Census questions | Sexual orientation
• About the Census questions | Gender
• Overview of the 2026 Census topic review
• Estimates and characteristics of LGBTI+ populations in Australia

The 2026 Census asks if a person is of Aboriginal origin, Torres Strait Islander origin, both or neither.

The Census provides important data for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.

It’s a key resource for communities, businesses and governments, informing decisions in areas like education, employment, health, infrastructure, and community services.

Counts of people who identified as being of Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander origin in the Census also inform statistics such as those used in Closing the Gap reporting.

Due to changes to the ancestry response categories in the 2021 Census, there was a significant increase in people selecting an Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander ancestry.

As a result, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander ancestry data from the 2021 Census is not directly comparable with previous censuses.

• Identification as an Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander person in the Census over time, 2011 to 2021
• Understanding change in counts of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians: Census
• Indigenous Status Standard

Since the first National Census in 1911, topics have changed on the Census form to reflect contemporary views and emerging data needs. This ensures Census data remains relevant and useful for decision making. It also adds value to the economic, social and cultural make-up of the country.  

Before making changes, the ABS considers how important the data is, whether it is available from other sources, and the impact on how easy the Census is to complete.

Ahead of the 2026 Census, the ABS undertook a two-phase consultation process on what topics to change.  

Following testing and stakeholder engagement, the ABS recommended the Australian Government collect gender and sexual orientation data in the 2026 Census.  

The Australian Government accepted this recommendation and announced a new topic for people aged 16 years and over. The Government also agreed to remove the ‘Number of children ever born’ topic and make minor wording updates.  

The final 2026 Census questions are available on the ABS website.

• 2026 Census topic review

Geelong is home to the world’s first AFL and Netball all-abilities leagues, welcoming all players with a disability to create real belonging in the community.

Data from the 2026 Census will help them plan for more inclusive sports.

• How AFL Barwon All Abilities AFL League uses Census data

Australian Business Volunteers help regional and remote communities solve real-world challenges by connecting them with business experts. 

2026 Census data will help them understand local communities and plan programs that create lasting impact.

• How Australian Business Volunteers uses Census data

Playgroup Australia uses Census data to understand changing community needs and ensure its playgroups remain relevant, flexible and accessible for families. 

Census data helps plan when and where playgroups are offered, including more weekend and after‑hours sessions. 

It also helps identify where new or specialised playgroups could support local families.

• How Playgroup Australia uses Census data

Street Side Medics brings doctor-led care to people experiencing homelessness - whether that’s sleeping rough in inner-Sydney or staying on a friend’s couch in a regional town.

The 2026 Census will help them identify more communities where their service is needed.

• How Street Side Medics uses Census data

The Man Cave is Australia’s leading preventative mental health charity for boys and young men, teaching the next generation how to support each other and embrace their vulnerability.

Data from the 2026 Census will help them better understand the communities that need their support around the country. 

• How The Man Cave uses Census data

To meet the evolving needs of a diverse range of data users, the ABS has redesigned its Census data products.  

From June 2027, Census data will be free and available through a range of products, making it easier to access and use:  

• For most topics, data will be released in June 2027
• For a smaller set of topics, such as employment, data will be released in October 2027, and  
• The remaining data, such as the distance people live from where they work, will be released in early 2028. 

• 2026 Census topics and data release plan

The 18th Australian Census of Population and Housing was on Tuesday 10 August 2021.

It was conducted during an unprecedented time in Australian history, during the second year of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The 2021 Census counted 25.4 million respondents, an increase of more than two million people or 8.6 per cent from the 2016 Census.

• Find Census data
• Guide to Census data
• Microdata and TableBuilder

Protecting people’s privacy and keeping information safe and secure is our highest priority and a key factor in designing all elements of the Census.

We’re working to optimise elements of the Census online service to improve user experience, quality and performance while ensuring it remains secure.

The Census website and online form were built based on Secure-by-Design principles and industry best practices informed by the Australian Cyber Security Centre (ACSC), industry partners and other experts.

The ABS is engaging with the ACSC on the implementation of technical advice and guidance to maintain data quality, privacy, security and availability of the Census systems.

To keep Census data safe and secure we also:

• store all information we collect and use on Australian-based cloud infrastructure
• undertake rigorous testing, including ethical hacks of our IT systems to ensure that our systems are secure
• run a 24x7 Security Operations Centre to monitor Census systems with real-time information and alerts on potential security threats.

A key purpose of the Census is to collect data for official population estimates.

Population estimates are calculated using Census data adjusted to account for people missed in the Census or who were overseas.

They include everyone who usually lives in Australia, regardless of their nationality or citizenship; including usual residents who are overseas for less than 12 months, and overseas visitors who are in Australia for more than 12 months.

Population estimates inform critical decisions such as the distribution of Commonwealth funding, setting of electoral boundaries, GST distribution and population projections.

• National, state and territory population
• Population statistics

The ‘Place of usual residence’ concept is not intended to measure temporary or service populations, or how many people there are in areas at different points in time.  

There are a range of regions around Australia that experience differences between their resident and service or seasonal populations, including:

• agricultural areas with a seasonal workforce  
• mining towns with fly in fly out workers
• tourist areas with seasonal visitor numbers

This is why the Census takes place in winter, when we expect the least amount of mobility across the population.

• Place of usual residence

The main way the ABS determines which homes have people living in them at Census time is based on whether or not they return a Census form.

If we receive a Census form for a home we mark it as ‘occupied’.

If we do not receive a Census form, we use other methods to determine whether it is occupied or not, including:

• ‘not at home’ forms submitted by residents through the ABS website
• residents who contacted the ABS with information
• information from Census field staff  
• other requests and point of contacts with dwellings.

Marking a home as ‘unoccupied’ does not necessarily mean it is vacant over the long term, rather that it was vacant on Census night. 

• Making the Census more efficient by reducing visits to empty houses

The first population counts in Australia were made as early as 1788.

From 1795 to 1825, ‘musters’ were held regularly where all members of the community gathered at specified locations to be counted.

In 1828, the first colonial Census was conducted in New South Wales, with Tasmania in 1841, South Australia in 1844, Western Australia in 1848, and Victoria in 1854.

In 1881, the first simultaneous Censuses of all the Australian colonies was conducted.

In 1911, the first national Census was conducted by the ABS. Around 7,300 people were appointed for the collection work.

Field Officers travelled by horse, cart and bicycle to collect forms across the country and the information collected was tabulated by hand.

The Census was repeated in 1921, 1933, 1947, 1954, 1961, 1966 and from then on, every five years.

In 1921, Census information was tabulated using mechanical machine equipment.  

The machines used in 1961 were so large that when delivered they could not fit through the door of the Census office in Canberra. A large hole had to be cut in the side of the wooden building to install them. The 1961 Census was the last to use tabulating machines.

In 1954, women were hired to process and code data for the first time.  

The 1967 Referendum mandated all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples be counted in the Australian Census.  

Computer technology was first used to process Census information in 1966, and people were provided with the option to complete their Census online in 2006.