2026 Census product guide

The Census provides a valuable snapshot of information about Australians, reflecting our community at the time the Census is undertaken. 

Community groups, not-for-profit organisations, businesses and governments use Census data to make important decisions. Census data informs planning for schools, health care, transport and infrastructure and helps guide the planning and delivery of local services for individuals, families and communities. 

The next Census of Population and Housing will be conducted on 11 August 2026. For more information, see About the 2026 Census.  

The ABS will release 2026 Census data in a staged approach. There are three key release phases. 

1. First release – June 2027 
   Most topics will be available across nearly all geographic areas, presented by both place of usual residence and enumeration. 
2. Second release – October 2027 
   A smaller set of topics will be published, including employment-related data and location-based variables. 
3. Third release – Early to mid-2028 
   More complex topics requiring additional processing will be released, such as distance to work and Socio-Economic Indexes for Areas (SEIFA). 

Census data will be made publicly available through a range of products. These will include a streamlined selection of updated products based on the 2021 Census data product suite, alongside an updated offering of new downloadable formats and geospatial web services to replace DataPacks and GeoPackages.  

In April 2027, the ABS will release a product preview, giving users early access to some of the new and enhanced Census data products using reshaped 2021 Census data. 

The product preview is designed to support data users as they transition to the new Census data products. It will include materials to help users prepare for the full data release, such as data item lists, blank table shells and predefined dataset templates. 

Expand the section below for the list of topics that will be available in each release.  

The 2026 Census data will be released through a streamlined product suite. This suite includes enhancements to existing products, as well as a new tool providing new downloadable formats and geospatial web services to replace DataPacks and GeoPackages.  

Data from the 2026 Census will no longer be released through Community Profiles. Data from DataPacks and GeoPackages will now be available through the new tool for downloading aggregate data.  Access to historical data from earlier Censuses will continue to be available through the existing data products, including historical Community Profiles. 

Core products are being redesigned following extensive user consultation to ensure they meet the needs of a broad range of data users.  

For more information on the consultation process and the draft product proposals that informed the final 2026 Census product suite, please see Proposed 2026 Census data products.  

The core products for the 2026 Census include: 

• Enhanced QuickStats – A web-based summary product that provides key Census statistics for geographic areas, including some tables previously included in Community Profiles. It is designed for quick reference and accessibility, particularly for new or infrequent data users. QuickStats will also include new functionality allowing users to download data to their own systems and share the data with others in a variety of ways. 
• Enhanced Census TableBuilder – A self-service analysis tool that allows users to explore Census data by creating customised tables and cross-tabulations. It supports flexible analysis across a wide range of geographic areas. For the 2026 Census, TableBuilder will include new variables and pre-prepared tables to help users replicate common analyses previously available in Community Profiles.  
• New tool for downloading aggregate data - A self-service tool that enables users to download predefined aggregate datasets for analysis in their own software. Data can be downloaded in bulk or as individual tables in formats including .csv, .xlsx, shapefile, file geodatabase, .gpkg and other spatial file types. The tool also provides geospatial web services, making it easier to access and analyse Census data using GIS, mapping and other specialist software. 

Census data will also be accessible through several other products, such as microdata, Application Programming Interfaces (APIs) and Census data stories. For more information go to Other data products.

QuickStats offers a straightforward way to understand an area at a glance. They present a summary of key Census statistics for a chosen geographic area, including information about people, families, and dwellings. 

QuickStats can be found by going to Search Census data.  

There will be three types of QuickStats: 

• All persons 
• Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people 
• Country of Birth*  

*Country of birth QuickStats will be available for the top ~100 countries of birth other than Australia. 

For each QuickStats product, Census data will be displayed in tables grouped by topics that fit into the following categories: Persons, Families and Dwellings. QuickStats data in the ‘Persons’ category is based on where people usually live (place of usual residence). Data in the ‘Families’ and ‘Dwellings’ categories is based on where people were counted on Census night (place of enumeration).  

To help support previous users of Community Profiles, and to include new sexual orientation and gender data, a wider range of tables will be available in QuickStats for the 2026 Census data release. This involves including topics like income, housing costs and more. 

Existing tables have also been expanded to include more detailed information. Together, these improvements will help users learn more about selected areas in one place. 

Several enhancements have also been introduced to replicate key functionality previously available in Community Profiles.  

Planned enhancements to QuickStats for 2026 data include: 

• A population pyramid showing age and sex distribution for the selected area. 
• Options to download all available data, by topic or individual tables for an area.  
• A table expander option for selected topics including ancestry, country of birth, religious affiliation, occupation and industry of employment. Each of these tables can display up to the top 30 responses online. Downloaded data will include all responses. 
• Data sharing options including links to share content on social media and a range of citation options. 

These enhancements, excluding the population pyramid, will be applied to 2021 Census ‘all persons’ QuickStats for the April 2027 product preview. The full set of enhancements will be included in all 2026 Census QuickStats from the first data release in June 2027. 

Expand the sections below for planned data availability in QuickStats. 

TableBuilder allows users to create and customise tables using Census data. For further information on this product, including how to access it, see TableBuilder. 

For 2026 Census data, TableBuilder will include enhanced functionality to support both new and returning users including: 

• The reintroduction of the table preview function, allowing tables with fewer than 10,000 cells to be generated and viewed on screen before download.  
• A graph view, which allows users to create visualisations from table data.  

Other changes planned for the 2026 Census data release include: 

• Pre-defined tables to support common cross-tabulations previously available in Community Profiles.  
• Time series datasets for selected person and dwelling variables. 
• Improved help and supporting information. 

Expand the sections below for planned dataset availability in TableBuilder. 

A new product is being introduced for the 2026 Census that delivers an updated offering of new downloadable formats and geospatial web services to replace DataPacks and GeoPackages.  

This tool will have predefined datasets with detailed information about people, families and dwellings for a range of ABS and non-ABS geographical areas from the Australian Statistical Geography Standard (ASGS), ranging from Statistical Areas Level 1 (SA1) to Australia as a whole.  

Data downloads will be available in a range of file formats including .csv, .xlsx, and spatial formats such as geopackage and shapefile. Geospatial webservices will also be available for users. Metadata and reference documents will be available within the product to support data interpretation and use.  

This tool is intended for experienced data users who want to explore Census data using their own software or need to download data for many geographic areas at once. 

To help users prepare for the release of this new tool, the April 2027 product preview will include a tool preview, including a limited number of pre-defined datasets for a small selection of geographies based on 2021 Census data. During the product preview user resources and guides will also be made available to support users while they learn how to use the tool. Finalised blank table shells will also be made available at the same time. 

Expand the sections below for planned data availability in this new tool. 

The detailed microdata product is designed for complex data queries such as detailed analysis and modelling on appropriately confidentialised unit record data.   

The ABS is currently investigating whether the Detailed Microdata product will be made available as part of the first release and updated for later releases, or whether it will be made available as a part of the second release.  

The unidentified detailed unit record data will be available for analysis by approved researchers within the ABS's secure DataLab environment. A basic microdata product will not be provided as part of the 2026 Census product suite.  

Census data can also be accessed or explored using several other data products.  

The products include:  

• ABS Data APIs - Application Programming Interfaces (APIs) will provide machine-to-machine access to ABS statistics, allowing users to integrate Census data directly into their own systems. APIs are expected to be available close to the first data release. 
• Census data by topic - Topic-based stories, articles and visualisations will present Census data on areas of public interest. Summary spreadsheets will also be available. Content will be released progressively starting from the first data release.  
• Australian Census Longitudinal Dataset (ACLD) - The ACLD will continue to provide a longitudinal research dataset in TableBuilder and DataLab, linking a 5% sample of individuals across multiple Censuses, supporting analyses of how Australian society has changed over time. ACLD datasets are planned to be released in the third Census data release. 
• Interactive maps - Spatial visualisations that will allow users to explore pre-defined Census topics via a selected location. For 2021 Census data, these included Australia’s population movement and journey to work. Release scope and schedule is still to be decided. 
• Data Explorer - Data Explorer will provide a free web-based interface to search, view, query and download Census data. Data availability in Data explorer is expected to closely follow the main Census data releases. 
• Mesh block counts - Mesh blocks will provide limited population and dwelling counts for the smallest geographic areas in the Australian Statistical Geography Standard. Mesh blocks are expected to be available close to the first data release. 
• Socio-Economic Indexes for Areas (SEIFA): SEIFA will provide measures of relative socio-economic advantage and disadvantage for areas across Australia based on Census data. SEIFA is planned to be released as part of the third Census data release. 
• Estimates of Homelessness – Census-based estimates will provide information on the number and characteristics of people experiencing homelessness in Australia. Estimates of homelessness are expected to be released as part of the third Census data release.