This image shows a question from the 2026 Census online form. This question asks: What is Person 1’s current marital status?
Underneath the question text, the instructional text states: ‘Married’ refers to registered marriages.
Underneath the instructional text, is a clickable More Information header. Once clicked, the More Information is shown, and states: If the person is divorced or widowed and has remarried, select ‘Married’. If the person is divorced and has not remarried, select ‘Divorced’, even if the person lives in a de facto relationship. If the person is in a de facto relationship and has not been in a registered marriage, select ‘Never married’.
The response options are: Never married; Widowed; Divorced; Separated but not divorced; Married.
How this variable is created
This variable captures the response from the marital status question on the Census form. Responses are captured automatically from mark boxes; this reduces processing errors.
If more than one response is provided, the first response on the form is used.
If the marital status question is not answered, a response is sourced from either administrative data or using imputation.
History and changes
A question on marital status has been asked in every Census since 1911.
In 2026, administrative data sources have been incorporated into the data processing system, improving data quality and reducing the number of responses requiring imputation.
