Family and Community Experiences Survey

Use the 'Complete your survey' button below and/or log in using your ABS survey account and access your survey.

This survey collects information about social and online interactions, employment, education, and the general health and well-being of people living in Australia. The information you provide will contribute to important decisions being made for your local area and the wider Australian community.

We value your time participating in this survey. It is only with your support that we can continue to produce the statistics that inform Australia's important decisions.

The ABS takes the privacy and security of your information very seriously. The Household Special Surveys Collection Notice explains how we collect personal information for the Family and Community Experiences Survey (FaCES) in compliance with the Australian Privacy Principle 5 (Privacy Act, 1988). To view our Privacy Policy for Statistical Information visit www.abs.gov.au/privacy. 

Each year we collect information about all aspects of life from thousands of households across Australia to better understand our population and future needs. To do this, we use a fair statistical method to randomly select households from all over Australia so that the information we collect is representative of all communities, backgrounds, and situations.

Everyone has a chance of selection for this important national survey. Once we have selected a household, we cannot substitute another household in its place, as this could mean some parts of the community are under or overrepresented.

It is important that all selected households complete the survey to make sure the results represent the whole community. This means decision makers use accurate information, to inform investment in services provided by government, local councils, and community groups. 

Please choose an adult in your household to complete the first part of the survey. They will need to answer general questions about your household. 

Then we will randomly select one person from your household, aged 18 years or over. They will complete the rest of the survey with an ABS Interviewer. 

If we do not hear from you, an ABS Interviewer may contact you to help you complete your survey.

The Family and Community Experiences Survey is a compulsory survey conducted by the ABS.  We are asking the questions included in this survey under the authority of the Census and Statistics Act 1905. Under the Act, you are obliged to provide the information we request, unless otherwise stated. 

The ABS has a strong reputation for retaining confidentiality of data. Our privacy policy outlines how you can access and correct the personal details that you provide to us and our privacy complaints handling process.

The ABS collects and securely stores different kinds of personal information. For more details about the information we collect please see our Household Special Surveys Collection Notice.

The first part of the survey will ask questions about the people in your household, including their age, country of birth and relationships to each other. We will then ask the selected person a range of questions about their:

• social and online interactions
• employment and education
• first and main language spoken and ancestry
• general health and well-being.

If you need help to complete this survey, please call us on 1800 136 387 (free call, excluding mobile phones). Where possible, an ABS Interviewer who is fluent in the language of the householder will conduct the interview. If there is someone in the household who can translate, and the selected person agrees, they can help the interviewer.

There are two parts to the Family and Community Experiences survey.

The easiest way to complete part 1 is online.  Please choose someone from your household, aged 18 years or older, to be your household representative. This representative should follow the instructions on the letter to create your ABS Survey Account and complete the first part of the survey. 

To complete part 1 online, click the link below.

Complete your survey

You will need to create an account and enter the Form Access Code from the letter you received in the mail. 

For help creating an account, or if you have difficulties completing your survey online, please see our Survey Account Help page.

If you are having trouble finding or using your Form Access Code, or need further assistance, please call 

1800 136 387 and one of our ABS Officers will assist you.

Can’t go online?

We understand that not everyone can go online. 

To start part 1 with an ABS Interviewer over the phone please call 1800 136 387. You will need to complete the first part of the survey by the date specified on your letter.

To complete part 2. 

For part 2 of the survey, we will randomly select one person from your household, aged 18 years or over. The selected person will complete part 2 with an ABS Interviewer. 

We expect to contact the selected person within 8 weeks. An ABS interviewer will arrange a time to visit your address to complete the second part of the survey. During this appointment, the interviewer will explain the purpose of the survey and answer any questions. They will record survey answers on a laptop computer. It would be appreciated if a table and chair could be provided for the interviewer.

If we do not hear from you an ABS Interviewer may come to your home to help your household complete both parts of your survey. ABS Interviewers will always identify themselves as an ABS officer and show you their official ABS photo identification. 

ABS Interviewers are here to help. Please treat them with courtesy and consideration.

If we have selected you in the Family and Community Experiences Survey, we will send you a letter and brochure informing you of your selection and how to complete the survey. 

You may receive calls from numbers that you are not familiar with, including mobile phones or ‘unknown’ numbers. Our interviewers use ABS authorised mobile phones and office phones to make contact. The ABS will never ask you to provide or confirm your bank details or tax file number (TFN).

If you have any concerns, you can call us on 1800 136 387 and we can confirm your selection in the survey and the identity of the staff member who is contacting you. 

ABS Interviewers are here to help. Please treat them with courtesy and consideration.

If you need help or more information about the Family and Community Experiences Survey, please call us on 1800 136 387 Monday to Friday 9am to 7pm AEST.

For help outside these hours please leave a message with your contact details and we will call you back. You can also complete a Household Survey help request form and we will call you as soon as possible.