Using administrative data to build a more complete picture of Australia

We are using administrative data to improve the way we count people who fail to fill in a Census form. 

This is important because it helps us to make an accurate estimate of Australia’s population on Census night, including its demographic makeup. 

In 2021, when a household failed to complete a Census form, we used administrative data to identify a similar household and copy basic Census information from that household to represent the missed people. This information included the number of people in the household, their age, sex and marital status.

In the 2026 Census, we will use administrative data to better estimate the makeup of households who fail to return a Census form. 

As we did for the 2021 Census, we will use administrative data to adjust our count for houses we believe were occupied on Census night, but for which we didn’t receive a Census form. 

In 2026, we will improve the way we do this by using de-identified data specific to an individual house to fill in basic information about the people living in that house. The de-identified data does not include names, but enables us to more accurately fill in data about important demographic information such as age, sex and marital status. This will include de-identified data from government services like Medicare, Centrelink and the Australian Taxation Office. 

This approach is an improvement on what we did for the 2021 Census because data for people living at a particular house is more likely to be correct. We would also be able to fill more data gaps in areas where there is a low response, for example, if a natural disaster leads to reduced Census participation.

There will be houses where we do not receive a Census form and do not have specific administrative data. For these houses we will use the same approach we did in 2021.

Protecting your privacy and keeping your information secure is our highest priority. It’s a key part of how we design the Census.

We adhere to the Privacy Act 1988 and to the Australian Privacy Principles (APPs), which govern how we collect and use personal information.

Our privacy policies set out the personal information handling practices of the ABS. 

We’re also bound by the secrecy requirements of the Census and Statistics Act 1905, which ensures that information collected for a statistical purpose cannot be released in a manner that's likely to enable the identification of any individual or household.

You can read more about privacy at the ABS, or check out the disclaimer, security and copyright pages.