Using administrative data to enrich Census data and create new insights

We are using administrative data to enhance the quality, useability and timeliness of Census data. 

This is important because Census data is used by a range of people and organisations to make decisions which affect communities across Australia. This includes governments who use it to inform policy, planning, resource allocation and service delivery.

In 2021, we supplemented Census data with de-identified administrative income data from the Australian Taxation Office (ATO) and the Department of Social Services (DSS). This enhanced the quality and richness of the Census. 

The 2021 data provided more detail about people’s income in the financial year prior to the Census, including in more specific income ranges, their main source of income and the main type of government benefit payment they received.

In 2026, we will build on our approach for 2021, using similar data from the ATO and DSS. We have made improvements to our methodology which will enable us to:

• publish income data sooner, as part of the first release of 2026 Census data in June 2027
• include a wider range of income data
• produce more accurate income information from administrative data.

We will also improve how we present this data to make it easier to access and use. It will be published in all Census data products.

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.