Reporter NICK OVERALL previews August’s national census and why it’s important.

WHERE the first census quizzed Australians on the number of horned cattle they owned, 2021’s will ask whether the sex they identify with matches their biological sex.

That first census in 1828 reflected an Australia that was but a fledgling colony of convicts whose population, as measured by the survey, stood at 36,598.

That’s less than the number of staff who will help conduct 2021’s census: 38,000, according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics’ national spokesperson Andrew Henderson.

The last census was in 2016, measuring the population at 23,401,892 and was more interested in whether or not Australians had access to a little thing called the internet.

Canberrans were revealed to be more young, single and rich than the rest of Australia. The ACT’s median age is 35 compared to 38 nationally, 37 per cent of people are unmarried vs the country’s 35 per cent, and a median weekly income is $998 against the national average of $662.

It did also show that Canberrans pay some of the highest housing rates in the country, a figure that will likely have only gone up more in the results of the next census in August.

The largest and most significant gathering of statistics in the county, it will want to know about rents, mortgages, incomes, religion and languages, to name a few.

“The census is used to inform important decisions about transport, schools, health care, infrastructure and business. It also helps plan local services for individuals, families and communities,” says Andrew.

What do people think about it?

Well, considering failure to comply can result in a $200 fine for every day it’s still not completed, it’s not like there’s a lot of choice.

The last census saw a 95 per cent response rate, but it seemed Australians had become a little more distrustful of the security of their data than before. The Australian Bureau of

Statistics reported more respondents answered with a fake name than usual, and fewer people agreed to have their data kept by the national archives.

That could come from the survey’s rapid shift to a “digital first” format. In 2016, we saw for the first time a majority of participants (64 per cent) respond to the survey online.
With the ABS expecting the number of online respondents to go up this year, Andrew says they’re prioritising the safety of people’s data.

“ABS research indicates that the majority of Australians would prefer to complete the census online rather than by paper,” he says.

“We expect around 75 per cent of forms will be completed online and we’re working with the Australian government to do everything possible to deliver a safe and secure online Census in 2021.”

With this push for more people to complete the census online, households this year will be receiving instructions in the mail on how to complete it, and as soon as they have their instructions they’re good to go.

“For the first time in its history, there will be a window of time to complete the census rather than a single night,” says Andrew.

“We hope this makes it easier for people to complete their census at a time that suits them.”

For other countries it seems covid is taking priority, with Scotland postponing its census and strong calls for England and Wales to do the same.

In Australia, the 2016 census was the first time respondents could mark their sex as “other”, rather than male or female. However they were only able to do this via request of a separate form, as the ABS was still not sure how the general population would react to “other” as an option.

So, with the census costing more than $500,000, does it pay off?

The research indicates about $3 billion is pumped back into the economy every five years, thanks to the survey.

Essentially, for every one dollar spent on the census, six is made back.

“The census is important because it provides a picture of the economic, social and cultural make up of Australia,” says Andrew.

In other words, Australians won’t have to worry too much about tallying up how many horned cattle there are in the backyard this year.