ABS Proposes LGBT In New Census 2026 Shortlist
Image: A file photo of the Midsumma Festival 2020.
The Australian Bureau of Statistics on Thursday announced that LGBTQI would be included in its proposed shortlist of topics being considered for inclusion in the 2026 Census.
The last census was slammed for invisibilising the LGBTQI community and national peak organisations had campaigned for it to be included in the next Census.
The ABS’ proposed shortlist includes questions on gender, sexual orientation and variations of sex characteristics. The organisation has also signalled improvements to existing topics on families to better reflect “diverse family structures”.
ABS Invites Submission On New Shortlist
“Earlier this year, the ABS invited the Australian community to tell us what they think should be included in the next Census. We received 260 submissions and considered more than 500 other pieces of feedback as part of this consultation,” Georgia Chapman, Director, 2026 Census Content said in a statement.
The ABS has sought public feedback on its new shortlist before it makes its recommendations to the Federal government. “This is the time to let us know if there will be impacts for you or your organisation if we changed or removed one of the shortlisted topics,” said Chapman.
“Following this consultation, the ABS will assess the shortlisted topics further based on the feasibility of collecting the data in the Census. This assessment will inform the decision on which topics proceed to testing. New topics in the Census are carefully considered to balance the cost to the Australian taxpayer and the burden on households when answering additional questions,” Chapman added.
‘Count Everyone Properly’
National LGBTQI advocacy group Equality Australia welcomed the shortlist and emphasised that the 2026 Census should “reflect the diversity of the Australian community and finally count everyone properly.”
“Thousands of LGBTIQ+ people and rainbow families were rendered invisible in 2021,” said Equality Australia’s Legal Director Ghassan Kassisieh.
“At the moment we don’t know exactly how many LGBTIQ+ people live in Australia, where they are and basic demographic information about them, to ensure that government service delivery meets their needs,” Kassisieh said, adding “Asking some simple questions ensures everyone is counted in the snapshot of the nation.”
Equality Australia urged the Anthony Albanese Labor government to ensure that LGBTQI people were counted in the 2026 Census.
“The Federal Government has an opportunity to reflect the real diversity of the Australian community in 2026 and gather crucial information about the kinds of services all our communities need, regardless of our sexual orientation, gender or sex characteristics,” Kassisieh said.
