In a big win for LGBTQ+ visibility and inclusion, the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) has clarified the next census is set to include changes to questions for 10 existing topics and one new topic regarding sexual orientation and gender, as discussed last year.
You might recall the flip-flop in 2024 that saw the government announce it would not include questions about an individual’s gender identity or sexuality in the next census — only to backpedal real fast after considerable backlash from the LGBTQ+ community, advocacy groups, and MPs.
At the time, advocates outlined the devastating impact of not having gender and sexual diversity counted by the census, with LGBTQ+ individuals continuing to feel “invisible” while failing to address health and wellbeing data gaps towards appropriate services.
In a media release on Monday, the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) unveiled its new line of inquiry as it shared upcoming changes to the five-yearly questionnaire.
There will be a new topic of ‘sexual orientation and gender’ for people aged 16 years and older, it confirmed. The government has tabled an amendment to the Census and Statistics Regulation 2016 to permit the bureau to collect such data and the ABS said it will implement the modifications once this process is complete.
Meanwhile, changes to the 10 existing topics in the census will include updating the question on sex to collect ‘sex recorded at birth’ to differentiate it from a separate question on gender.
As reported by news.com.au, it’s understood responses to these questions will be voluntary, meaning people can decline to answer.
The ABS also said it will introduce non-gendered terms to be more inclusive in questions regarding households and family relationships.
Georgia Chapman, director of 2026 Census content, pointed out the questionnaire provides some of Australia’s most valuable statistics.
“And it’s important that it reflects our contemporary society and captures emerging data needs,” she said, elaborating that it had considered more than 1,000 pieces of feedback during public consultation.
Chapman added: “We will use a large-scale test during the second half of 2025 to ensure the final questions achieve the best possible outcomes.”
Reflecting on the changes, Equality Australia chief executive Anna Brown said it will ensure vital data about some of the most vulnerable populations in Australia is collected nationally for the first time.
“The fact is we still don’t know how many LGBTQ+ people there are in Australia or where they live,” she said in a statement to PEDESTRIAN.TV.
“Service providers, health entities, government departments and businesses rely on the census for baseline population data.
“They need a complete picture of who we are as a nation, including where LGBTQ+ people live, what our jobs are, our health issues, where we go to school and what our families look like.”
Last year, the ABS released “experimental estimates” which suggested some 4.5 per cent of all Australians 16 years and older — that’s over 900,000 people — are part of the LGBTQ+ community.
In proposed changes that didn’t quite get the green light, an update to collect de facto relationship status as part of the household and family relationship topic will not move forward.
Back in the 2021 census, those in de facto relationships were advised to select ‘never married’ among the options of married, never married, divorced, separated but not divorced, and widowed.
Other changes you can expect to see in 2026 include questions relating to cultural diversity, such as increasing the number of ancestries collected from two to four.
Also, under long-term health, the question will include liver disease to collect a wider range of conditions, though it won’t include migraines.
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