September 8th 2024.
The upcoming 2026 Census in Australia is set to break new ground by including questions related to sexual identity and gender for the first time ever. This announcement was made by Treasurer Jim Chalmers, who revealed that the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) will be conducting a survey to gather information on this topic from citizens aged 16 and above.
This decision was made after members of the LGBTIQ+ community urged the government to include questions about sexuality in the census. It was a significant step forward, especially after Deputy Prime Minister Richard Marles had previously stated that it was not a priority.
Chalmers acknowledged the importance of listening to the voices of the community and working closely with the ABS to ensure that the concerns of LGBTIQ+ Australians are addressed. He emphasized that their experiences and identities matter and that they will be counted in the 2026 census.
It is worth noting that the questions will only be asked of individuals aged 16 and above, and the ABS has assured that people will have the option to not answer if they do not feel comfortable doing so. This decision was made after the ABS considered the technical complexity of the topic and concluded that collecting high-quality data would be challenging.
The Treasury Assistant Minister, Andrew Leigh, further explained that even though the ABS did not recommend collecting data on variations of sex characteristics in the census, the government will continue to work with the intersex community to gather information through other ABS surveys.
However, the topic of variations of sex characteristics will not be included in the census, as it was not recommended by the ABS. Marles, who had initially opposed the addition of this new topic, explained that the decision was made to prevent divisive debates in the community.
In conclusion, this is a significant step towards inclusivity and representation in the census. The government and the ABS are working together to ensure that all Australians, regardless of their sexual identity and gender, are counted and heard. We can expect more updates on this topic in the future.
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