Australia Asks Who You Identify As: What Is It Doing Differently in the Gender Census?

Australia Gender Census: Australia’s census introduces voluntary gender and sexual orientation questions.

By Sakshi.

New Delhi, August 11: The Australian government has brought sexually oriented questions into its five-yearly census for the first time, allowing people to voluntarily disclose their sexual orientation and gender identity.

The 66-question census, held on Tuesday, August 11, allows respondents aged 16 and above to answer questions on sexual orientation and gender identity. The move follows political and social debate over whether such questions should be included in the national census.

The census is the first conducted under a centre-left Labor Party government since 2011. The government had initially dropped the questions two years ago, calling them potentially “divisive”, before reversing the decision following criticism from LGBTQ+ advocates and some Labor lawmakers.

Both questions are optional and are open to household members aged 16 and above.

Australia Gender Census: Australia’s new census questions on gender and sexual orientation offer India a glimpse at how sensitive identity data can be collected.

For sexual orientation, respondents can choose from straight, gay or lesbian, bisexual, don't know, prefer not to answer, or write in another term of their choice.

For gender identity, respondents can identify as a man, woman, nonbinary, prefer not to answer or provide another term.

The questions are voluntary, similar to the religion question, which has been part of Australia's census since 1911.

Why did Australia change its approach?

Labor had promised during its 2022 election campaign to include questions on sexuality and gender in the next census.

The Australian government decides the topics covered in the census, while the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) determines the wording of the questions.

In 2024, the government initially decided not to make major changes to the questions used in the 2021 census, saying it wanted to maintain social cohesion.

“We do not want to open up divisive debates in the community now,” Deputy Prime Minister Richard Marles said in August 2024.

The government reversed the decision within days following criticism from LGBTQ+ advocates and some Labor lawmakers.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese later confirmed that a question on sexual orientation would be included in the next census.

ABS Chief Statistician David Gruen said consultations showed “a substantial level of interest” in collecting information on gender and sexual orientation.

However, he also acknowledged that while some people consider the information important, others may not want to share it. That was one reason the questions were made optional.

Australian National University demographer Liz Allen said Australia had fallen behind some other countries in collecting such information through national censuses. Britain included similar questions in its 2021 census, followed by New Zealand in 2023 and Canada in its latest census.

Allen also argued that Australia could go further by asking about variations in sex characteristics, including people who are intersex. The ABS, however, decided not to include such a question after testing found that respondents had difficulty understanding and answering it accurately.

Census results

In Australia, people were asked to submit their census forms once they received instructions if they knew where they would be on census night.

The ABS expects about 85 per cent of responses to be submitted online, compared with almost 80 per cent in 2021, when almost half the population was under pandemic lockdown. Paper forms are also available on request.

Field staff assist homeless people and those living in remote areas in completing the census. Failure to comply with a direction to complete the census can result in a fine of up to 364 Australian dollars (USD 257) a day.

The ABS said more than five million forms had been submitted by Tuesday morning, with almost 11 million forms expected to be completed.

(With AP Inputs)