The Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) has selected IIS Partners (Information Integrity Solutions) to undertake the first phase of the 2026 Census of Population and Housing Privacy Impact Assessment.
IIS Partners will make recommendations to the ABS for mitigating privacy risks during preparations to deliver the 2026 Census.
Duncan Young, General Manager Census Division said, "We are pleased to have IIS Partners on board to support the ABS in our 'privacy by design' approach to the 2026 Census.
"During every step of the Census, we are considering the privacy impact on individuals. Privacy is considered from the development of Census topics and questions through to the use of existing data sources to enhance Census data quality.
"During this assessment there will be broad stakeholder consultation to help identify new privacy risks and concerns, to better understand known risks and develop a robust risk mitigation strategy," Mr Young said.
The 2026 Census Privacy Impact Assessment will have three phases implemented across 2023, 2024 and 2025. This three phased approach builds on and extends the privacy approach that was introduced for the 2021 Census. The phases provide the opportunity for recommendations from earlier phases to be adopted in the design and build of the Census, and to be evaluated in the final phase.
The first phase of the Privacy Impact Assessment will be published on the ABS website in late 2023.
