Do you want your toilet to reliably flush, whether you're at home or on holiday anywhere in Australia? Want to help shape decisions on where new schools get built? Or want people experiencing homelessness to get better services than they do now?
Author
- Liz Allen
Demographer, POLIS Centre for Social Policy Research, Australian National University
Australian households are now starting to receive instructions in their letterboxes, explaining how to complete the 2026 census .
The data collected in your census form is crucial for everything from sewage systems to hospitals, schools and more.
Here are ten things you need to know about what's new in the census this year, how much you can be fined if you lie or ignore it, what happens to your data, and how to ask for help.
1. What is the census?
Run every five years by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS), the Census of Population and Housing collects a complete survey of who we are, and where and how we live in Australia.
The census collects information on every person in the country on Tuesday August 11 across 10.8 million households . Homeless people and remote communities are also carefully surveyed.
Importantly, it's not just for Australian citizens: it counts everyone in Australia that night , including international tourists, students and temporary visa holders.
The form is published in 27 languages , from Arabic to Vietnamese.
2. What's new this time?
There are 12 changes in the 2026 census: two additional questions, and tweaks to ten long-running topics .
Ancestry has been expanded from two responses to four. Religion, health, transport and employment questions have received minor updates.
Gendered language referencing others in the household is now more inclusive.
Wording on the mainstay sex question now reads "sex recorded at birth". And the controversial " number of children ever born " question returns to ten-yearly collection. It will be asked in 2031 instead.
Two new optional questions for over 16-year-olds ask about sexual orientation and gender (though not about intersex traits ). These questions join religion as the only voluntary questions on the census.
3. Do I have to do it? And is there a fine if I don't?
The census is compulsory. It only takes about half an hour to complete.
If you don't complete it, the ABS will be in touch. But if you repeatedly ignore it, non-completion can attract a fine of A$364 a day . Deliberately providing false or misleading information risks a fine of up to $3,640 .
4. Why does it matter?
Imagine waking up to use the bathroom only to find the sewage isn't working. The entire neighbourhood can't flush the toilet. Worse, you're settling into your Christmas holiday at the coast and the sewage capacity is maxed; you're one flush away from a caravan park plumbing poonami.
Census data helps make sure there's sufficient infrastructure everywhere.
Population data from the census helps inform the location and upgrade needs for wastewater treatment facilities.
As an example, Lauceston's current major sewer upgrades are based in part on population data from the census.
Census data is used in combination with other data, such as water utilities' records of flushing toilets, to build projections for peak holiday populations . This helps us avoid environmental sewage disasters.
Testing wastewater , combined with census data, even helps calculate drug use and investigate Australians' health.
School locations and staffing levels are also informed by the census.
Teacher numbers give an indication of the education workforce and its location. Population census data, coupled with school census data , enables a stocktake and anticipation of future trends to avoid school enrolment blowouts .
Censuses are personal for me. I wasn't counted in the 1996 census because I was homeless. That's part of why I ended up becoming a demographer - so no one is invisible when it counts.
Improvements to counting people experiencing homeless over the past 30 years mean I wouldn't be missed today.
The ABS now uses more comprehensive measures to capture rough sleepers, people in supported homeless accommodation, and couch surfers. The census has helped reveal that someone who is homeless is now most often a couch surfer, rather than on the streets.
5. When is the deadline?
You can complete it as soon as you have the form or login details, if you know where you'll be on census night, Tuesday August 11 .
If you need to post back a form, do it as soon as possible.
6. Are my answers actually private?
It's expected 85% of forms will be completed online this time, up from (80%) in 2021 .
Privacy and confidentiality of census information is protected by law.
Once received by the ABS, names and addresses are separated from responses. Completed paper forms are destroyed once data is safely recorded.
7. What happens to my online data?
Sophisticated encryption technology is used to ensure the safety of online census information.
Just like paper forms, once data is processed, identifying information is kept functionally separate to responses. No data is released that might identify an individual.
8. Is Australia unusual in having a census?
Australia is among only a handful of countries that still conduct a traditional census every five years.
The United States and United Kingdom hold their censuses every decade . Many other countries, such as New Zealand , are moving toward alternatives, like using administrative data such as tax data, unemployment and health statistics.
Cost and logistics will likely see traditional census-taking in Australia replaced by administrative data alternatives by around 2040.
9. What if I want a paper form?
Paper copies, including separate personal forms, are available by contacting the ABS online , calling 1800 130 250, or collecting one from a census pop-up hub .
Reply-paid envelopes are provided for returning paper forms.
10. What if I need help?
Information is available online , by phoning the census hotline on 1800 181 227, or in person at an information session.
Help to complete your form, including in languages other than English , is available at fill-in-the-form sessions.
Liz Allen worked at the Australian Bureau of Statistics 2006-07. Dr Allen receives funding from the Australian Research Council for a discovery project on the history of grandparenting in Australia.
