Australians will be asked their gender and sexual orientation for the first time when they participate in the national census on Tuesday night, a count of nearly 28 million people that decides how the country spends money on hospitals, schools, and transport for the next five years.
Every person in the country on census night, including visitors and temporary visa holders, is mandated by law to fill in the census form, with a fine of up to A$364 (£190) per day for those who do not. The last census in 2021 counted 25.4 million people in 10.8 million households.
People aged 16 and above will answer separate questions on their sexual orientation, sex recorded at birth and gender. The 2026 form drops gendered wording from questions about household and family relationships.
Liz Allen, a demographer at the Australian National University, described the change as the biggest since the census began asking about Indigenous status more than 50 years ago.
“These questions mark a massive watershed for Australia,” she told InDaily. “This moment in time is monumental, not necessarily just for the data, but more so for the signal that it sends to individuals across Australia that we all count, we all matter."
Census numbers determine how federal and state governments distribute money and plan services, from healthcare and education to transport. Campaigners have argued for years that the absence of data on LGBTQ+ Australians left their needs out of that calculation.
The change followed a complaint to the Australian Human Rights Commission in 2022 by the campaign group Equality Australia and April Long, a parent who found that the 2021 form asked where their son's mother and father were born when he had two mothers. The Australian Bureau of Statistics published a statement of regret the following year and set up an expert advisory committee.
"When my son started school, I wanted him to be able to grow up and know that there are families like ours, and that we are part of the country's story," Ms Long told the Guardian, which reported that they became the target of abuse during the campaign.
The government briefly ruled out asking about either sexual orientation or gender identity in August 2024, with deputy prime minister Richard Marles saying it did not want to open up divisive debates in the community.
Facing mounting anger from LGBTQ+ groups and criticism from Labor backbenchers, prime minister Anthony Albanese later told ABC radio that a question on sexual orientation would be included.
