For the first time, Australians will have the opportunity to disclose their sexual orientation and indicate if they identify as a gender different from the one assigned at birth in the upcoming census, which takes place every five years. These questions have sparked significant debate, reflecting ongoing discussions about inclusivity and representation within national data collection practices.
Political Context
The current Labor government backflipped to allow the questions after having dropped them temporarily two years ago as “divisive. The Australian government determines the topics for each census. The Australian Bureau of Statistics decides the wording of questions. The government soon relented after almost a week of backlash from LGBTQ+ advocates and criticism from some Labor lawmakers. Two days after Mr. “We’ve been talking about these questions for some time, but the previous government, it didn’t look like they were going to budge on the evidence and enable it to be in the census. So the ABS [Australian Bureau of Statistics] really didn’t put it to them,” Ms.
The 66-question census, held on Tuesday (August 11, 2026) is the first under a center-left Labor Party government since 2011. Both questions are open to members of households 16 years and older. Labor had promised such questions about sexuality and gender would be included in the next census while campaigning ahead of the 2022 elections that brought the party to power after nine years out of government. In 2024, the government decided against deviating from the 2021 census questions in the interests of maintaining social cohesion. Marles spoke, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, a heterosexual who has marched in the annual Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras twice since he took office in 2022, confirmed in a radio interview that a question about sexual orientation would be included in the next census.
“We do not want to open up divisive debates in the community now,” Deputy Prime Minister Richard Marles said in August 2024. Allen said.
