{"id":825628,"date":"2026-07-26T21:14:12","date_gmt":"2026-07-26T21:14:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/825628\/"},"modified":"2026-07-26T21:14:12","modified_gmt":"2026-07-26T21:14:12","slug":"australias-most-progressive-census-comes-at-personal-cost-to-april-but-it-means-their-family-will-finally-be-counted-census","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/825628\/","title":{"rendered":"Australia\u2019s \u2018most progressive\u2019 census comes at personal cost to April \u2013 but it means their family will finally be counted | Census"},"content":{"rendered":"

Self-professed \u201cdata nerd\u201d April Long was excited to fill in their first census after welcoming their son, Kai, to the world.<\/p>\n

But as they opened the 2021 survey, they quickly realised it wasn\u2019t made for them.<\/p>\n

It excluded Long\u2019s role as a parent, made assumptions about their gender and asked where Kai\u2019s mother and father were born, when he has two mums.<\/p>\n

Many \u201crainbow families\u201d echoed similar experiences of the census being unable to fully capture the LGBTQ+ community.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen my son started school, I wanted him to be able to grow up and know there are families like ours, and that we are part of the country\u2019s story,\u201d Long says.<\/p>\n

\u201cJust now, I dropped him off for the first day of term three, and I\u2019m going to be able to tell him that.\u201d<\/p>\n

At the census on 11 August, Australians over the age of 16 will be asked to identify their sexual orientation and given separate questions on their sex at birth and gender for the first time.<\/p>\n

The 2026 iteration also introduces non-gendered terms to questions on household and family relationships, among other changes.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is probably the most progressive census Australia has ever seen,\u201d Australian National University demographer Dr Liz Allen says.<\/p>\n

\u201cImagine being born into a body or orientation that you have absolutely no control over and yet you are forced to put yourself in a box you simply don\u2019t fit in.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis census is inclusive at the most fundamental core of who we are. It is saying that if you\u2019re born intersex, if you are born beyond the gender prism of male and female, if you are in a heterosexual relationship but are queer \u2013 then you too can adequately reflect who you are.\u201d<\/p>\n

Long with their son Kai. The ABS explored adding topics on gender and sex to the census for years, especially after Australians voted to legalise same-sex marriage in 2017. Photograph: Dean Sewell\/The Guardian<\/p>\n

The Australian Bureau of Statistics<\/a> explored adding topics on gender and sex to the census for years, especially in the years after Australians voted to legalise same-sex marriage in 2017.<\/p>\n

Though it can make recommendations about potential changes, the final decision on census topics rests with the government.<\/p>\n

At the time of the 2021 census, the Liberal party was in power and the assistant treasurer in charge of the survey, Michael Sukkar, had consistently said he planned to vote \u201cno\u201d on the same-sex marriage plebiscite.<\/p>\n

But Labor\u2019s victory at the 2022 election reinvigorated hope for change, and in September that year, Long and LGBTQ+ group Equality Australia lodged a complaint to the Australian Human Rights Commission<\/a>.<\/p>\n

They alleged the ABS had unlawfully discriminated against Long, their family and other members of their community by failing to properly count LGBTQ+ people in the 2021 census.<\/p>\n

The campaign was not easy, and Long quickly became the subject of targeted discrimination, with many making assumptions Kai needed a father because he was a boy.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt came at a personal cost, but the alternative was we did nothing and hoped that something changed \u2013 history shows us that just doesn\u2019t work,\u201d they say.<\/p>\n

In August 2023, the bureau published a statement of regret, acknowledging the complaint and committing to a series of changes including the establishment of an LGBTQ+ expert advisory committee for the 2026 census.<\/p>\n

A few days later, Labor released its national platform, committing to ensure the 2026 census gathered relevant data on LGBTQ+ Australians.<\/p>\n

Long and their family are already planning a census party to fill in this year\u2019s survey. Photograph: Dean Sewell\/The Guardian<\/p>\n

Then, in 2024, the party walked back on its commitment and confirmed it would not include questions on sexual orientation or intersex variations in the next census.<\/p>\n

The following two weeks were \u201cnothing short of a shit show\u201d, Allen says.<\/p>\n

Long was at Bunnings when they received the news.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy stomach just dropped, I was like \u2018how does this make sense?\u2019\u201d they say.<\/p>\n

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\u201cWe\u2019d done everything we were supposed to do \u2026 I just sat in the car and cried.\u201d<\/p>\n

At the time, the deputy prime minister, Richard Marles, said the government wanted to avoid a \u201cdivisive debate\u201d<\/a>, a line echoed by other members of parliament.<\/p>\n

Later reporting revealed the prime minister, Anthony Albanese, had made a captain\u2019s call not to include the questions over fears it would blow up into a culture war.<\/p>\n

But as the furore grew, Albanese began backing down.<\/p>\n

He announced the ABS would include one new question on sexuality \u2013 which was met with anger from the gender diverse community.<\/p>\n

Days later, the government backtracked again, revealing it would set up a new topic for inclusion in the 2026 census, which allowed the ABS to ask questions on sexual orientation and gender.<\/p>\n

A topic on variations of sex characteristics was not recommended by the ABS and would not be included, the government said.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s not perfect, we didn\u2019t get everything we wanted, but I think there\u2019s moments in history where change might seem small but is actually quite profound,\u201d Long says.<\/p>\n

Census data is used to inform almost every aspect of Australians\u2019 lives and previous limitations on data from LGBTQ+ communities meant their needs were not adequately catered for in policymaking, Allen says.<\/p>\n

\u201cFrom the moment you wake up in the morning, to the moment you go to sleep, you are using services that are informed by the census,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat counts matters because what matters is counted.<\/p>\n

\u201cWithout an accurate reflection of the nation by way of the census, we are essentially blindfolding ourselves to data and evidence.\u201d<\/p>\n

Within months, Australia will have access to an unprecedented body of information about LGBTQ+ people and communities to help shape policy, research, planning, services and more, LGBTIQ+ Health Australia said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis ability to reflect the Australian community will provide such an important part of the value that the census brings,\u201d the ABS\u2019s census national spokesperson, Emily Walter, says.<\/p>\n

Long and their family are already planning a census party to fill in this year\u2019s survey.<\/p>\n

But they are even more excited for the day Kai completes his first census.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s going to be another milestone because he doesn\u2019t have to wonder if his family fits in,\u201d they say.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt will just be normal.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Self-professed \u201cdata nerd\u201d April Long was excited to fill in their first census after welcoming their son, Kai,…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":825629,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[43,44,41,39,42,40],"class_list":["post-825628","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-headlines","tag-headlines","tag-news","tag-top-news","tag-top-stories","tag-topnews","tag-topstories"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/825628","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=825628"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/825628\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/825629"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=825628"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=825628"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=825628"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}