New questions on sexual orientation and gender are set to be included in the 2026 Census, following a review.
The Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) announced today that changes were proposed across a range of topics, with a new topic on sexual orientation and gender to be added.
2026 Census Content Director Georgia Chapman said the changes would undergo a large-scale test later this year.
“The Census provides some of Australia’s most valuable statistics, and it’s important that it reflects our contemporary society and captures emerging data needs,” Ms Chapman said.
“We considered over 1000 pieces of feedback during public consultation and have tested extensively with a wide range of Australians.
“We will use a large-scale test during the second half of 2025 to ensure the final questions achieve the best possible outcomes.”
Changes for 2026 Census:
Cultural diversity
- Ancestry: Increase the number of ancestries collected from two to four to better reflect cultural diversity.
- Country of birth of parents: Update the question design to be more inclusive.
- Religious affiliation: Change the instructional text to support accurate data collection and reflect changes to the classification.
Health
- Long-term health conditions: Include ‘liver disease’ to collect a wider range of long-term health conditions.
Household and families
- Household and family relationships: Introduce non-gendered terms to be more inclusive.
- Persons temporarily absent on Census night” Update the question on sex to collect ‘sex recorded at birth’.
Income, work and service with the Australian Defence Force
- Industry of employment: Update the question wording to improve alignment with the Labour Force Survey.
- Labour force status: Update response categories to improve alignment with the Labour Force Survey.
Population
- Number of children ever born: Topic to return to a decennial collection and be removed from the 2026 Census.
- Sex: Update to the question wording to specifically collect ‘sex recorded at birth’ and update response categories to improve data quality.
- Sexual orientation and gender: New topic to be collected for people aged 16 years and over.
Transport
- Mode of travel to work Update response categories to include ‘Bicycle (including e-bike)’ to include more contemporary modes of travel.
Read more about the 2026 Census topic review.
