The Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) has today published the Census Topics and Data Release Plan for 2026.
The document reveals which questions will be included in the 2026 Census, as well as when and how the data will be released.
The ABS has confirmed the Census will include questions on gender and sexuality, which will provide vital data for understanding Australia’s LGBTQ+ communities.
“Today’s release of the 2026 Census topics and data release plan follows a period of extensive public consultation and testing to ensure the Census produces high-quality data that reflects contemporary Australia,” said Census General Manager, Jenny Telford.
“The 2026 Census will deliver richer insights, with the addition of a new topic on gender and sexual orientation, and updates to existing topics to meet emerging data needs.”
“We will make Census results freely available across a range of products making it easier than ever for people to access and use.”
The next Census will ask questions on both sex recorded at birth, as well as gender, to better understand Australia’s transgender and gender diverse population. Another question will be included on sexual orientation, with options for straight, gay or lesbian, bisexual or a space to specify on your own terms.
National LGBTIQA+ advocacy organisation Equality Australia has welcomed the news that LGBTQ+ population data will be available in 2027.
“In 2027, we will finally have a more complete picture of who we are as a nation, including where LGBTQ+ adults live, what our jobs are, our health issues, where we go to school and what our families look like,” said Equality Australia CEO Anna Brown.
“We still know so little about LGBTQ+ Australians because the 2021 Census failed to meaningfully count people of diverse sexualities and genders, and our families.”
The last Australian Census, held in 2021, did not include questions identifying respondents sexuality or gender. Proposed new questions were dumped by the ABS in 2019 following intervention from then Assistant Treasurer Michael Sukkar. The ABS issued an apology for excluding LGBTIQA+ Australians in 2023.
In 2021, Labor publicly opposed the decision to exclude LGBTIQA+ Australians from the Census, with then Shadow Assistant Treasurer Stephen Jones urging for questions on sexual orientation, gender identity and variations of sex characteristics to be included.
Labor position changed since forming government under Anthony Albanese, who dropped his party promise to include LGBTIQA+ people in the 2026 Census back in 2024. Frontbenchers described the decision as a strategy to avoid “nastiness” and “divisive debates”. After an overwhelming public outcry on the backflip, Labor reverted to their original position.
The next Census of Population and Housing will be held on 11 August 2026.
