Gender questions and population under the Census spotlight

Residents across Bass Coast and South Gippsland are being urged to keep an eye on their mailboxes, with new questions about gender and sexual orientation set to feature in next month’s national census.

Census Field Officers have already been spotted delivering forms to homes in San Remo.

The Australian Bureau of Statistics issued a clarification on July 28 and claimed current media commentary had misrepresented the questions being introduced in 2026.

People aged 16 and over will be asked about their gender and how they describe their sexual orientation, with a “prefer not to answer” option present for both questions.

In addition to those questions, the census will also ask each person’s sex recorded at birth.

While a question about sex has appeared in every Australian Census since 1911, this will be the first time information about sex recorded at birth, and gender, will be collected separately.

The ABS (Australian Bureau of Statistics) said that the new questions will help establish a clearer picture of Australia’s LGBTQ+ population, which will in turn affect the planning of future health and community services.

The answers given to these questions will be used to produce data about cisgender, transgender, and gender-diverse populations.

However, the terms “cis”, “trans” and “gender diverse” do not appear in the questions themselves.

In fact, the ABS said that the wording of these questions had undergone “extensive public consultation and testing,” to make sure the questions are understood by people from different backgrounds and experiences.

The ABS also said that similar information has been collected through censuses in the United Kingdom, New Zealand and Canada.

The upcoming August 11 Census will also provide the first comprehensive picture of how Bass Coast and South Gippsland have changed population-wise since 2021, when massive population growth was recorded.

The previous count recorded 71,366 residents across both Bass Coast and South Gippsland combined, which was up from 61,507 in 2016.

That’s an increase of about 16 per cent over the five years.

Bass Coast experienced the most dramatic rise, growing from 32,804 people to 40,789 in just five years, which is a massive increase of about 24.3 per cent.

South Gippsland’s population rose by about 6.5 per cent from 2016 to 2021, from 28,703 to 30,577.

Households are now being urged to watch their mailboxes as the ABS begins distributing instructions on how to complete the census online, although paper forms are still available.

The ABS has said they expect around 85 per cent of forms to be completed online this year, with the average household taking approximately 30 minutes to complete the form.

The Census is compulsory and must include everyone in Australia on the night of August 11, including both visitors and visa holders.