The 2021 Census of Population and Housing will be held on 10 August 2021 and will provide an opportunity for Australians to tell us about themselves and help make a difference for their community. The Census is the largest statistical collection undertaken by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS). Together with a significant program of surveys, longitudinal studies and research using data from administrative transactions with government, including data safely linked from a range of sources, the Census contributes rich and valuable information about Australians.
Census data is used by individuals and organisations in public, not for profit and private sectors to make decisions that better target investments, create jobs, plan for services, expand service provision and much more. Data collected in the Census underpins decisions on allocating billions of dollars of Commonwealth Government funding to states, territories and local governments. It is critical to setting federal, state and territory electoral boundaries and informs decisions about schools, childcare centres, roads, healthcare facilities, senior centres and other critical infrastructure.
The value of the Australian Census to the economy is immense. In 2019 an independent valuation conducted by Lateral Economics estimated that for every $1 invested in the Census, $6 value was generated to the Australian economy creating an annual benefit of $800m. See the Value of the Australian Census report.
The Census collects information on demographic characteristics such as age and sex, types of housing, and on other topics such as education, participation in the labour force, occupations and industries, marital status, and family size. The range of topics means that any topic can be examined in conjunction with other related topics. While some of the Census topics are covered by other data sources, only the Census can provide information on a standard basis for the whole country, as well as for smaller geographic areas and small population groups.
The 2021 Census will again provide great value to the Australian community and this will be enhanced by the addition of two new topics. Following an extensive process, questions on long-term health conditions and service with the Australian Defence Force will be added to the next Census. These new topics will provide rich data to complement the other information available through the Census. Significantly, these are the first topic changes since 2006. This publication outlines the topics which will be included in the 2021 Census and describes the key changes made to 2016 Census questions. Details on what other new topics and changes were considered can be found at: Census of Population and Housing: Topics Directions, 2021.
Data from the 2021 Census will be released in three phases from June 2022, with more depth added to the data across each release. The data release section of this publication outlines our early plans. More information will be provided in early 2022.