2026

Gender on the cards for census

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Original article by Stephen Lunn
The Australian – Page: 6 : 18-Feb-25

The Australian Bureau of Statistics has advised that the 2026 census will see people asked their "sex recorded at birth" for the first time. The change to how the census asks people about their sex at birth is intended to distinguish it from new questions on gender and sexual orientation. Other changes to the census in 2026 will include counting the number of children who are home-schooled and increasing the the number of ancestries collected from two to four, so as to get a better understanding of cultural diversity.

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AUSTRALIAN BUREAU OF STATISTICS

Census changes to dilute religion

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Original article by Rhiannon Down, Paul Garvey
The Australian – Page: 3 : 30-Apr-24

Australian Catholic Bishops Conference president Timothy Costelloe has expressed concern about plans by the Australian Bureau of Statistics to make changes to census questions regarding religion. Accusing the ABS of including a "new bias in favour of no religion", Costelloe says the changes will lead to an increased number of invalid responses. The changes are also opposed by Anglican Bishop of South Sydney Michael Stead, who suggest they will produce less accurate data; he said his concern is that this data is often used by those who want to "champion the fact that Australia is becoming more and more secular and less and less ­religious".

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AUSTRALIAN BUREAU OF STATISTICS

PwC spin-off counting on census role

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Original article by Tom Burton
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 3 : 28-Jun-23

PwC’s contract to run the 2021 digital census was worth nearly $40m; the firm and its technology partner Amazon Web Services had been regarded as the leading contenders to run the 2026 census prior to the tax leaks scandal. The census work would be undertaken by PwC’s public sector consulting arm, which will be sold to private equity firm Allegro Funds for just $1. Codenamed Bell, the new entity is likely to be subjected to intense scrutiny by the government authorities responsible for awarding the census contract.

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PRICEWATERHOUSECOOPERS AUSTRALIA (INTERNATIONAL) PTY LTD, AMAZON WEB SERVICES LLC, ALLEGRO FUNDS PTY LTD