Who decides what’s in the 2016 Census?
The Australian 2016 Census is fast approaching and we’ll be bringing you interesting and informative insights over the next month. As you are filling in your Census form on the 9th of August, you may wonder: who decides which questions will be on it?
Every 5 years Australia conducts a Census, which generates a wealth of information about who we are, where we live and how we are changing as a nation.
Some of the most common questions we are asked at .id are “How do I get a question onto the Census?” and “Is <insert topic here> going to be on a future Census?” While everyone can be involved in the process of shaping the Census, it is not an easy feat to get a new question on the form.
The results of the Census are typically released around a year after Census. For the 2016 Census, we are looking to see some data rolling in around June 2017 and beyond. After the release of the results, the ABS starts up a consultation process for the next one, calling for submissions from organisations and the general public. For the 2011 Census, this was announced in late 2012, with the consultation process happening through to 2013.
The Census is a $400 million exercise and adding extra questions would incur additional costs. Here are some considerations by the ABS for topic recommendations:
- The topic is of current national importance.
- There is a current need for data on the topic for small population groups and/or at the small area level.
- There are no other suitable alternative data sources available for the topic.
- The topic is suitable for inclusion in the Census.
- There is likely to be a continuing need for data on the topic in the following Census.
It is important to note (particularly in relation to number 4) that the Census is a self-responded questionnaire that aims to provide a demographic snapshot of the nation rather than in-depth insights into individuals or particular groups of people (eg. Persons with a disability).
More information on the Census assessment criteria are available on the ABS website.
Some interesting topics that have been collected in the past but are no longer collected:
- Duration of marriage (all up to 1986)
- Orphanhood (1921)
- Life insurance (1976)
- Holidays (1976)
- Duration of unemployment (up to 1961)
- Computer use (2001)
- Material of dwelling walls and roof (various prior to 1976)
- Access to Television (1961-1971)
- Method of sewerage disposal (1971-76)
- War service (1933)
Some common suggestions we’ve heard (and are listed as potential new topics after the consultation) include:
- Long-term health status
- Journey/mode of travel to education institution
- Multiple jobholding
- Ownership of other dwelling
- Sources of income
- Pet ownership
What are some of the burning questions you would like to ask/be asked in the coming census?
.id specialises in analysing and presenting Census data. Access our community profiles and see how some of the results from previous censuses relate to your local area: Community profiles for Australia and New Zealand
Thank god the government decided to continue doing the census!
Hi Rebecca
Thanks for your article.
I refer to your question: What are some of the burning questions you would like to ask/be asked in the coming census?
Some of us have been asking for the Census to include a question about each person’s visa status.
Included in the Census count but not identified by visa status are many who are living in Australia for more than a year but will not be ongoing residents. This includes, for example, some of
– about 100,000 temporary skilled workers
– about 500,000 internationsal students
– about 150,000 working holiday makers
Service providers and policy people need to know whether to take account of these people when planning future programs.
This is a good idea. It’s not collected in the Census and I suspect would be a difficult question to get good response to. Visa status actually one of those linked variables for which the ABS is keeping the name-identified records a bit longer this time. There is a collection called “Census and Migrants”, which links Visa status to the Census data, which is available from the ABS on a subscription basis. and enables you to cross-tabulate Visa status with all the Census characteristics (no information on individuals of course, as it’s confidential). As that’s already available I don’t think they’d be looking at adding it into the Census proper.
Hi Rebecca, does .id have any thoughts on the privacy concerns regarding the retention of names and addresses for longer to allow more data matching between the census and other data sets?
Hi Alison, thank you for your commment. We just published a blog about privacy issues this morning: http://blog.id.com.au/2016/population/australian-census-2016/is-your-census-information-safe-privacy-in-the-spotlight/