Australia's LGBTQI communities say they will be 'rendered invisible' in the next snapshot of the population, after the federal government confirmed it won't include questions on sexual orientation or intersex variations in the next census.
The Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) had considered including topics on gender, sexual orientation and variations of sex characteristics in the 2026 census after a complaint was made to the Australian Human Rights Commission.
According to the complaint, the LGBTQI community felt excluded when completing the 2021 census.
This prompted the ABS to apologise, establish an expert advisory committee and "invest in the support for the LGBTQI+ community ... to fully participate in the 2026 census".
Assistant Minister Andrew Leigh confirmed on Sunday there would be no change.
"While the Australian Bureau of Statistics tests changes from time to time, it is the decision of the government that there will be no change to the topics in the next Census, which will be held in 2026," he said in a statement.
About one-in-10 Australians are estimated to be lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans and gender diverse, according to a 2019 report from the Department of Health.
But the 2021 census was largely unable to capture this population.
There was one one question gave respondents options to identify as female, male or "non-binary sex", and questions about relationships could capture some same-sex couples.
The Australian Labor Party's 2023 national platform argued LGBTQI Australians should be counted in the census and committed to ensuring the 2026 count gathers relevant data on this population.
Equality Australia chief executive Anna Brown says the government's refusal to update the census feels like a betrayal to the LGBTQI community.
"The federal government has betrayed LGBTIQ+ people around Australia who will again be rendered invisible in 2026," she said.
"(It) hasn’t taken this opportunity to finally reflect the diversity of Australia and gather crucial information about the kinds of services people need," she said.
April Long, who launched the Australian Human Rights Commission complaint in 2022, said the outcome was devastating.
"This isn’t just about numbers or data, it’s about our basic human right to be counted, recognised and valued," they said.
"It’s about ensuring our census counts everyone."
This lack of LGBTQI inclusion will hurt health outcomes for those in the community, according to Intersex Human Rights Australia chief executive Morgan Carpenter.
"Without meaningful inclusion in the 2026 Census, we don’t have good, reliable data on the health and circumstances of people with innate variations of sex characteristics," Dr Carpenter said.
"Worse than this, if the next census is the same as the last, it will collect data that is meaningless."
Greens LGBTQI spokesman Stephen Bates accused the government of back-pedalling on its promises to the community.
