Here's What You Need To Know About The 2016 Census

Once every five years, every household in Australia is legally required to complete a massive survey that will ultimately determine how the government spends tax payers’ dollars.

Got no idea what we’re talking about? Well then, please let us make sense of the 2016 Census.

What is even happening?

On Tuesday August 9, every Australian household will be required to fill out an online survey for the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) called the Census.

The primary purpose of the Census, according to the ABS, is to gather information about the entire Australian population so that the government can distribute its funds in a way that best benefits society.

The Census also allows education, health and transport services to be planned and can also determine electoral boundaries.

How does it work?

This Census is the first one to be conducted online. Each household will receive a unique 12-digit code to allow them to access the survey.

But if you are a little old-fashioned and you’d prefer to fill yours out on the corpse of a tree, that option is also available (you just have to request it from their website).

But what if I don’t wanna?!

The Census is compulsory and failing to complete it may result in fines of up to $180 a day.

Everyone is required to take part in the Census, even if you are living rurally, travelling or not in your own house at the time.

What’s this #CensusFail I’m seeing on Twitter?

There has been some controversy surrounding changes to the Census this time around. Your name will now be kept on file by the ABS, where previously this was optional.

Many privacy advocates are concerned that people’s names could be paired with the sensitive information given in the survey, causing potential risks for people’s privacy.

Current legislation - specifically the Census and Statistics Act 1905 - is in place to ensure that such sensitive information is protected and never publicly distributed.

The ABS has also promised that the names and addresses of people will be stored separately to potentially sensitive information, yet privacy experts remain unconvinced. They are sceptical, saying that online information can never be 100 per cent secure and challenging whether the ABS is even legally entitled to demand people write their names on their surveys.

Return of the Jedi.

The largest issue arising out of this controversy is that many are worried people will deliberately provide misleading information to protect their identity.

A less serious example of this was seen in the last Census, where 64,390 people without a religion nominated theirs as “Jedi”. This data was then added to the statistics of religious people in Australia.

Therefore, even though this movement was clearly a joke, it did end up affecting the findings of the Census – which, you will remember, is there to allocate government funds – and as such, some groups are campaigning against people using the sci-faux religion in their responses this time around. May the Force be with them.

Is there a silver lining?

For all the criticism the Census is receiving, it has been praised by the LGBTQI community and advocates for including an “other” option for those who are gender diverse, non-binary or intersex.

Unfortunately, this being the first time the option has been included in an Australian Census, “other” can’t be found on default forms. Instead, people who do not identify as male or female will need to call up the ABS and receive a special code for a specific online form. Otherwise, they can request a paper form and write in “other”.

It’s believed that, because of these hurdles, we won’t get the most accurate picture of Australia’s LGBTQI community. But it’s a start. For more info on this new option, head here.

Xavier Hazard is one of Student Edge’s student contributors. Learn more about the contributor program.

Photo: NBC.