The federal government has opted not to include additional questions on sexual orientation, gender identity and intersex characteristics in the upcoming 2026 census, despite considerable advocacy from LGBTIQA+ communities and organisations.
The decision has sparked significant backlash from various groups who argue that the absence of such questions will perpetuate the invisibility of LGBTIQA+ people in Australia.
Sky News political editor Andrew Clennell reported on Sunday that a proposal for the 2026 census to ask whether respondents’ identity or gender had changed since the last census had been dropped by the government. The question was intended to be trialled this year.
Sky News said the proposal was for the question “Has your identity or gender changed” since the last census.
Assistant Minister Andrew Leigh confirmed on Sunday there would be no change to census questions.
“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 to Gay Sydney News.
The decision has drawn sharp criticism from the Australian Greens and Equality Australia, both of whom expressed deep disappointment.
Greens LGBTIQA+ spokesperson Stephen Bates accused the Albanese government of betraying the LGBTIQA+ community, arguing that this decision is another example of the government backtracking on its promises to support queer rights.
“Today, Anthony Albanese and Labor have – once again – betrayed the LGBTIQA+ community,” Bates stated. “Labor has backpedaled and stalled on every reform that would improve the lives of queer people.”
Bates also highlighted that the government had failed to deliver on other promises, such as protections for LGBTIQA+ teachers and students and the LGBTIQA+ health and wellbeing action plan.
Equality Australia, a leading advocacy group, echoed these sentiments. CEO Anna Brown said the government’s decision ensures that LGBTIQA+ people will continue to be rendered invisible in the census, preventing the collection of crucial data needed to inform services and policy decisions.
“Our communities will continue to feel invisible and demeaned because the federal government hasn’t taken this opportunity to finally reflect the diversity of Australia and gather crucial information about the kinds of services people need,” Brown said.
Her organisation said that the federal government had “betrayed LGBTIQ+ people around Australia” in coming to its decision.
In the last census, LGBTIQ+ people who were single, trans and gender diverse, intersex or living in notionally heterosexual relationships were not counted because the census did not include questions on gender identity, sexual orientation and variations in sex characteristics, Equality Austalia said.
The advocacy group said the decision came despite the ABS including gender, sexual orientation and variations of sex characteristics in the proposed shortlist for 2026’s proposed new questions.
The absence of an identity question from the 2026 census is seemingly at odds with the previous acknowledgment by the ABS of its failure to count LGBTIQA+ people accurately in the 2021 census.
The ABS issued a statement of regret, apologising for the exclusion of non-binary people from being counted as parents. It also committed to more inclusive future censuses.
This commitment included the establishment of an LGBTIQA+ expert advisory committee to guide the inclusion of appropriate questions in the 2026 census.
April Long, a non-binary parent who had filed a human rights complaint against the ABS for the 2021 census exclusion, expressed their devastation at the decision.
“Every person and every family deserve to be counted. The 2021 census rendered us invisible, and today’s decision ensures that invisibility extends into 2026 and beyond,” Long said.
They emphasised that this issue is not merely about numbers but about the basic human right to be recognised and valued.
Advocates for inclusion of a question on identity say the lack of data on LGBTIQA+ people has long been a barrier to addressing the community’s needs, particularly in rural and regional areas.
They argue that without this data, it is impossible for governments and support services to fully understand and address the health, wellbeing, and economic challenges faced by LGBTIQA+ Australians.
Nicky Bath, CEO of LGBTIQ+ Health Australia, expressed deep concern over the move, describing it as “devastating and baffling”. “The lives of LGBTIQ+ people are not political footballs,” Bath said.
Dr Morgan Carpenter, CEO of Intersex Human Rights Australia, also condemned the decision, pointing to the lack of reliable data on the health and circumstances of people with intersex variations.
Carpenter warned that without meaningful inclusion in the census, the data collected would be “meaningless” and ineffective in addressing the unique needs of these populations.
Gay Sydney News editor
Gay Sydney News reporter