Culture

Seven Questions About The Census You Were Too Afraid To Ask

Jedis, boycotts and Jesus. What doesn't the census have?

by Osman Faruqi  3 August 2016

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There hasn’t been this much commotion about a census since a newly engaged couple trekked back to their hometown of Bethlehem and settled in for the night at a quiet inn. But since the 2016 Australian census is unlikely to herald the birth of Christ, what’s gotten everyone so panicked and why are there calls for a national boycott?

With some influential politicians calling the census a “debacle” and privacy advocates freaking out, this seems like a good time to break down what the census actually is, why it matters and why it’s become so controversial.

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1. What Is The Census?

The census is a national count of everyone in Australia on a particular date. It happens every five years on the second Tuesday in August (this year’s census will be held on August 9). It’s sort of like a giant roll call, but instead of just saying “Here!” you fill out 60 different questions relating to your age, gender, relationship status, level of education, employment and a lot more.

The census is run by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS). The first Australian census was held in 1911 and the last one, held in 2011, cost about $400 million to run.

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2. Who Uses It?

The census is regularly used by all sorts of different organisations to help shape the future of Australia. Local, state and federal governments use census data to better target and deliver services to the community. It’s supposed to help policy makers and politicians plan for the future. Census data is also used to decide how many seats in the federal House of Representatives each state is entitled too. So it is quite literally used to decide the political future of the country.

Many non-government organisations also utilise census data. For example, political parties use data from the census to help target their election campaigns’ resources. Academics and researchers draw on census data to conduct important public inquiries into a range of policy issues.

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3. How Do I Do It?

In previous years paper surveys have been delivered to all Australian households. But this year, for the first time, the ABS is sending a unique 12 digit code to every household which will allow you to fill out the census form online (if you’re really desperate to kill some trees, you can still order a paper version from the ABS website). On census night all you have to do is log on using your code number and spend about half-an-hour filling out the questionnaire.

There is one catch though: the census is supposed to be filled out once by each household. So if you have housemates you’re probably going to have to sit down together to fill it out. If you aren’t so keen on that idea, either for privacy reasons or because your housemates are weird units, you can request our own individual log in code from the ABS.

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4. What Happens If I Don’t Do It?

The census is compulsory to complete, so if you don’t fill it out, it’s straight to the slammer. Nah, you won’t get jailed but you could be fined $180 a day until you fill it out. Everyone in the country, even if they aren’t a citizen, has to do it. The only way to get out of it is to flee to country. So either fill it out or go on a quick holiday to New Zealand. Probably easier to just fill it out.

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5. Why Is Everyone Freaking Out About The Census This Year?

For the first time, the ABS will be keeping everyone’s names and addresses on file for four years. Previously you had to opt-in if you wanted your name kept on record and it was only stored for 18 months. The ABS wants more individualised information so it can match the census data to other pieces of government information, like health and education records. Privacy advocates have said that these changes are an “invasion of privacy”. The former head of the ABS told the ABC that the move is “a significant invasion of privacy, and the ABS shouldn’t do it”. The Pirate Party has called for a boycott of the census.

Privacy advocates are concerned that future governments could use data from the census, that’s now linked to individuals, for nefarious purposes. In particular, The Pirate Party is worried that “A future government could simply re-collate the data and use the information to target opponents based on religion, career or ethnicity. When potential abuse can only be thwarted by the good will of future governments, the risk to personal safety is too great.”

The ABS has dismissed these privacy concerns and pointed out that New Zealand and Canada conduct their census in the same way. The Guardian has reported that there have been more than a dozen data breaches at the ABS since 2013, though none of them related to census data.

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6. So Should I Still Do It?

Academics have pointed out that if a lot of people boycott the census it will skew the data and make it harder for policy makers to plan for the future. The fact is governments already have an enormous amount of data on all of us. That doesn’t mean we need to just keep handing more personal information over without any guidelines, but the census is only one part of the wider privacy debate. Most of the concerns around this census relate to what could happen in the future. Under current laws the Minister for Immigration, for example, couldn’t just pull up a list of everyone who said they were a Muslim on the census and then deport them.

Privacy advocates are worried that once the information is collated, a future government to change the law to give themselves access to that data. If we’ve really gotten to that point as a country I’d say we have a lot more to worry about than the census. If you’re really keen to avoid the census than there are some tips here you can use to try and get out of it, though we aren’t taking any responsibility if they do or don’t work!

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7. Why Is Everyone Talking About Jedis?

Back in 2001 about 70,000 Australians decided to troll the census by listing their religion as “Jedi”. This time around the Atheist Foundation of Australia is urging people to stop writing Jedi because it makes the country look more religious than it actually is. There’s concern that the power of religious groups in Australia is overstated because lots of people mark down the religion they were born into, regardless of whether or not they are practising. So have a think about how religious you are, and how much power you want the Australian Christian Lobby to have, before you fill out the census.

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Is There Anything Else I should Know?

That’s pretty much it. There’s been some reports of households not getting their log-in codes, but if you find yourself in that situation all you need to do is contact the ABS and they’ll sort you out. The only other thing to remember is that you’re supposed to fill out the census at wherever you end up being on census night. So if you’re hanging out at a mates place or if you’ve scored on Tinder, make sure you fill in the census for that household, not your home address.

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Feature image from YouTube