Op.Ed : Why the Census Failed Us

— Courtney Act

WELL KNOWN AUSTRALIAN DRAG QUEEN AND TELEVISION PERSONALITY COURTNEY ACT MADE THE ABOVE POINT AS PART OF EQUALITY AUSTRALIA’S PUSH TO HAVE LGBTIQ+ PEOPLE COUNTED IN THE CENSUS.

The census ticks around every five years to provide a snapshot of who we are and how we are changing. It is not just about collecting statistics about where we live, who we live with, our work, lives, income and health, but it also provides crucial insights to inform the vital services that Australians need. We cannot effectively support all of Australia if we do not count all of Australia.

Currently, we do not understand how many people identify as LGBTIQ+, where they are, or anything about their socioeconomic status, health, relationships and more. It is a matter of serious concern.

As Amnesty International notes, the census’s lack of appropriate questions capturing LGBTIQ+ communities and experiences “will result in a service gap that constitutes discrimination of the LGBTIQ+ community”.

In a submission to the Senate, questions around sexuality and gender identity were proposed for inclusion in the 2021 census. Unfortunately, the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) decided to walk away from them due to perceived public backlash, even though in qualitative testing of census questions, those on gender and sexuality “performed well” with both target and non-target populations. The ABS even noted there are “no other suitable alternative data sources” to collect such crucial information. It also identified data on LGBTIQ+ communities as “of current national importance”. It’s also despite the fact that the majority of Australians voted for marriage equality, and Australia has generally taken more progressive steps towards gender and sexuality inclusion in the last few years.

So, nothing in the census asked specifically about sexuality. While the census has included questions around other identity categories including race, ethnic ancestry, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples and people living with a disability, LGBTIQ+ communities remain overlooked — and without good reason.

Determining whom and what is counted has always been part of census history — a history that has not always been neutral or fair. In fact, the census has often ignored or marginalised various communities for socio-political reasons.

For instance, while population counts began with colonisation around 1788 and the first census (as we know it, of people in dwellings) occurred in 1828, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people were only fully included in the census in 1971, almost two centuries later.

Longstanding structural racism and discrimination help explain the census’s historic incomplete data collection on First Nations people. Does the same hold true for the modern census’s approach to LGBTIQ+ communities?

Perhaps. Given there was strong evidence, arguments and testing around new questions on gender and sexuality in the census, it seems the ABS’s willful ignorance towards LGBTIQ+ people can only be justified by political conservatism and discrimination. Although LGBTIQ+ people have more reason than most to be wary of the quantitative collection of sensitive data, it still desperately needs to be collected.

Ultimately, not only is the lack of recognition distressing for many LGBTIQ+ people, it is also bad public policy. Australia needs reliable, informed data on sex, sexual orientation and gender identity. Without it, the census is too risk-averse to even be accurate.