Every stat tells a story
Tuesday 10 August is Census Night. Every five years, the Census counts every person and household in Australia.
The Census is your opportunity to let the government know how you are doing - where you are living, your age, where you were born, the languages you speak, if and where you work, and your income.
Sometimes filling the census can be challenging. However this information is important for the government to design services in the future. You can read about how early support for bipolar disorder was made possible with Census data - https://www.census.abs.gov.au/about/census-stories/bipolar-australia.
This Census, the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) is also seeking to collect high level information on long-term health conditions. This includes arthritis, asthma, cancer, dementia, diabetes, heart disease, kidney disease, lung conditions, stroke and – most importantly – mental health conditions.
Letting the government know about any health conditions we have will be vital for them to put in place policies that are well-researched and well-informed that will help us in the future. We need to have our voices heard!
This year you can fill in the census online or request a paper form here. All personal information collected is kept safe and is not shared with anyone. You and your family can’t be identified by the information you put on your Census.
You can find more easy to read information about the census via this guide:
A guide to the 2021 Census.