The 2026 census could include questions on sexual and gender identity for the first time.
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The Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) said it was considering changes to a range of questions on the largest national data collection exercise.
The most recent census in 2021 was the first in Australia that allowed respondents to select something other than male or female as their sex by providing 'non-binary' as a third option.
The ABS said this addition to the sex question did not yield meaningful data because the concept of non-binary sex was not consistently understood.
The non-binary sex option was marked on the census form for 43,220 respondents or 0.17 per cent of the Australian population.
New topics
Other new topics in consideration include variations of sex characteristics, referring to people with innate genetic, hormonal or physical sex characteristics that do not conform to medical norms for female or male bodies.
Journey to education, household energy use and reason for moving in the last 12 months were also in consideration.
The ABS said it was also considering removing several topics, including number of motor vehicles and unpaid work domestic activities, due to the availability of alternative data sources.
IN OTHER NEWS:
ABS sought consultation from the Australian community about what they think should be included in the next census. It received more than 260 submissions.
"New topics in the census are carefully considered to balance the cost to the Australian taxpayer and the burden on households when answering additional questions," director 2026 census content Georgia Chapman said.
In 2024, the ABS will make a recommendation to the federal government on the topics for the next census.
