PM backs down over LGBTIQA+ being part of next census

The Federal Government has backflipped over its decision not to include LGBTIQA+-related questions in the 2026 Census.

After a week of back and forth, cancelled meetings and high-level public debate on the issue, Anthony Albanese confirmed on Friday morning (30 August) that one question will now be included in the census.

“We’ve been talking with the Australian Bureau of Statistics and they’re going to test for a new question – one question about sexuality, sexual preference,” the Prime Minister told ABC radio.

“They’ll be testing, making sure as well that people will have the option of not answering it [if they] prefer not to answer. But we think that is a common-sense position.”

Depending on how the testing lays out, Mr Albanese said there would be one question on sexuality in the next census, “as long as the testing goes okay and a question can be developed in a way that is sensitive and that gets the information that is required”.

“The ABS will be testing that. There’s a draft question that has been developed this week, which they will go and test and see if that’s possible.”

The government had come under sharp criticism in the past week for landing on a decision to exclude questions on sexuality in the next census.

Six of Labor’s own MPs publicly expressed their dissent over the decision to exclude sexuality questions, and even some Coalition MPs voiced surprise at the exclusion — although Opposition Leader Peter Dutton described it as a “woke agenda”.

ACT Chief Minister Andrew Barr also expressed his disappointment at the initial decision to keep sexuality questions out of the census.

“There has rightly been a strong focus on the value of data collection to inform evidence-based policies and service delivery and ensure our LGBTIQA+ community is counted,” he said.

Australia’s Sex Discrimination Commissioner Anna Cody said Labor had made a mistake by refusing to include LGBTIQA+-related questions and had reneged on its commitment to include the questions.

Five new topics have been proposed for the next census, including questions about sexuality. However, the government decided to use the same set of questions that had been used for the last census.

Deputy Prime Minister Richard Marles, when asked about it on Wednesday, said the decision was made in the hope of avoiding political and social fighting over the questions.

“We are doing that because we do not want to open up divisive debates in the community now,” Mr Marles said.

“We’ve seen how divisive debates have played out across our country, and the last thing we want to do is inflict that debate on a sector of our community right now.

“That’s why we are taking, in broad terms, the set of questions that went to the last census.”

But on Thursday, Dr Cody said Labor had committed to including LGBTIQA+ diversity questions and should reconsider backing away from that promise.

She also wrote to Assistant Minister Andrew Leigh expressing her concern and disappointment at the Federal Government’s decision.

“This decision carries serious implications for the health, wellbeing and general equality of LGBTIQA+ Australians and their families,” Dr Cody wrote.

“In the face of rising negative rhetoric, there may be concern about the harmful impacts that another public debate may have on LGBTIQA+ people and their families.

“However, while we must seek to minimise harm, the answer cannot be to do nothing. LGBTIQA+ Australians and their rights must be protected and supported, as must the rights of all Australians.

“The Australian Human Rights Commission and I had welcomed the Australian Labor Party’s commitment to ensuring LGBTIQ+ Australians would be counted in the 2026 Census. I hope you will reconsider this decision.”

The Greens also condemned the government’s decision, saying Labor had betrayed the LGBTIQA+ community.

Greens federal MP and spokesperson on the subject, Stephen Bates, said it was clear LGBTIQA+ rights didn’t matter to Labor anymore.

“Labor has backpedalled and stalled on every reform that would improve the lives of queer people,” he said.

Now, the backflip on the backflip will deliver at least one LGBTIQA+-related question with the census Australians will complete in 2026.

The Prime Minister refused to call his latest decision a backflip; however, he added that a number of possible new questions would not be asked for the next census.

“What there isn’t going to be is holus-bolus massive changes to the census because we think that it’s been pretty effective in the past, and for a range of issues” he said.

“The census isn’t the right vehicle to engage with the community across a whole range of issues. It’s not the be-all and end-all.

“The world has changed with the census. We now have data collection in a range of ways, including on our phones and through Facebook, and through the range of vehicles that are available, as we know.”

Last year, the Australian Human Rights Commission successfully conciliated a discrimination complaint under the Sex Discrimination Act brought against the ABS over the 2021 Census for failing to ask meaningful LGBTIQA+ questions or to properly count members of the LGBTIQA+ community.

Following the conciliation process, the ABS committed to reforming its approach to the inclusion of LGBTIQA+ questions and topics in the 2026 Census.