<
https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2026/jul/27/australias-most-progressive-census-comes-at-personal-cost-to-april-but-it-means-their-family-will-finally-be-counted-ntwnfb>
"Self-professed “data nerd” April Long was excited to fill in their first
census after welcoming their son, Kai, to the world. But as they opened the
2021 survey, they quickly realised it wasn’t made for them.
It excluded Long’s role as a parent, made assumptions about their gender and
asked where Kai’s mother and father were born – when he has two mums.
Many “rainbow families” echoed similar experiences of the census being unable
to fully capture the LGBTQ+ community.
“When my son started school, I wanted him to be able to grow up and know there
are families like ours, and that we are part of the country’s story,” Long
says.
“Just now, I dropped him off for the first day of term three, and I’m going to
be able to tell him that.”
At the census on 11 August, Australians over the age of 16 will be asked to
identify their sexual orientation and given separate questions on their sex
recorded at birth and gender for the first time.
The 2026 iteration also introduces non-gendered terms to questions on household
and family relationships, among other changes.
“This is probably the most progressive census Australia has ever seen,” Dr Liz
Allen, a demographer at Australian National University, says.
“Imagine being born into a body or orientation that you have absolutely no
control over and yet you are forced to put yourself in a box you simply don’t
fit in.
“This census is inclusive at the most fundamental core of who we are. It is
saying that … if you are born beyond the gender prism of male and female, if
you are in a heterosexual relationship but are queer – then you too can
adequately reflect who you are.”"
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
