Census in Australia
national census of Australia, held every five years
The Census in Australia, officially the Census of Population and Housing, is the national census in Australia that occurs every five years. The census collects key demographic, social and economic data from all people in Australia on census night, including overseas visitors and residents of Australian external territories, only excluding foreign diplomats. The census is the largest and most significant statistical event in Australia and is run by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS). Every person must complete the census, although some personal questions are not compulsory. The penalty for failing to complete the census after being directed to by the Australian Statistician is A$220. The Australian Bureau of Statistics Act 1975 and Census and Statistics Act 1905 authorise the ABS to collect, store, and share anonymised data.
The first Australian census was held on 2 April 1911, but census data had been previously collected by individual states.
The most recent census was held on 11 August 2026. The next census is being held in 2031.
Geographical divisions
The census, like all ABS data, is collected and published in geographical divisions as defined by the Australian Statistical Geography Standard (ASGS).
The public source identifies “Census in Australia” as national census of Australia, held every five years. This brief keeps that definition visible, then builds a research path around Census, Australia and national.
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Named sources, stable identifiers and responsible institutions provide the strongest route from overview to verifiable evidence. The source revision retrieved here is dated Aug 15, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q5058971. 1 of 1 selected statements include explicit references; 1 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1975, 1905, 1911 and 2026.
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This entry incorporates text from “Census in Australia” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.