The Albanese Government’s decision that it will not include questions counting LGBTIQ+ Australians in the 2026 Census (as reported by Sky News) shows a shameful lack of commitment to addressing the health and wellbeing disparities experienced by LGBTIQ+ people. This will have a lasting negative impact on people’s lives for many years.
This decision abandons the Australian Labor Party National Platform that states, “Labor believes that LGBTIQ+ Australians should be counted as part of the national census. As part of the next census, Labor will commit to:
- include LGBTIQ+ Australians in the consultation and planning process for the 2026 Census; and
- ensure that the 2026 Census gathers relevant data on LGBTIQ+ Australians.”
Nicky Bath, CEO of LGBTIQ+ Health Australia (LHA), said, “This is a devastating and baffling decision that will retain the significant data gaps needed to address the pervasive health and wellbeing disparities that we continue to live with. It also means that accurate data will not be collected on LGBTIQ+ families. The lives of LGBTIQ+ people are not political footballs. Choosing not to include just four lifesaving questions, informed by the Australian Bureau of Statistics Standard in the 2026 Census, is an indictment of this Government that will have real-life consequences for LGBTIQ+ people.”
Dr Morgan Carpenter, CEO of Intersex Human Rights Australia (IHRA), said, “Without meaningful inclusion in the 2026 Census, we won’t have good, reliable data on the health and circumstances of people with innate variations of sex characteristics (intersex variations/differences of sex development). Worse than this, if the next census is the same as the last, it will collect data that is meaningless.”
For over a decade LHA and IHRA have worked closely with the ABS and other stakeholders to develop and implement data models that meaningfully and respectfully count people with innate variations of sex characteristics, who are trans and gender diverse and have diverse sexual orientations. This included detailed case studies, user testing and analysis, resulting in better data models and a new Standard for health and medical research to improve health outcomes.
This decision to disregard LGBTIQ+ people and ignore the evidence that demonstrates the need for this data is a decision that will impact negatively on people’s lives for many years to come. The next opportunity to capture this crucial data will be in 2032, risking another decade of inadequate health data to plan effective programs and solutions.
In the future, people will look back on this as a day of shame for a Government that purports to support and value LGBTIQ+ people’s lives. Instead, they have let down a significant part of the Australian population, at great cost to our health.
