Submission to the Census topic consultation 2026.
From our submission:
Being able to show accurate data and trends is crucial in being able to identify the extent of issues, track change over time, and target interventions for those most in need. Unfortunately, we often need to rely on international data to make ‘best guesses’ at Australian data, which while similar to countries like the US, Canada, UK, differs in important ways.
We humbly submit the recommendation that the ABS includes the following questions for the 2026 Census.
What is your sexuality?
Heterosexual
Gay/Lesbian
Bisexual+
Asexual
Nonspecified and not heterosexual (queer, etc.)
Don’t know
Prefer not to say
Specify_______
Are you sexually and/or romantically attracted to more than one gender? (regardless of use of label such as bisexual, pansexual, etc.)
Yes
No, I’m only attracted to one gender
We would also support recommendations from trans and gender diverse led organisations on wording for questions regarding gender which are inclusive of transgender people. This should allow people to express their trans identity/history, and for data to be used productively in Australian population data. This should NOT require additional steps for the participant such as applying for supplemental forms, as this data in the past was not usable due to the demands on the participant.
We suggest these two specific questions above because asking about sexual identity label does not accurately capture the experiences of multi gender attracted Australians. This is due to how many people experience multi gender attraction and will not use a label such as ‘bisexual’ because of societal stigma. This is a known issue in bisexual research, with differing populations according to identity/attraction/behaviour, and so we encourage the ABS to attend to this in practice. Asking both of these questions allows multi gender attracted people to be identified in the sample even if they would call their sexuality something otherwise as is often the case.
