‘Census21’ group seeking clarification from Andrew Leigh over Census decision

The ‘Census21 – Not Religious?’ campaign is seeking clarification from the Albanese government following its recent announcement regarding proposed topics for the Census in 2026.

According to media reports, the minister responsible for the Census, Andrew Leigh, has this week announced there would be no changes to the topics asked in the next Census.

Michael Dove, spokesperson for ‘Census21 – Not Religious?’, has written to Dr Leigh, to ask whether the announcement has implications for the proposed new religion question.

The Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) recently informed Mr Dove that testing on the reformulated religion question would be conducted in September.

While some media reporting this week suggests that testing on a reformulated religion question may be affected by the government’s decision, the ‘Census21 – Not Religious?’ campaign understands that the religion topic will remain and that the ABS will continue to test the new question.

As part of the public consultation process, the ‘Census21 – Not Religious?’ campaign has been advocating for changes to the question so as to remove inherent bias in the question and ensure more accurate and meaningful data.

In his letter, Mr Dove told Dr Leigh that the ‘Census21’ coalition of pro-secular and non-religious groups had been troubled by the Catholic Church’s media campaign and lobbying effort calling on the Albanese government to reject the ABS’ proposed change to the religion question.

In a recent article in Pearls & Irritations, Mr Dove responded to the misinformation and outlined the need for reform of the religion question.

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