Australia’s ‘most progressive’ census comes at personal cost to April – but.....

[Sarah B ✅]

Title: Australia's 'most progressive' census comes at personal cost to April – but it means their family will finally be counted
Link To: Article 🔗 [Link: 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/]
Author: Kat Wong
Date: Mon 27 Jul 2026 01.00 AEST
Trigger Warning: None
Brief summary of the article
The article reports that Australia's 2026 census will include questions on sexual orientation, sex recorded at birth and gender for the first time. It describes April Long's advocacy after the 2021 census did not adequately reflect their family, and explains that the new census questions are intended to provide better data for policy, services and research involving LGBTQ+ Australians.
Main Points of the Article
"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."

"This is probably the most progressive census Australia has ever seen,"

"They alleged the ABS had unlawfully discriminated against Long, their family and other members of their community by failing to properly count LGBTQ+ people in the 2021 census."

"It came at a personal cost, but the alternative was we did nothing and hoped that something changed – history shows us that just doesn't work,"

"It's not perfect, we didn't get everything we wanted, but I think there's moments in history where change might seem small but is actually quite profound,"

"Without an accurate reflection of the nation by way of the census, we are essentially blindfolding ourselves to data and evidence."
Best Wishes Always
Sarah B
Global Moderator

[Lori Dee ✅]

I can see how those types of questions can be used by the government to allocate resources, adjust policies, and benefit the community.

I can see how those types of questions can be used by the government to track, harass, deport, and target the community.

Under this Administration, I will plead the Fifth Amendment and refuse to answer those questions. Maybe in another ten years I will answer them, but not within the next five years.

Australia has better protections coded into its laws than we do.