EXPLANATORY STATEMENT
Issued by authority of the Assistant Minister for Productivity, Competition, Charities and Treasury and Parliamentary Secretary to the Treasurer
Census and Statistics Act 1905
Census and Statistics (2026 Census Day) Proclamation 2025
The Census and Statistics Act 1905 (the Act) governs the taking and administration of the Census of Population and Housing (the Census).
Subsection 8(1) of the Act provides that the Census shall be taken in the year 1981 and every fifth year thereafter, and at such other times as are prescribed. Thus, the next National Census is to be conducted in 2026. The Census day is defined in subsection 19A(3) of the Act and means the day appointed, under subsection 8(2), as the Census day for that Census. Subsection 8(2) of the Act requires that the Census day shall be appointed by proclamation.
The purpose of the Census and Statistics (2026 Census Day) Proclamation (the Proclamation) is to appoint the Census day for the 2026 Census. The previous Census was conducted on 10 August 2021. To maintain comparability of the time series data it is important that the 2026 Census day be consistent with this date and be conducted as close as possible to this date. This avoids potential statistical anomalies when compared with previous Censuses. The Census also needs to avoid school holidays to ensure as full coverage as possible of persons in their usual place of residence.
Therefore, the Proclamation appoints 11 August 2026 as the day on which the 2026 Census will be taken.
The Census day has taken place on a Tuesday in early August for each Census since 1991. This timing was chosen to minimise the displacement of population, with this being when the fewest people would be likely to be absent from their usual residence. During the public consultation on the content of the 2026 Census which took place in 2023 and 2024, many submissions noted the need for Census data to remain as comparable as possible over time. Further external consultation in relation to the selection of the date was not considered necessary.
The Act does not specify any conditions that need to be satisfied before the power to make the Proclamation may be exercised.
The Proclamation is a legislative instrument for the purposes of the Legislation Act 2003.
The Proclamation commenced on the day after it was registered on the Federal Register of Legislation.
The Proclamation is subject to disallowance and sunsetting provisions pursuant to the Legislation Act 2003.
Details of the Proclamation are set out in Attachment A.
A statement of Compatibility with Human Rights is at Attachment B. The Office of Impact Analysis has been (OIA) has been consulted (OIA ref: OIA24-08171) and agreed that an Impact Analysis is not required. The measure has no impact on compliance costs.
ATTACHMENT A
Details of the Census and Statistics (2026 Census Day) Proclamation 2025
Section 1 – Name
This section provides that the name of the Proclamation is the Census and Statistics (2026 Census Day) Proclamation 2025.
Section 2 – Commencement
This section provides that the Proclamation commenced on the day after the instrument was registered on the Federal Register of Legislation.
Section 3 – Authority
The Proclamation is made under subsection 8(2) Census and Statistics Act 1905 (the Act).
Section 4 – Census day 2026
This section provides that the Census day for 2026 is proclaimed to be 11 August 2026.
ATTACHMENT B
Statement of Compatibility with Human Rights
Prepared in accordance with Part 3 of the Human Rights (Parliamentary Scrutiny) Act 2011
Census and Statistics (2026 Census Day) Proclamation 2025 (Legislative Instrument)
This Legislative Instrument is compatible with the human rights and freedoms recognised or declared in the international instruments listed in section 3 of the Human Rights (Parliamentary Scrutiny) Act 2011.
Overview of the Legislative Instrument
Subsection 8(1) of the Census and Statistics Act 1905 (the Act) provides that the Census of Population and Housing (the Census) shall be taken in the year 1981 and every fifth year thereafter, and at such other times as are prescribed. Thus, the next Census is to be conducted in 2026. The Census day is defined in subsection 19A(3) of the Act and means the day appointed, under subsection 8(2), as the Census day for that Census. This appointment must be done by proclamation. This Legislative Instrument proclaims the Census day to be 11 August 2026.
Human rights implications
This Legislative Instrument engages, and is compatible with, the prohibition on interference with privacy. Article 17 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights prohibits unlawful or arbitrary interferences with a person’s privacy, family, home and correspondence. It also enforces the right to lawful protection against such interference.
The purpose of the Legislative Instrument is to proclaim the day when the 2026 Census will be held and therefore when personal information will be collected. The Census aims to accurately measure the number of people and dwellings in Australia on the night of the Census day, and a range of their key characteristics. This information is used for electoral purposes and for planning the distribution of government funds.
The conduct of the Census, as required by the Act, engages the prohibition on interference with privacy. The Legislative instrument itself does not impose obligations on persons to provide personal information. Such obligations associated with the collection of information from persons for the purposes of the Census are lawfully imposed by subsections 10(4) and 11(2) of the Act. Information given under the Act is protected by the secrecy provisions of section 19, which provide for offences for officers who disclose information (other than to the person from whom it was obtained) given under the Act.
Conclusion
The Legislative Instrument is compatible with human rights because to the extent that it may interfere with human rights, this interference is necessary for the function of the Census, and rights are reasonably protected.