Census questions - view on the website
The 2026 Census was in the media a few weeks back for all the wrong reasons.
The issue is about whether the questions of sexual orientation and gender identity should be included in the 2026 Census.
It doesn't take someone with a PhD to know that the wrong decision has been made to exclude these questions, again. Where this decision sits between the Government and the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) is more complicated.
Based on my cursory reading of how the ABS handled some of the 2021 Census data, their cavalier approach is a bit worrying.
There are various stated reasons for the exclusion of questions on sexual orientation and gender identity, but one not discussed is the length of the Census.
The length of surveys is usually restricted for various reasons. Someone at the ABS has probably defined the overall length of the Census, and therefore, you can't just 'keep adding questions in.'
That length would be governed by the number of pages it takes to print. Adding an extra page would substantially increase the cost of printing. About 10 million dwellings in Australia receive the Census. Adding one extra page requires an extra 10 million pages of paper. This is not a trivial decision.
Constraining the length seems fair and reasonable until you consider the time, cost, and effort required to produce, deliver, and collate the data. I've heard that the Census is the biggest peacetime activity undertaken in Australia.
Pointing fingers at others and telling them what they should have done is easy. I'm not involved in the design of the Census, and I doubt I ever will, as interesting as that would be.
If there's any organisation capable of designing a survey in Australia, it's the ABS.
This is not about the example, they never are, it's about your organisation.
To make my point, I tend to frame questions in a harsh, didactic, and unpleasant way. Being nice doesn't work.
Do you think your organisation can write better surveys than the ABS?
The correct answer is no.
The pertinent question for every organisation in Australia that writes surveys is - what egregious errors have you made that you don't even know about? Hint: they're probably not about gender because you shouldn't be asking about this.
How corrupted and useless is the data you've spent all this time and effort collecting?
Why don't you just write one great survey and use that instead of the pointless crap you send out?
If the model of one great survey is good enough for the ABS, maybe you should try this, too. If your organisation lacks the capability, hire the best person you can.
Andrew
Want more? Great.
On LinkedIn I describe why this concept is hard to implement.
Here's a short data bite if you want to hear me expand on the idea.
Last week I wrote about the McNamara fallacy.