Prime Minister Anthony Albanese flips on queer census questions

The 2026 census will include questions about people’s sexuality and gender orientation with Anthony Albanese saying the Australian Bureau of Statistics was testing the wording of a query.

The Prime Minister confirmed the move on Friday morning, after a week of discontent among the LGBTQIA+ community and Labor backbenchers that the party was not going to fulfil its pledge to collect data on this area.

Mr Albanese said the question would be included in the 2026 census provided the ABS could ask for it sensitively and gather the data needed. Answering the questions would be optional.

Mr Albanese said it was a common-sense position.

“There will be a question in the census, if it is successfully tested by the Australian Bureau of Statistics,” he told ABC radio.

“But in 2024 or 2026, the world has changed as well. It used to be . . . people’s sexuality wasn’t as open or as accepted as it is today. And therefore, the census, in terms of modernising, reflecting some of the changed values which are there by asking a question, I think that people would think that was pretty common sense.”

He said the new question did not mean there would be “holus-bolus massive changes” to the census.

Mr Albanese confirmed the switch in position on Friday, which is Wear It Purple Day when schools, workplaces and community groups across the country encourage people to wear the colour to show young LGBTQIA+ people they are loved and accepted.

Officials had quietly announced at the start of the week the ABS was scrapping proposals for five new topics to be added to the next census survey.

But Foreign Minister Penny Wong told The West on Thursday there was time to work through the issues before the 2026 census.

“As a member of the LGBTIQ community, I hear and respect that the community is hurting,” she said.

“I hope that we can work through this with the community.”

Senior ministers Richard Marles and Jim Chalmers said the move was to avoid a divisive debate that could be harmful to some people.

Asked if she thought the questions would be divisive, Senator Wong expressed concern that vulnerable communities had “often been targeted by politics”.

“There is a history of, particularly, right wing politicians trying to target vulnerable communities, and we always have to stand with them,” she said, speaking in the WA seat of Swan while visiting Perth.

“You might remember the 2022 election, trans kids were targeted, and that issue was weaponised in the election campaign. We have to stand against those kinds of prejudice.”

Opposition Leader Peter Dutton — who on Thursday labelled the move to include questions on sexuality and gender part of the “woke agenda” — said on Friday there could be a sensible way forward on counting LGBTQIA+ members of the community.

“Well, I’m fine with that if the Prime Minister’s got a proposal,” he said.

“But he’s had no conversation with us, and he hasn’t approached us in relation to what it is he’s proposing.”

LGBTQIA+ advocates pointed out that government agencies, health entities, businesses and academics had repeatedly called for information on sexuality and gender orientation to be included in baseline population data.

“These are sensible and pragmatic changes that will simply mean governments and other service providers have the data they need to make sound decisions, and there is widespread support for these new questions from across the parliament,” Equality Australia chief executive Anna Brown said.

The 2021 census included for the first time a question about people’s military service to help governments develop policies and services for veterans.