An LGBTQ+ lobby group says the prime minister should not march in Mardi Gras after the Albanese government quietly dumped a proposal to include a question about sexuality and gender diversity in the upcoming census.
The assistant minister for treasury, Andrew Leigh, confirmed there would be no changes to the 2026 census more than a year after the Australian Bureau of Statistics issued a statement of regret over the distress felt by the community as a result of being left out of censuses.
“The ABS is aware that for some respondents, the absence of questions on their gender identity, variations of sex characteristics or sexual orientation meant that they felt invisible and excluded when completing the census and in the census results produced,” it said in August last year.
The proposed new test questions would have asked about gender, sexual orientation and variations of sex characteristics while others would have centred on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultural identity and reasons for moving in the last 12 months.
Other questions on ancestry and religious affiliation would have been tweaked to capture more data.
On Monday, the ABS’s chief statistician, David Gruen, announced plans to test the new topics had since been scrapped.
“The test would have included topics that the government has now decided will not be in the 2026 census,” Gruen said.
“The ABS will adjust testing plans in light of this announcement, in order to best prepare us for a successful census – one that is safe, secure and easy to complete.”
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The changes mean those with diverse gender identities, sexual orientations and variations in sex characteristics will not be counted for another census.
Peak advocacy groups said the decision was a betrayal and would render many in the community “invisible” as they are not asked questions about who they are and how they live.
The decision also goes against Labor’s 2023 federal platform, which committed to ensuring the 2026 census gathered “relevant data on LGBTIQ+ Australians”.
Rodney Croome, a spokesperson for national lobby group Just.Equal Australia, said Anthony Albanese – a longtime supporter of Sydney’s Mardi Gras parade – should be uninvited until the decision is reversed.
“Mr Albanese may have marched across the Sydney Harbour Bridge for WorldPride last year, but in the eyes of many LGBTIQA+ Australians he has now pulled up the draw bridge to equality,” Croome said.
“Mr Albanese says he wants to promote social cohesion and prevent division, but by pushing LGBTIQA+ Australians back into the statistical closet he is doing exactly the opposite.”
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Guardian Australia has contacted the prime minister’s office for comment.
Equality Australia’s chief executive, Anna Brown, said the census decision was “staggering” after the commitments made by the ABS and Labor.
“Our communities will continue to feel invisible and demeaned because the federal government hasn’t taken this opportunity to finally reflect the diversity of Australia and gather crucial information about the kinds of services people need,” Brown said.
Nicky Bath, LGBTIQ+ Health Australia’s head, said the decision was a “devastating and baffling” decision and failed to address health and wellbeing data gaps for those in the LGBTQ+ community.
“The lives of LGBTIQ+ people are not political footballs,” Bath said.
“Choosing not to include just four life-saving questions, informed by the Australian Bureau of Statistics Standard in the 2026 census, is an indictment of this government that will have real-life consequences for LGBTIQ+ people.”
The Greens’ LGBTIQA+ spokesperson, Stephen Bates, accused Labor of back-pedalling and stalling on reforms for the queer community.
“Labor has failed to deliver protections for LGBTIQA+ teachers and students, Labor has failed to deliver the LGBTIQA+ health and wellbeing action plan, and now Labor’s even failed at the bare minimum to count LGBTIQA+ appropriately in the census,” he said.