News

Don’t forget the census tonight

By Cobram Courier

Aug 11, 2026

Census forms must be completed by tonight, either physically or online.

Census night is tonight and households must complete their census form.

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The forms must be completed wherever you are staying on census night.

Completing the census is compulsory for everyone in Australia on census night, with data collected used to help governments and communities plan for the future.

Depending on their location, households have either received census instruction letters in the mail informing them how to fill out their forms or been visited by census field staff who have delivered paper census forms.

Households yet to receive instructions or a physical form can request for one to be sent or get a census number and complete the form online.

Failure to complete the census when directed may result in prosecution and fines of up to $364 a day.

To complete your census form, you’ll need to know:

who will spend the night in your household on census night, Tuesday, August 11; and
who usually lives in your household but will be away on census night.

For everyone in your household on census night, you’ll need to know:

name, sex recorded at birth, date of birth and age and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander status;
current address and addresses for one year and five years ago;
current marital status;
country of birth, citizenship, ancestry, religion, languages used, countries of birth of parents and year of arrival in Australia (if applicable);
if they need assistance with self-care, body movement or communication activities;
if they have a long-term health condition;
education and qualifications (for people aged 15 years and older);
work (paid and unpaid) and total personal income; and
if they have served in the Australian Defence Force.

You will also be asked about the following for everyone in your household aged 16 years and older. You can choose to select ‘prefer not to answer’ for these questions: