Complaints about the census being too invasive clashed with online defences of the national count as Australians headed into census night last night, with one protest post drawing both ridicule and support.
A Facebook post shared by the page Educate for Protection showed a census envelope covered in handwritten messages including “RTS”, “No kings, No constitution, No Governor-General, No Prime Minister”, alongside the caption: “The Sense-Less Census reply”.
It quickly drew a flood of responses, with many commenters mocking the protest.
“Cookers posting their lives on Facebook but are against statistics due to privacy concerns,” one person wrote.
“The tin foil hat brigade are out in force,” another said.
“That showed them hey,” a third added.
Others, however, backed the sentiment.
“I threw mine out instead and saved the ink,” one said.
“My dog ate it” another wrote.
The online flare-up came as Australians were required to complete the census on Tuesday night, the once-every-five-years national count run by the Australian Bureau of Statistics to build a snapshot of the country.
Every household in Australia must take part, with this year’s form asking 66 questions covering details such as address, household members, cultural background, education, income, work and how people travel to their jobs.
The requirement also extends beyond citizens. Anyone in Australia on census night, including tourists and people on temporary visas, must be counted.
One woman posted a photo of her computer screen showing feedback she said she submitted after completing the form, describing the census as “too invasive and politically correct”.
“The census writers would prefer to know how many cars and bedrooms a property has on census night instead of how Australians are actually coping and what services they actually need,” she wrote.
Another Facebook page, Mouths of Mums, also asked followers whether they thought the census questions were “a bit too invasive”.
Many agreed, while others said the questions were much the same as in past censuses.
One woman, who said she had worked for the state demographer’s office, defended the survey and said census data was public and “extremely valuable” for planners and demographers.
“Analysing trends in the data is fascinating and leads to all sorts of really relevant decisions including where to build new schools and hospitals and planning for future public transport corridors,” she said.
“I think they should be asking way more questions. It’s such a great opportunity to collect fantastic data that really helps us to get a snapshot of Australia every five years and identify trends and patterns that we either need to plan ahead for, or if they are negative patterns, introduce policies to mitigate them early.”
Other complaints centred on the religion question, with some pointing out there were specific Christian denominations listed but not “Christian” as a standalone option.
“Absolutely outrageous that you cannot select Christian in a census for a historically and structurally Christian country,” one man wrote on Facebook.
Others said they would write in Christian in the “other” box.
The reaction online also tapped into a broader distrust around government data collection.
For those who ignored the form, the penalties can be steep.
The ABS can issue another notice directing someone to complete the census and, if they still fail to comply, they can be fined up to $364 for each day it remains incomplete.
Providing false information is also an offence and can carry a fine of up to $3640.
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