The Australian Census is a vital snapshot taken every five years of the country's demographics: who we are, where we live, and how our needs have changed.
With the COVID-19 pandemic still raging and almost half the population in lockdown at the moment, this year’s Census is more than a little different.
While Tuesday 10 August was the official Census night, the Australian Bureau of Statistics has allowed a window of one week for people to complete the form.
“It's much more convenient for everybody because we don't have the lifestyles anymore where we're always waiting at home on a particular night to fill in a government form,” said Teresa Dickinson, the senior responsible officer for the 2021 Census.
“We've provided more convenience, and it also spreads the load on the system for us.”
Households that have not returned their Census by 10 August will receive either a reminder letter or a visit from field officers where safe.
After that, the mammoth task of collating the responses begins, with the first release of Census data due in June 2022.
You won’t be fined if you don't submit your form on Census night but the ABS advises: "You may be fined if you refuse to complete the Census after receiving a Notice of Direction or submit an incomplete form".
The notice explains that if you don’t complete the Census, you can be prosecuted and fined up to $222 a day.
There's also extra in-language support for those who need it.
While the Census form is only written in English, Ms Dickinson said there's information available in 29 languages on the ABS website and on social media.
People can also access an interpreter through the national translation service.
“We are running, still, quite a number of pop-up fill in the form sessions, in-language, where we support people that want to complete the Census but need guidance in their own language,” Ms Dickson said.
“Some of those we can't do face-to-face anymore, because of the pandemic and so we've gone online [where] we have quite a number of sessions languages.”
The 2021 Census is the first in Australian history to be conducted in a pandemic.
Ms Dickson said it'll provide many insights into how we've fared as a population.
“It gives you a snapshot on a day, but it also allows you to compare over time,” she said.
“So what this Census will do, is it will give really deep rich information for small areas, and small groups of people about how their lives have changed under the pandemic.”
While the ABS insists this year's Census will be its best ever - with increased safeguards to the online platform, more telephone support, and a comprehensive advertising campaign - there will still be communities that are hard to reach, such as Australians who are homeless or sleep rough.
Lyn Edge, the mission secretary at the Salvation Army, said organisations working with this community rely heavily on the Census data to inform their decisions.
"It's really important information for planning, for resource allocation, but also advocacy, to ensure that the right services go to where they're needed for the future," she said.
Getting in touch with people who may be homeless, or not living at a fixed address is challenging - especially during a pandemic. The Salvation Army estimates for every homeless person counted, there are around 13 that aren't.
So Ms Edge is encouraging anyone who may know someone who is sleeping rough or moving houses to support them in completing their Census over the coming week.
"If anybody has somebody staying with them, in their spare room, or couch surfing, make sure their voices are heard through the Census," she said.
