Young people have called on the government to introduce questions about sexual orientation and gender identity in the 2026 census.
Key points:
- Queer young people say they want to see questions about their gender identity and sexuality involved in formal data collection
- The former government ordered the Australian Bureau of Statistics not to include questions about gender identity or sexual orientation
- Young people say that exclusion makes their struggles feel invisible
Although the 2021 Census included new questions about advocacy and long-term health conditions, it did not include questions about gender identity or sexual orientation.
The chief statistician at the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS), David Gruen, said the ABS consulted and considered including questions about gender and sexuality in the census, but the former federal government ordered that it did not include them.
Dr Gruen said issues of gender identity and sexuality will be reconsidered for the 2026 census.
“The census did not collect information on gender identity and therefore cannot give you an estimate of the trans population,” he said.
Blake Cutler, a researcher at the Monash Youth Policy Center, analyzed more than 500 responses to the 2021 Youth Barometer and found that queer youth wanted their experiences to be included in the data.
“One way advocating for queer youth was to include them in a formal data collection exercise like the census,” he said.
Cutler said the data collection reflected the values and priorities of governments.
“What we collect data shows where we are willing to invest effort and time,” he said.
“By essentially denying this entire sector of the population, it sends a very clear message that your rights and experiences are not at the center of politicians’ perspectives and views.”
The ABS is expected to publish data by the end of the year on how many people responded with a “non-binary” question to sex.
Queer health advocates have called on Australia to continue in New Zealand, Britain and Canada to include questions about gender and sexuality.
Rolling the dice
Raymond Woods works as a cleaner in the regional Victorian town of Traralgon, where he continues to face barriers to getting involved in his community.
“Every time I find a new home, a new job, I have to go out,” he said.
He said better data on how many trans and gender people there were in the city would help inform systemic change.
“It’s these little systems where you have to roll the dice: should I use my correct name and pronouns or my legal name and come out later?” He said.
Raymond Woods says he has faced barriers to participating in the workforce. (Supplied by: Raymond Woods)
Although he has begun to find a new community, he said he had been separated from his biological family.
“My family is now out of doubt because they don’t understand me,” he said.
Woods offered advice to cisgender and heterosexual people when a queer person “lets them in.”
“Let them talk and tell their truth. Say ‘thank you for letting me into your life,'” he said.
“I still feel like we have a long way to go. I’m still on a lot of waiting lists to receive hormones and surgery, and I still have a dead name and a dead gender.
“We’ve come a long way but we’re not going anywhere.”
Better support is needed
The analysis of Mr. Cutler of the 2021 Youth Barometer also made significant discoveries about young people’s experiences at school and in the workplace.
“In the study, 69% of queer youth reported significant stress in interacting with other students and colleagues. This was 33% more than cisgender and heterosexual youth,” he said.
The doctoral student said the research also presented a way forward without perpetuating apparent “deficits” in queer youth.
“Focusing on broader interactions and how some of the problems are encountered with the interaction of cisgender and heterosexual students tells us how we could address some of these challenges,” he said.