When is census day 2011

People are given 34 characters in which to answer the question "Briefly describe what you do did in your main job".

Although respondents are asked to base their answers on the people in their household on 27 March , they could have filled their form in at any point since they were first received.

Those who are unable to complete it on the requested date are advised to do it "as soon as possible afterwards". More than one million forms have already been submitted online, and census organisers believe that about a quarter of the 26 million households being surveyed will complete the document on the internet. But there is a warning for anyone who thinks they may be able to get away without completing the form. Enforcement officers will start knocking on the doors of homes where a census form has not been completed in five weeks' time.

Census awareness push under way. Census Day preparations under way. To identify tables by topic, we recommend you start with the table finder. Alternatively browse the full catalogue of tables for each of the key statistics, quick statistics and detailed characteristics series. Bulk download products are provided in a CSV format designed to be automatically loaded into systems.

They are not designed for use in desktop tools such as spreadsheets. We use this information to make the website work as well as possible and improve our services. You can change your cookie settings at any time. Census statistics help paint a picture of the nation and how we live. They provide a detailed snapshot of the population and its characteristics, and underpin funding allocation to provide public services.

A census is a unique source of detailed socio-demographic statistics that underpins national policymaking with population estimates and projections to help allocate funding and plan investment and services.

Later in the same year the Commonwealth Bureau of Census and Statistics was formed re-named the Australian Bureau of Statistics in National Censuses Since the Census has been a centralised activity conducted and controlled by the Australian Statistician under the authority of an Act of Parliament to ensure uniformity in the Census methods and data collected from each state, and to protect the confidentiality of information gathered. Due to the economic depression, it was considered inappropriate to conduct the scheduled Census of , so the Census and Statistics Act was amended to allow a Census to be held at any such time as prescribed.

Under the amended Act the next Census was held in No Census was held during the period of World War II and the first post-war Census was taken in , after an interval of 14 years. The year was chosen for the next Census, it being a seven year interval and equidistant between the Census and the then proposed Census. The practice of conducting a Census in at least the first year of each decade was resumed from onwards.

Every Five Years Following the Census, Australia has had a Census taken every five years, a practice which became mandatory with the amendment to the Census and Statistics Act in requiring that 'the census shall be taken in the year and in every fifth year thereafter, and at such other times as are prescribed'. Which Date? In selecting a Census date the ABS aims to select a date which minimises the proportion of the population who are not at their usual place of residence.