Census Australia 2016: Will we have to cancel Christmas? Myths and facts explained

THE site is down, your Census isn’t done. Here’s what you need to know about fines and other crucial myths explained.

You do not have to fill the Census in on Census night. Picture: Glenn Ferguson

THE Census website is down and Australia is freaking out. So will you really have to pay a fine and what does it all mean?

Here are the most important Census myths busted to calm those jangled nerves.

MYTH: I WILL BE FINED $180 PER DAY IF I DON’T COMPLETE THE FORM ON CENSUS NIGHT

FACT: If you still haven’t submitted your form two weeks after Census night, a field officer will knock on your door and ask you to do so.

They will continue to do so until you have submitted it.

If you refuse, they will start the prosecution process.

Less than 100 fines were issued last Census and only to people who straight-up refused to complete it.

You will not be penalised for forgetting to fill it in or for completing it late.

“No one has ever been fined for being late with their Census form, the fines are only if you eyes-open refuse to a Census collector,” Chris Libreri, general manager of the Census and Statistical Network division, said.

Census 2016 program manager Duncan Young

MYTH: I HAVE TO FILL THE CENSUS FORM IN ON CENSUS DAY

FACT: Believe it or not, the aim of the Census is not to fine people, it is to establish the most comprehensive database of the Australian population possible. Hence why the ABS likes to get as close to a 100 per cent completion rate as it can.

This means you have until September 23 — yes, six weeks after Census night — to get it done.

Though it is meant as a snapshot of the population on August 9, don’t panic if your online instructions haven’t arrived/were thrown out/eaten by the neighbour’s dog.

You can call the Census Information Service on 1300 214 531 and order another be sent to you.

If you’re in an area with poor internet service, it’s highly likely you will only have the option of completing a paper form and it may not have been delivered yet.

Thousands of Australians did not receive their form until after Census day last time around.

At the opposite end of the spectrum, this year two million Australians had already submitted their forms online before Census day rolled around.

Your Census form does not have to be filled out on Census night. Picture: Glenn Ferguson

MYTH: CHRISTMAS WILL BE CANCELLED IF I MARK NO RELIGION

FACT: Right-wing activists are currently spreading misinformation, urging people not to mark no religion, saying it will lead to Islam being the predominant religion in Australia.

The fact is, Australia is a long way from having to sacrifice the much-loved Christian traditions of Christmas turkey and Easter chocolate.

In the 2011 Census, just 2.2 per cent of the population identified as Muslim, while 61.1 per cent identified as Christian. 22.3 per cent said they had no religion. There were more Buddhists (2.5 per cent) than Muslims.

So, unless about seven million Christians have converted to Islam in the past five years, there is about as much chance of Australia becoming a Muslim nation as the tooth fairy filling in a Census form on Tuesday night.

If you don’t practice a religion, mark yourself as non-religious. Pretty simple, really.

The multicultural Australia of today is much different to Australian society of the first Census in 2011. Picture: NIKKI DAVIS-JONES

MYTH: THE ABS WILL SELL OUR INFORMATION TO PRIVATE COMPANIES

FACT: Media reports leading up to the Census, based on freedom of information requests for internal ABS emails, claimed the Australian Bureau of Statistics was preparing to sell Census data for profit.

Not so, said Mr Libreri.

“Census data is free and will always be free,” he said.

“The only time we ever charge for Census data is for large files to cover only the costs.”

Collector Rosalind Dean, 21, at the 1976 Census.

Cover of guide to 1986 Census.

MYTH: MY PRIVACY IS BEING INVADED

FACT: Privacy concerns are a concern raised at each and every Census, with some of the data collected of a personal nature.

This time, however, the controversy has been heightened with it now compulsory to include your name and address on the form.

In every previous Census, it has been optional.

Once the data is collected, the ABS says names and addresses will be separated from Census answers and never recombined.

After four years, the records will be destroyed.

As for potential infiltration by hackers, the ABS says it uses the same storage system as Canada, New Zealand and the United Kingdom, none of which hackers have ever gained access to.

The Bureau has also employed ethical hackers to test the security of the site.

“We have been planning this a long time, our systems are as strong as we can possibly make them and we have done it before,” Mr Libreri said.

“We know it’s a badge of honour for hackers, you know, so we actually do employ our own hackers, we employ ethical hackers to test the system.”

Still have questions? Check out our explainer.