Backflip on LGBTQIA+ census question after public backlash

More than a year after he was the first PM to march in the gay and lesbian mardi gras, Anthony Albanese has backflipped on a decision that angered the community.

Anthony Albanese, the first prime minister to march in a Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras, has backflipped on a decision to exclude questions about gender and sexuality from the 2026 census.

After several Labor MPs broke ranks on the issue, Mr Albanese told the ABC on Friday that a question would be included provided Australian Bureau of Statistics “testing goes OK”.

“We’ve been talking with the Australian Bureau of Statistics and they’re going to test for a new question,” he said.

“One question about sexuality, sexual preference. They’ll be testing, making sure as well that people will have the option of not answering it (if they) prefer not to answer.”

Anthony Albanese, with fiancee Jodie Haydon and NSW Premier Chris Minns, was the first prime minister to take part in the Mardi Gras parade in Sydney in 2023. Picture: NewsWire / Jeremy Piper

Mr Albanese said a draft question had been developed this week.

Labor had promised to include LGBTQIA+ Australians in the census, which is why revelations the Albanese government would not caused a stir.

Asked why he was backflipping on the backflip, Mr Albanese played down the political pressure.

“This is the first time I’ve been asked about it,” he said.

“What there isn’t going to be is holus-bolus massive changes to the census because we think that it’s been pretty effective in the past, and for a range of issues the census isn’t the right vehicle to engage with the community across a whole range of issues.”

He said the census was “not the be all and end all”, adding that the government collected data “in a range of ways”.

The proposed question’s re-inclusion was simply part of a “modernising” process, according to M Albanese.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has played down the political pressure amid his government’s backflipping on the census backflip. Picture: NewsWire / Martin Ollman

At least six Labor politicians had criticised the decision to not count LGBTQ Australians in the next census, including Assistant Health Minister Ged Kearney.

Alicia Payne, Michelle Ananda-Rajah and Jerome Laxale joined Josh Burns and Peter Khalil in calling for the government to reverse its call to not include new sexuality questions in the census.

Opposition Leader Peter Dutton, who on Thursday had said the question reflected a “woke agenda”, on Friday said he was prepared to discuss the issue with the government.

“We can have a sensible way forward, but the prime minister at the moment I think is demonstrating he that has lost control of the agenda,” Mr Dutton said.

Hours before Mr Albanese’s announcement, Australia’s Sex Discrimination Commissioner Anna Cody lashed out at Jim Chalmers for defending the government’s decision not to include questions about gender and sexuality.

The Treasurer said on Thursday that the government was trying to avoid “nastiness and weaponisation”,differing to Mr Albanese’s take a day later.

But Ms Cody said Dr Chalmers’ justification was “patronising” and exclusionist.

“The national census is about collecting data of all Australians,” she told the ABC on Friday morning.

“It needs to be a comprehensive, inclusive document and that is what including LGBTQIA+ communities is about, making sure it is an inclusive document rather than excluding a large section of community.”

Sex Discrimination Commissioner Anna Cody said the federal government’s decision not to include questions on gender and sexuality in the 2026 census could ‘amount to unlawful discrimination’. Picture: Supplied

Ms Cody brushed off Dr Chalmers’ concerns about weaponisation, saying “possible harm” was not a “sufficient excuse” and that the decision to exclude the questions was actually “harmful”.

“The LGBTQIA+ communities are calling to be included,” she said.

“It really is a patronising to then say because of the possible harm to those communities, therefore we won’t include them at all.”

In a response to the Prime Minister’s about face, Ms Cody said it showed the government had listened.

“I welcome the constructive response by the Prime Minister and federal government to change the decision and commit to including LGBTQIA+ Australians in the 2026 census,” she said.

“The government has heard the concerns raised by communities, who deserve the right to be counted in this important national snapshot.”

Ms Cody said Australia had seen “the widespread harms” of “previous exclusions.”

“Today, the government listened. And we applaud that,” she said.

Originally published as Backflip on LGBTQIA+ census question after public backlash