Response 719695828

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Has this submission been prepared in collaboration with any other individual(s) or organisation(s)?

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Yes (provide details below)
No (select the Continue button at the bottom of the page)

Potential removal - Number of children ever born

Do you currently use Number of children ever born data from the Census? (Select one)

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Yes
No

Potential changes - Ancestry and Ethnic identity

Do you currently use Ancestry data from the Census? (Select one)

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Yes
No
If yes, please explain how you use this data.
To get a better understanding of people and their identities. This helps us to plan programs and services for the population.

To what extent does this data currently meet your needs? (Select one)

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Fully
Partially
Not at all
Do not have a need for the data
Please provide a detailed explanation why the data does or does not meet your needs.
The data helps us to understand who lives in the LGA and the diversity of the population.

Describe the expected impact for you or your organisation if the Census collected up to four ancestries.

Please consider both the positives and negatives, if applicable, when responding to this question.
I think it's a good idea to collect more than two ancestries as I feel that people can then better express their multiple identities if they wish to. Also, it will then help us to understand better people's journey and their needs in this era of globalisation. Even decades after migration, people maintain links to their ancestry and that is important to understand and respect when interacting with them or engaging with them.

Is there benefit in collecting Ethnic identity in addition to Ancestry data in the Census? (Select one)

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Yes
No
Don't know
If yes, please provide a detailed explanation of what is expected to be provided by collecing ethnic identity that ancestry does not provide. Include examples on how the data would be used for each topic.
Ancestry and ethnicity are not always the one and same thing. I'm an Indian by ancestry but my ethnicity is Bengali and same will be the case for most people from India and from other countries as well. It is respectful to give people the option to express their multiple identities if they wish to. This information is also helpful for planning and engaging with people from Council's POV.

Describe the expected impact for you or your organisation if the Census only collected Ethnic identity (in replacement of Ancestry data).

Please consider both the positives and negatives, if applicable, when responding to this question.
It might be confusing for people to report only on ethnicity or ancestry rather than both. People have multiple identities and it is respectful to give them the option of expressing themselves the best way they wish to.

If the Census were to collect Ethnic identity data, should more than one ethnicity be collected? (Select one)

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Yes
No
Don't know

Potential changes - Language

Do you currently use Language used at home data from the Census? (Select one)

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Yes
No

To what extent does this data currently meet your needs? (Select one)

Please select one item
Fully
Partially
Not at all
Do not have a need for the data
Please provide a detailed explanation why the data does or does not meet your needs.
It would be better if people have the option of recording the languages, they speak rather than one language spoken at home. In many multilingual homes, more than one language apart from English is spoken and often it is difficult to decide which language is the main language and, in such situations, it is better that people are able to record all languages they speak.
It will help us to get a better sense of languages spoken across the municipality.

Describe the expected impact for you or your organisation if the Census removed the ‘at home’ context.

Please consider both the positives and negatives, if applicable, when responding to this question.
It will be in line with what we record for our employees so will be helpful.

Describe the expected impact for you or your organisation if the Census collected data on multiple languages used.

Please consider both the positives and negatives, if applicable, when responding to this question.
It will be helpful to get a better idea of peoples identities.

If the Census were to collect data on multiple languages used, would there be a need to understand which of these languages is the main language used? (Select one)

Please select one item
Yes
No
Don't know
Please explain why.
It would help us to understand whether interpreting or translating services are required. Or there could be a separate question of English language proficiency and then we won't need to ask main language question.

Potential changes - Religious affiliation

Do you currently use Religious affiliation data from the Census? (Select one)

Please select one item
Yes
No

To what extent does this data currently meet your needs? (Select one)

Please select one item
Fully
Partially
Not at all
Do not have a need for the data
Please provide a detailed explanation why the data does or does not meet your needs.
It helps us to understand the religious diversity within the LGA and need for social cohesion.

Describe the expected impact for you or your organisation if the Census collected Religious affiliation through a two-part question.

Please consider both the positives and negatives, if applicable, when responding to this question.
I think it's a good idea to ask the two part question as people then have the option of declaring whether they have a religion or not.