Review of 2021 Census Topics

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Multicultural Affairs Queensland (MAQ), within the Department of Local Government, Racing and Multicultural Affairs, recommends the inclusion of an additional census topic “ethnicity”. The inclusion of an ethnicity topic would more accurately capture people’s cultural identity and the characteristics of the population, and enable improved government, policy, program and service delivery.

Australia’s population is becoming increasingly diverse. While existing Cultural Diversity Census topics such as ‘country of birth’, ‘ancestry’, and ‘main language other than English spoken at home’ help understand Australia’s cultural diversity and may have a bearing on a person’s cultural identity, these topics do not provide information on the cultural or ethnic group that a person currently identifies with. For the purposes of government agencies and their service providers, current identification is important as it shapes lifestyle choices, behaviours, belief systems, relationships and social systems.

The collection of data on ethnicity, in addition to data on ancestry and all other existing variables relating to Cultural Diversity, will enhance the richness and quality of data on Australia’s population, highlight groups that are currently ‘not visible’ and will improve policy and program design to better respond to the needs of community.

Increasing cultural diversity in Australia:

The results of the 2016 national Census showed that Australia is a fast changing, ever-expanding, culturally diverse nation. In communities across the country there was an increasing variety in terms of country of birth, languages spoken, whether people are of Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander descent, and religious affiliation (or secular beliefs) (see reference at footnote 1). For example, the 2016 Census shows that:
• two thirds (67 per cent) of the Australian population were born in Australia
• nearly half (49 per cent) of Australians had either been born overseas (first generation Australian) or had one or both parents born overseas (second generation Australian)
• over 300 separately identified languages were spoken in Australian homes and more than one-fifth of Australians spoke a language other than English at home.

MAQ considers that Australia’s growing cultural diversity presents new challenges and opportunities, including for policy makers and program designers, to better understand and respond to the needs of people, particularly those from new and emerging communities or those who are not easily ‘identifiable’ through current data collection measures.

MAQ notes the historic development of the inclusion of the ‘ancestry’ question in 1986 and its subsequent removal in the following two Censuses. MAQ welcomed the reintroduction of the ‘ancestry’ question in 2001 and its subsequent five-yearly collection to date, which, in association with other existing Census topics such as ‘Country of Birth’, ‘Year of Arrival in Australia’, ‘Country of Birth of parents’ and ‘Languages spoken’ helps understand cultural and linguistic diversity of Australia’s increasingly multicultural population.

Gap in identification of Australians’ cultural identity:

MAQ is aware through many years of working closely with diverse cultural and ethnic communities, that identifying cultural diversity is becoming increasingly complex given the increasingly rich diversity of our country’s population.

While existing Cultural Diversity Census topics can be used together to identify particular ethnic or cultural groups, they do not necessarily provide information on the cultural or ethnic group that a person currently identifies with. For the purposes of government agencies and their service providers, current identification is important as it shapes lifestyle choices, behaviours, belief systems, relationships and social systems.

The Australian Bureau of Statistics Standards for Statistics on Cultural and Language Diversity (p.11) highlight the complexity of identifying cultural identity, and limitations with using measures such as ancestry alone: “ancestry in the Australian context is complex as there are many Australians with origins and heritage that do not, in practice, relate to their current ethnic identity. Ancestry data alone, therefore, is not considered a good measure of service needs or the extent to which persons from certain backgrounds are associated with advantage or disadvantage. When Ancestry data is used alone, it should only be done to represent a broad measure of cultural diversity” (see reference at footnote 2).

Although ancestry and ethnic identity are related, they are also separate and distinct entities that when elicited, may provide different responses from people. Ancestry has a focus on fore-bearers and ancestral heritage; ethnicity, on the other hand, has a focus on current identification. For example:
• children born to second generation migrants, who were born in Australia, who have spent their entire lives in this country (e.g. second generation Chinese migrants - although ancestrally the children may identify as ‘Chinese’, they may not speak a Chinese language and may more readily identify themselves as ‘Australian’)
• cultural groups that can only be identified by ethnicity or sometimes languages they speak (e.g. Karen born in Thailand).

Proposed new topic ‘ethnicity’:

To improve identification of cultural and ethnic groups, including those who may not otherwise be captured in existing Census questions, MAQ recommends the inclusion of a new question on ‘ethnicity’ in addition to the existing census topics. The collection of data on ethnicity, in addition to data on ancestry and all other existing variables relating to Cultural Diversity, will greatly enhance the richness and quality of data on Australia’s multicultural population, highlight groups that are currently ‘not visible’ and will improve policy and program design to better respond to the needs of community.

The Queensland Government recognises the importance and positive impacts of improving collection of statistical information commensurate with the increasing cultural and linguistic diversity of the population. Section 19C of the Multicultural Recognition Act 2016 (the Act) requires that the multicultural policy must provide for a consistent approach across government for collecting statistical information about the diversity of people who use services provided by government entities . The Queensland Multicultural Policy and Action Plan thereby sets out requirements for Queensland Government agencies to collect data on cultural and linguistic diversity as follows:
• Minimum mandatory indicators: ‘Country of Birth’, ‘Preferred language’ and ‘Language required’.
• Desirable indicators: ‘Ethnicity (or cultural identity)’.

Identified Queensland Government agencies are required to develop agency implementation plans outlining steps needed for the government agency to collect and report on the minimum mandatory indicators. A number of Queensland Government agencies are currently collecting data on ethnicity, and a number of others are making provisions to collect ethnicity data in future.

The demand and interest in measuring the ethnic and cultural composition of the Australian population is growing as both community and Governments are seeking to better understand, and respond to, diverse cohorts of people. ABS, through mechanisms such as the Census, is well positioned to lead the way on improvements to how cultural and ethnic diversity is measured into the future.


Footnotes:
1. http://www.abs.gov.au/ausstats/abs@.nsf/lookup/Media%20Release3
2. http://www.ausstats.abs.gov.au/ausstats/subscriber.nsf/0/CA25687100069892CA256889000C9E88/$File/12890_1999.pdf

As outlined in response to Assessment criteria 1, identifying cultural diversity across Australia is becoming increasingly complex given the increasingly rich diversity of the population. Whilst existing Census topics provide some understanding of Australia’s cultural diversity, they do not necessarily provide information on the cultural or ethnic group that a person currently identifies with, including ‘Australian’. For the purposes of government agencies and their service providers, current identification is important as it shapes lifestyle choices, behaviours, belief systems, relationships and social systems.

MAQ’s recommendation to collect ethnicity data from a Census of the whole population aims to improve understanding of people’s cultural and ethnic identities, including those not captured in existing Census questions, and to enable more effective targeting of policy, programs and services.

Inclusion of a new question on ‘ethnicity’, in addition to data on ancestry and all other existing variables relating to Cultural Diversity, will greatly enhance the richness and quality of data on Australia’s population, highlight groups that are currently ‘not visible’ and will improve policy and program design to better respond to the needs of community.

The ethnicity topic could be combined with a number of other characteristics collected in the Census, such as those relating to education, employment, housing, and location.

It is suggested that the proposed question on ‘ethnicity’ could be structured in a similar manner to the existing question on ‘ancestry’. For example, the question could be phrased “What is the person’s ethnicity?” with a number of available options, as well as an ‘other’ field to allow respondents to complete as required.

It is anticipated there is likely going to be confusion over the terms ‘ancestry’ and ‘ethnicity’, particularly when both are asked adjacent to each other in the Census. It is suggested that some explanatory information be provided both to ancestry and ethnicity.

For the ‘ancestry’ question the following points could be provided:
• Ancestry is the person’s, or their family’s, origins and heritage
• Provide up to two ancestries only
• Examples of ‘Other’: Greek, Vietnamese etc.

For the proposed ‘ethnicity’ question, the following points could be provided:
• Ethnicity is the main culture or ethnic group that the person identifies with, including ‘Australian’
• Provide up to two ethnicities only
• Examples of ‘Other’: Chinese-Australian, Vietnamese, etc.

If this proposed change is adopted, MAQ would suggest engagement with the community to provide educational material regarding the differences between ancestry and ethnicity and why it is important to gather data on both variables.

MAQ considers that the addition of a question on ‘ethnicity’ is likely to be well received by the general community, particularly younger people who understand the complexities of identity, provided that ample education and awareness raising takes place to support the implementation of this change.

MAQ notes that there may be views that adding a question on ‘ethnicity’ on top of existing Cultural Diversity variables may be considered intrusive, particularly for some cohorts such as those who have come from traumatic backgrounds (e.g. refugees who have experienced persecution).

However more broadly speaking MAQ notes there may already be an unwillingness for some within those vulnerable cohorts to participate in the Census due to a general mistrust of the Census process or mistrust of Government. Some respondents may be concerned that identifying one’s cultural or ethnic diversity may cause them to be too easily identified (e.g., those who have escaped persecution). MAQ considers it important that the ABS continues to acknowledge and actively address issues impacting on possible under-enumeration among these cohorts.

It is suggested that the proposed question on ‘ethnicity’ could be structured in a similar manner to the existing question on ‘ancestry’. For example, the question could be phrased “Which ethnic group does the person belong to?” or “What is person’s ethnicity?” with a number of available options, as well as an ‘other’ field to allow respondents to complete as required.

It is anticipated there is likely going to be confusion over the terms ‘ancestry’ and ‘ethnicity’, particularly when both are asked adjacent to each other in the Census. It is suggested that some explanatory information be provided both to ancestry and ethnicity.

For the ‘ancestry’ question the following points could be provided:
• Ancestry is the person’s, or their family’s, origins and heritage
• Provide up to two ancestries only
• Examples of ‘Other’: Greek, Vietnamese etc.

For the proposed ‘ethnicity’ question, the following points could be provided:
• Ethnicity is the main culture or ethnic group that the person identifies with, including ‘Australian’
• Provide up to two ethnicities only
• Examples of ‘Other’: Chinese-Australian, Vietnamese, etc.

If this proposed change is adopted, MAQ would suggest engagement with the community to provide educational material regarding the differences between ancestry and ethnicity and why it is important to gather data on both variables.

MAQ recommends the ethnicity topic is included in the 2021 Census form and every 5 years thereafter.

The topic is likely to remain relevant into the future. As stated in Assessment Criteria 1, 2016 Census data showed that Australia is a fast changing, ever-expanding, culturally diverse nation. Inclusion of an ethnicity topic would enhance understanding of Australia’s cultural and ethnic diversity as it becomes more complex, and help improve policy, planning and service delivery into the future.

Whilst existing cultural diversity topics, including country of birth, ancestry, year of arrival, and languages spoken provide some information on cultural diversity in Australia, there are no sources of information on current cultural identification at the national level.

MAQ recommends that the addition of a Census ethnicity topic provides the best solution to understand cultural identification at a national level.