LGBTIQ+ Health Australia, the national peak health organisation in Australia for organisations and individuals that provide health-related programs, services and research focused on lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and intersex (LGBTI) people is disappointed by the government’s decision to proceed with the Treasury Census and Statistics Amendment (Statistical Information) Regulations 2019 consultation without appropriate gender, sexuality and intersex status questions.

LGBTIQ+ Health Australia has undertaken a successful campaign that has seen over 125 organisations support a statement for inclusion as well as many letters being sent from individuals across Australia calling for the government to include appropriate gender, sexuality and intersex status questions to be included in the 2021 Census.

Nicky Bath, Executive Director of the Alliance, said: “There is an abundance of evidence as to why these questions must be included in the next Census and while the Australian Bureau of statistics did not recommend the questions to be included per se there was a recommendation from them to the government to consider them being included due to need and demand.”

“The testing of these questions demonstrated that there was no burden from them on the survey itself and so it is baffling as to why our communities are not being deemed important enough to be counted in 2021. By leaving us out of the 2021 Census the government is ensuring that we will continue to be working to minimise our health disparities in the dark.”

LGBTIQ+ Health Australia is calling on everyone to continue to support the inclusion of these questions by participating in the consultation process http://www.treasury.gov.au/consultation/c2019-41183 where submissions can be sent in until 10 January 2020.

“We have a final opportunity to make sure that we can stand up to be counted in 2021. We have received so much support and gained momentum on this issue and this is the last chance we have to make sure that Treasury understands the importance of LGBTI communities being counted. As we go into the holiday period and 2020 I hope that we can all work together to show Treasury who we are and that our lives matter,” Nicky Bath concluded.

Media Contact: Nicky Bath, Executive Director

Mobile: 0432 328 706 | Email: [email protected]