Thousands of roles are open for the taking as the Australian Bureau of Statistics goes about building a workforce of 30,000 personnel for the 2026 Census in August.
The major survey offers a snapshot of the country now and how it is evolving, and is used to inform future decisions around things like education, healthcare, transport and infrastructure.
It is held every five years and is compulsory, with everyone in Australia needing to be counted — including international students, visitors, visa holders and even babies.
Know the news with the 7NEWS app: Download today Arrow
“The Census is the largest data collection in Australia and provides some of the country’s most valuable statistics,” an ABS spokesperson told 7NEWS.com.au.
“Only a Census can provide rich data for the entire country, including small geographic areas and small population groups.
“It gives unique insights that no other datasets can provide.”
The ABS is building a 30,000-strong workforce for Census 2026. Credit: Australian Bureau of Statistics
What you can earn working for the Census
The ABS is currently on a major recruitment drive, aiming to fill 30,000 positions across the country to ensure the Census runs smoothly and information is accurate.
The short-term casual roles include delivering Census letters, answering questions from the public and managing small teams — and workers will be financially remunerated for their service.
Field officers providing ground support — handing out forms and following up on those who have not responded to the survey — can earn a casual rate of $31.19 per hour, plus superannuation.
Field managers ($42.65 per hour), remote area team leaders ($55.81 per hour) and engagement managers ($61.50) can bank even more.
“For the Census to produce high quality data we need to find every dwelling in Australia, no matter where it is,” the ABS said.
“This includes in big cities, regional centres and Australia’s most remote locations, as well as places like cruise ships and offshore oil rigs in Australian waters — we need to count everyone, and we need people across the country to help us do that.”
That includes Norfolk Island, a tiny external Australian territory in the South Pacific, where a team of four field officers is needed to guide the population of 2200 people.
The ABS said that, like in 2021, it is using a digital-first approach.
“We anticipate 85 per cent of Australians will complete the Census online in 2026,” the ABS said.
“We will continue to provide paper forms to everyone who wants one.”
The ABS is also partnering with Services Australia to introduce myGov as another option to get updates and access the survey.
People who subscribe to Census updates through myGov will get a link to the online form sent to their myGov Inbox when it is time to complete the survey.
The 2026 Census will be held on Tuesday, August 11.
Ten-second check could score Aussies a share of $2.7bn cash mountain
2 min read
Father accused of ‘meticulously planning’ triple killing
2 min read
