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The census dies not ask Australians about their sexuality.Credit:AP

Without them,the once-in-five-year snapshot of the population won’t capture the full diversity of our community. It’s a missed opportunity to inform crucial decisions about what services are provided to our communities,and where.

We already know LGBTIQ+ people across the nation experience significant health and wellbeing disparities,compared to the rest of the Australian community. For example,our young people are five times more likely to have attempted suicide than the general population;and almost one in every two children who are trans have attempted suicide.

The problem is,we just don’t know in which parts of Australia all these people live,and that is something that a nationwide census could have told us. Also for the first time,the census will be asking people about chronic health conditions,but we won’t know how many LGBTIQ+ people are affected.

‘We will be left with an incomplete picture of who we are’:Anna BrownCredit:Eddie Jim

It’s a no-brainer that our government should back calls to properly collect data that would help us better address a crisis in health amongst some of the most marginalised in our community.

That’s why in 2019 we worked alongside the leading health and community groups such as LGBTI Health Australia,Intersex Human Rights Australia and many others for these questions to be included in the 2021 census.

Despite the recommendations of local governments,non-government organisations,and the Commonwealth departments of health and social services to include us,and the promising testing of possible questions by the ABS,the government still decided not to proceed.

The result is that our communities will largely remain invisible in the biggest,most important data set available.

Now we will be left with an incomplete picture of who we are. While people who live with a partner of the same gender will be counted,lesbian,gay or bi+ people that are single,who don’t live with a partner or who are in a relationship with a person of a different gender will remain uncounted.

Despite advocacy by intersex advocates,there will be no question about variations in sex characteristics.

And while the opportunity to record a ‘non-binary sex’ may be a step toward counting non-binary people,it won’t count us all accurately and will render many trans-women and trans-men invisible.

Not only is this lack of recognition distressing for many LGBTIQ+ people,at its most basic level it is simply bad public policy.

We need a reliable,national data set to get a complete picture of LGBTIQ+ communities across the country,and it’s an adjustment that other countries – including the United Kingdom and New Zealand – have already made.

Until we’re counted,we’ll remain invisible. That’s why this year – in addition to filling out our census – our communities are coming together,asking to be heard,to be seen and to be recognised.

We’re again calling on the federal government to stop leaving LGBTIQ+ people out,and count us in.

Anna Brown is the CEO of Equality Australia.

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