Acceptance Letter from the Australian Statistician

Professor Sandra Harding AO
Emeritus Professor, James Cook University
Chair of the 2021 Census Statistical Independent Assurance Panel

Dear Professor Harding,

Thank you for providing the Report on the quality of 2021 Census data.

I would like to formally accept the report and thank the Panel and secretariat for their diligence and hard work. In accepting this report, I commend its quality, breadth and usefulness. The wealth of information in the report provides the Australia Bureau of Statistics and commentators with a valuable resource to assist their understanding of the value of Census data.

I acknowledge that the view of the Panel is that the 2021 Census data will be fit for purpose as described in Section 5 of the report. I also appreciate the observations detailed in Section 5 and the guidance on a range of matters worthy of further investigation. We will undertake active consideration of these as we plan for 2026 and beyond.

I also note that the Panel recommends that an Independent Assurance Panel be established to consider the quality of data for the 2026 Census. While this will be a matter for the Australian Statistician at that time, I anticipate that the value of an Independent Assurance Panel will be evident through your work.

Thanks again to you and the Panel in undertaking this vital and important work.

Yours sincerely,

Dr David Gruen AO
Australian Statistician
28 June 2022