Next phase of 2026 Census Privacy Impact Assessment starts

The Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) has chosen IIS Partners (Information Integrity Solutions) to undertake the second phase of the 2026 Census of Population and Housing Privacy Impact Assessment (PIA).

For the first time the ABS is undertaking three separate privacy impact assessments for the Census. This approach helps ensure privacy considerations are central to ABS decisions on the design of the Census and the use of Census data. 

Duncan Young, ABS head of Census said: “We’re pleased to continue working with IIS Partners for this next phase as we continue the ‘privacy by design’ approach to the 2026 Census.

“We will be consulting with stakeholders to help identify privacy risks and concerns, to better understand known risks, and develop a robust risk mitigation strategy,” Mr Young said.

IIS Partners undertook the first phase of the Privacy Impact Assessment which was released in early 2024. The second phase of the Privacy Impact Assessment will be completed in late 2024.

The next Census will be in 2026 and will provide a snapshot of who we are and tell the story of how Australia is changing. It is the ABS' largest, and one of the most important, statistical collections.

The ABS is taking a phased approach to the PIAs for the 2026 Census:

• Phase 1 – Preparation, planning and development (released in February 2024) 
• Phase 2 – Build and design (2024). 
• Phase 3 – Testing operational readiness (2025).

The 2026 Census will take a 'privacy by design' and 'security by design' approach. The ABS makes sure good privacy practices are built into the design specifications when setting up new systems and processes. A critical part of 'privacy by design' is understanding and minimising privacy impacts or risks for individuals. 

More information on the 2026 Census can be found on the ABS website.