Australian Bureau of Statistics

The 2021 Census achieved a response rate above the ABS target, obtaining data from ten million (10,852,208) dwellings during the height of the global COVID-19 pandemic. The dwelling response rate was 96.1 per cent, up from 95.1 per cent in 2016.[11] Census data can be accessed using a number of Census data tools.[12]

The Statistical Independent Assurance Panel, established by the Australian Statistician to provide assurance of Census data quality, concluded that the 2021 Census data is fit-for-purpose, is of comparable quality to the 2011 and 2016 Censuses and can be used with confidence.[13]

In 2016, the ABS took steps to conduct the census largely online through their website and logins, rather than through traditional paper forms.[14] The 2016 census was unavailable for 43 hours, from 7:30 pm on 9 August, due to a series of events which prompted the ABS to take the form offline.[15] The chief statistician, David Kalisch, said the website was closed after multiple denial-of-service attacks targeted the online form. The Australian Signals Directorate (ASD) confirmed the incident was a DDoS attack and that it did not result in any unauthorised access to or extraction of any personal information.[16][17]

The online census web page was back up at 2:30 pm on 11 August.[18] A Senate inquiry was held into the census events.[19] An independent panel was established by the Australian Statistician to ensure quality of the data from the 2016 census and it was found fit for purpose, comparable to previous Australian and international censuses and able to be used with confidence.[20]

The ABS publishes a suite of monthly and quarterly economic publications that are part of the core of the organization's work program. These statistics are integral to the functioning of Australia's economy and impact areas, such as interest rates, property prices, employment, the value of the Australian dollar, commodity prices and many more areas. Popular publications include:

• Key Economic Indicators
• Consumer Price Index
• Australian National Accounts
• Average Weekly Earnings
• Labour Force

Outside the main economic indicators, the ABS has a number of other major publications covering topics including:

• Health: The 2011–12 Australian Health Survey was the most comprehensive survey on health and wellbeing ever conducted in Australia. For the first time, the survey also included a biomedical component with respondents having the option of providing biomedical samples such as blood and urine for testing. This allowed the survey to capture detailed health information from Australians such as the prevalence of conditions such as diabetes in the community. Many individuals were subsequently informed that they had medical conditions they were not aware of prior to testing.[23] Another component of the Australian Health Survey asked respondents to keep a food diary which was then used to obtain a rich picture of the nutritional intake and dietary preferences of the nation.[24]
• Crime: The ABS publishes a suite of crime publications including individual releases covering offenders,[25] crime victims,[26] the corrections system[27] and prisons.[28]
• Demography: The ABS publishes a number of demography releases including data on population,[29] population growth[30] and projections,[31] interstate and overseas migration,[32] births,[33] deaths[34] and overseas arrivals and departures.[35]
• Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander statistics: The National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Survey (NATSISS) collects information on the social situation of Indigenous Australians, including on health, education, culture and labour force participation. The ABS also collects data related to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders through the Australian Health Survey[36] as well as in many other regular publications in the areas of demography, education, employment and more.
• Education: The major education publications are Childhood Education and Care,[37] Schools,[38] and Education and Work.[39] They look at all aspects of education in Australia from preschool up to undergraduate and postgraduate study.
• Environment: The ABS has a range of publications on environmental topics covering energy and water use, conservation activities undertaken by households, land management and farming and more. The innovative Land Account publication covering the Great Barrier Reef and utilising Google Maps technology was released in 2011.[40]
• Research and Innovation: The ABS has been undertaking surveys to collect estimates from Australian organizations regarding expenditure on and human resources devoted to research and development (R&D) in Australia since 1978. The results allow the nature and distribution of Australia's R&D activity to be monitored by government policy analysts and advisers to government, businesses and economists.[41]

In August 2017 the treasurer issued a direction to the ABS to undertake a statistical collection into the views of Australians on the electoral roll about same sex marriage.[42] This is now referred to as the Australian Marriage Law Postal Survey.