Australia's census to include sexual orientation, gender questions for first time

FILE PHOTO: Participants celebrate the Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras Parade under coronavirus disease (COVID-19) safety guidelines at the Sydney Cricket Ground in Sydney, Australia, March 6, 2021. REUTERS/Loren Elliott/File Photo

SYDNEY (Reuters) - Australia will include questions on sexual orientation and gender in its census for the first time, after more than a week of controversy over the centre-left Labor government's earlier decision to exclude them.

Treasurer Jim Chalmers said on Sunday the 2026 census would include sexual orientation and gender, although he declined to specify the questions and said the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) would design them later.