# Australian Dopers: have you got your Census form for Tuesday 8 August? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [August 5, 2006, 4:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/australian-dopers-have-you-got-your-census-form-for-tuesday-8-august/367428 "2006-08-05T04:05:41Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Cunctator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/43a26b/32.png) [@Cunctator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cunctator)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2006, 4:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/australian-dopers-have-you-got-your-census-form-for-tuesday-8-august/367428/1 "2006-08-05T04:05:41Z")
I haven’t received one yet. ---
**Author:** ![Richard\_Pearse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/richard_pearse/32/13144_2.png) [@Richard\_Pearse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Richard_Pearse)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2006, 4:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/australian-dopers-have-you-got-your-census-form-for-tuesday-8-august/367428/2 "2006-08-05T04:08:45Z")
We recieved ours on thursday. Apparantly they can be filled in online, saves the census door-knocker a return trip. ---
**Author:** ![TheLoadedDog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/35a633/32.png) [@TheLoadedDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TheLoadedDog)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2006, 4:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/australian-dopers-have-you-got-your-census-form-for-tuesday-8-august/367428/3 "2006-08-05T04:15:34Z")
Nope, and I can see it being screwed up too. I live in a house converted into two flats, and you can’t see mine from the street. Not only that, but there is confusion as to the number. Main house is 54, and my landlord wants me to be 56 (the next building is 58), but when I moved in, and signed up for utilities, they had no record of my address, and had me as Flat 2/54 (confirmed by my friend who lived in this flat before me). To add to the confusion, there’s another guy who lives in a converted garage at the rear, so there are actually three flats in what looks like one stand alone bungalow with one front door and one mail box. The landlord has the main front door, and he gets all the door-knockers of various types (including, I assume, census officials), and he’s gone away for a week. Heck, I can’t even order a pizza in this place without them getting lost, so I don’t think I’ll get my form without hassle. ---
**Author:** ![don\_t\_ask](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e68b1a/32.png) [@don\_t\_ask](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/don_t_ask)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2006, 4:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/australian-dopers-have-you-got-your-census-form-for-tuesday-8-august/367428/4 "2006-08-05T04:16:09Z")
Mine was left at the door on Thursday. From what I hear, if you haven’t got one by Tuesday they will get all your details at Woomera when you sign in. ---
**Author:** ![kambuckta](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/53a042/32.png) [@kambuckta](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kambuckta)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2006, 4:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/australian-dopers-have-you-got-your-census-form-for-tuesday-8-august/367428/5 "2006-08-05T04:34:56Z")
Not got mine yet either. And I have a real house with a real number and everything. But I don’t like the climate in Woomera. Does that new Floating Prison/Detention thingy up north have vacancies at the moment? 😃 ---
**Author:** ![GuanoLad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guanolad/32/42_2.png) [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2006, 4:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/australian-dopers-have-you-got-your-census-form-for-tuesday-8-august/367428/6 "2006-08-05T04:48:23Z")
Got mine on Thursday. Or Wednesday. Or sometime near then. But I may try to do the online version. ---
**Author:** ![blackhobyah](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/41988e/32.png) [@blackhobyah](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blackhobyah)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2006, 5:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/australian-dopers-have-you-got-your-census-form-for-tuesday-8-august/367428/7 "2006-08-05T05:18:48Z")
> [@Cunctator](#): > > I haven’t received one yet. Mine arrived this morning, which I thought was cutting it a bit fine. But I live in a rural area, and it might well have taken the poor census person a week to work out how to get my front gate open. You can fill out the census form online, but you need the census paperwork in order to do so apparently. [This site](http://www.abs.gov.au/websitedbs/d3310114.nsf/Home/census) says the forms will be delivered up until August 7. ---
**Author:** ![Richard\_Pearse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/richard_pearse/32/13144_2.png) [@Richard\_Pearse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Richard_Pearse)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2006, 5:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/australian-dopers-have-you-got-your-census-form-for-tuesday-8-august/367428/8 "2006-08-05T05:20:03Z")
> [@TheLoadedDog](#): > > Nope, and I can see it being screwed up too. I live in a house converted into two flats, and you can’t see mine from the street. Not only that, but there is confusion as to the number. We have confusion over not only our number, but the street as well. Our place is half a duplex on the corner of a T-junction between Bloggs and Jacks streets. Both driveways come off Jacks St, and ours is the second in. We have “17B” painted on the curb, and “17B” written on the house. So by all appearances we are 17B Jacks St. However, as far as the utilities and real estate agent are concerned, it is actually 16B Bloggs St. ---
**Author:** ![jabiru](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/bbce88/32.png) [@jabiru](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jabiru)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2006, 12:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/australian-dopers-have-you-got-your-census-form-for-tuesday-8-august/367428/9 "2006-08-05T12:36:08Z")
Ours arrived tonight. I was rather hoping we’d miss out. ---
**Author:** ![hawthorne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/c89c15/32.png) [@hawthorne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hawthorne)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2006, 1:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/australian-dopers-have-you-got-your-census-form-for-tuesday-8-august/367428/10 "2006-08-05T13:16:12Z")
Mine came last Tuesday. ---
**Author:** ![Cazzle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cazzle/32/75_2.png) [@Cazzle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cazzle)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2006, 2:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/australian-dopers-have-you-got-your-census-form-for-tuesday-8-august/367428/11 "2006-08-05T14:20:48Z")
Got our around Tuesday. Good little genealogist that I am, I can’t wait to fill it out and tick the “Keep for 99 years” box in the hopes that future genealogists won’t have the headaches researching my life that I’ve had researching my ancestor’s lives. Mum’s got me concerned though - she has a bee in her bonnet about the government prying and not needing the info, so I suspect she’ll do something silly with it. She keeps asking why they need to know and the answer “So they can plan how many hospitals, schools, etc, they need” just makes her sneer. I keep telling her that her descendants 100 years from now will curse her for being so stubborn but oddly enough, that threat doesn’t seem to worry her. ---
**Author:** ![Kilvert\_s\_Pagan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/c37758/32.png) [@Kilvert\_s\_Pagan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kilvert_s_Pagan)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2006, 9:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/australian-dopers-have-you-got-your-census-form-for-tuesday-8-august/367428/12 "2006-08-05T21:24:20Z")
> [@cazzle](#): > > Got our around Tuesday. Good little genealogist that I am, I can’t wait to fill it out and tick the “Keep for 99 years” box in the hopes that future genealogists won’t have the headaches researching my life that I’ve had researching my ancestor’s lives. Mum’s got me concerned though - she has a bee in her bonnet about the government prying and not needing the info, so I suspect she’ll do something silly with it. She keeps asking why they need to know and the answer “So they can plan how many hospitals, schools, etc, they need” just makes her sneer. I keep telling her that her descendants 100 years from now will curse her for being so stubborn but oddly enough, that threat doesn’t seem to worry her. Yeah. Hope you folks don’t mind an American weighing in here, but I get this. Australia used to take a census, abstract the results, then burn it. :smack: My grandmother was born in Sydney, her mother in Benalla VIC, and her mother (possibly) somewhere in TAS. The lack of any census data from that range of years (1820-1900) frustrates the living hell out of me. This “99 year” option is not a great solution either, because now genealogists won’t know if someone is NOT listed because they weren’t there, or because they didn’t tick the box. Grrr. Sorry about the rant. ---
**Author:** ![Buckler\_of\_Swashing](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/d6d6ee/32.png) [@Buckler\_of\_Swashing](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Buckler_of_Swashing)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2006, 1:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/australian-dopers-have-you-got-your-census-form-for-tuesday-8-august/367428/13 "2006-08-06T01:04:26Z")
Nope. Nothing. I live in a block of apartments and almost anything that ever needs to be delivered ends up in the wrong place. Or just never turns up at all. What happens if you never get one? Can you go online or have them send you one? ---
**Author:** ![ninevah](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/46a35a/32.png) [@ninevah](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ninevah)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2006, 1:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/australian-dopers-have-you-got-your-census-form-for-tuesday-8-august/367428/14 "2006-08-06T01:14:15Z")
We got ours on Thursday, I think. Just out of curiosity, has anyone filled theirs in already? ---
**Author:** ![Sierra\_Indigo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f0a364/32.png) [@Sierra\_Indigo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sierra_Indigo)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2006, 1:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/australian-dopers-have-you-got-your-census-form-for-tuesday-8-august/367428/15 "2006-08-06T01:39:15Z")
> [@cazzle](#): > > Got our around Tuesday. Good little genealogist that I am, I can’t wait to fill it out and tick the “Keep for 99 years” box in the hopes that future genealogists won’t have the headaches researching my life that I’ve had researching my ancestor’s lives. Mum’s got me concerned though - she has a bee in her bonnet about the government prying and not needing the info, so I suspect she’ll do something silly with it. She keeps asking why they need to know and the answer “So they can plan how many hospitals, schools, etc, they need” just makes her sneer. I keep telling her that her descendants 100 years from now will curse her for being so stubborn but oddly enough, that threat doesn’t seem to worry her. Gotta side with your mum. I’m pissed off about this whole census thing. The goverment knows every single thing that’s on that goddamned form - I know that, because it’s all rubbish I’ve had to fill out at least 3 times in the last 4 years, what with getting married, hubby’s Visa application and various changes of address for things like the electoral roll, the tax office and so on. I get the feeling we’ll be Jedi Knights who work in a bordello and have seven cars in the back yard, one for every day of the week. I just don’t like filling out forms. ---
**Author:** ![Cunctator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/43a26b/32.png) [@Cunctator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cunctator)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2006, 7:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/australian-dopers-have-you-got-your-census-form-for-tuesday-8-august/367428/16 "2006-08-06T07:30:19Z")
Mine was just delivered. Not bad to see that the census people are still at work at 5.30 on a Sunday afternoon. ---
**Author:** ![Cunctator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/43a26b/32.png) [@Cunctator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cunctator)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2006, 7:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/australian-dopers-have-you-got-your-census-form-for-tuesday-8-august/367428/17 "2006-08-06T07:53:06Z")
> [@Buckler of Swashing](#): > > What happens if you never get one? Can you go online or have them send you one? As \*\*blackhobyah \*\* mentioned, you can fill it in on-line, but you need the unique access code that’s attached to the paper-based form. ---
**Author:** ![blinkingblinking](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ea5d25/32.png) [@blinkingblinking](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blinkingblinking)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2006, 8:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/australian-dopers-have-you-got-your-census-form-for-tuesday-8-august/367428/18 "2006-08-06T08:02:41Z")
Yes. Is there only one form per household? ---
**Author:** ![Battle\_Pope](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/4bbf92/32.png) [@Battle\_Pope](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Battle_Pope)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2006, 8:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/australian-dopers-have-you-got-your-census-form-for-tuesday-8-august/367428/19 "2006-08-06T08:07:44Z")
Got mine last week, but I plan to submit via the online system. Last census I had the joy of being picked for follow up surveys. I got a phone call once a month for 6 months asking me the same questions everytime. ---
**Author:** ![Monkey\_Chews](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/65b543/32.png) [@Monkey\_Chews](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Monkey_Chews)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2006, 8:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/australian-dopers-have-you-got-your-census-form-for-tuesday-8-august/367428/20 "2006-08-06T08:08:00Z")
I got mine. I _can’t wait_ to fill it in. I used to work at the Australian Bureau of Statistics, including a stint in the survey design department. Several of my friends have been working on this Census. Heh, I’m laughing to myself just thinking about the grief they’re about to get. I am _so_ tempted to put “Jedi” for religion. But I know I don’t really have it in me. I’ll be a good little census filler and enter everything correctly. **blinkingblinking** , there is only one form per household (plus you get other stuff, like a guide book and info on filling it in online), which is enough for 6 people. If you’ve got a bigger household than that, you can ring them and ask for more forms. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/australian-dopers-have-you-got-your-census-form-for-tuesday-8-august/367428.md?page=2)