Senator Lidia Thorpe has called on the federal government to commit to including questions on gender identity and sex characteristics in the 2026 Australian Census, highlighting recent findings made by the Victorian Coroner into the suicide deaths of five young transgender women.
The Gunnai, Gunditjmara and Djab Wurrung senator said the decision by the Albanese government to exclude questions on gender identity and sex characteristics from the census is "appalling".
"They need to stick to their promise and reverse this decision," she said.
"This irresponsible and divisive decision will harm intersex, trans and gender diverse people. Not only because it singles them out to be left uncounted, but because it will have real impacts on people's access to healthcare and services."
The independent senator for Victoria noted that Coroner Ingrid Giles identified the need for improved data collection on the trans and gender diverse community was a recurring theme of the inquest into the five deaths.
"Robust data is needed as a matter of priority to inform health, wellbeing, and suicide prevention initiatives in the TGD community," the Coroner wrote in her report.
"It is evident that accurate estimates of the proportion, distribution, and composition of the TGD population, as well as projections of resources required to adequately support health needs of TGD people, will ultimately depend on the availability of systematically collected high-quality data, such as via the Australian census."
Senator Thorpe noted on Thursday that the Coroner's findings were handed down on August 29, the day before Prime Minister Anthony Albanese rescinded his commitment to include questions on gender, sex characteristics and sexuality in the 2026 Census.
"Bridget Flack's story is a tragic example of why this is urgent. Bridget was a transgender woman who was one of my constituents. She was an artist and a vibrant member of our local community. Bridget died by suicide after a long period of being denied access to the services she needed," Senator Thorpe said.
"The Victorian Coroner has said that to properly support the needs of the trans and gender diverse community, we need better data, and that the Australian census is a good way to do this data collection. We need accurate information that can tell us where intersex, trans and gender diverse people are living so governments and organisations know where services are most needed."
This week eight major health research institutes, including the Australian Human Rights Institute and the University of NSW's Kirby Institute, have also called on the federal government to include questions on gender and sexual orientation in the next census.
"It's utterly shameful that Albanese is dismissing the Coroner's findings, and the calls from health experts," Senator Thorpe said.
"We need to stand strong with the trans and gender diverse community right now."
