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Filled mine in online in record time. Apparently I am a 90 year old ethnic woman in a wheelchair who requires 24/7 palliative care but still finds time to work 48 hours a week on my own meth lab. 
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The underlying problem is that knowledge is increasingly not valued in Australia. Pick a subject, any subject, and it's increasingly the case that those who are experts are finding themselves a distant second to generalists. Start going into detail, pointing out the various issues and so on and you'll find yourself labelled as a prophet of doom.
Then when it all goes wrong the generalists tend to be incredibly good at shifting the blame. The large numbers of ex-lawyers in politics likely explains that one (nothing against lawyers but by the very nature of the profession they're more interested in finding who's to blame than in actually fixing the problem).
Wysiwyg
Everyone wants money
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I submitted only information I wanted to share with the statistics gatherers. I think that is what you meanFilled mine in online in record time. Apparently I am a 90 year old ethnic woman in a wheelchair who requires 24/7 palliative care but still finds time to work 48 hours a week on my own meth lab.
Knobby22
Mmmmmm 2nd breakfast
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The underlying problem is that knowledge is increasingly not valued in Australia. Pick a subject, any subject, and it's increasingly the case that those who are experts are finding themselves a distant second to generalists. Start going into detail, pointing out the various issues and so on and you'll find yourself labelled as a prophet of doom.
Then when it all goes wrong the generalists tend to be incredibly good at shifting the blame. The large numbers of ex-lawyers in politics likely explains that one (nothing against lawyers but by the very nature of the profession they're more interested in finding who's to blame than in actually fixing the problem).
That makes a lot of sense.
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Wysiwyg
Everyone wants money
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On top of that I think it is extremely rude (for someone/something that I don't know) to ask how much I earn, who I work for and their address.100/100
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The underlying problem is that knowledge is increasingly not valued in Australia. Pick a subject, any subject, and it's increasingly the case that those who are experts are finding themselves a distant second to generalists. Start going into detail, pointing out the various issues and so on and you'll find yourself labelled as a prophet of doom.
Then when it all goes wrong the generalists tend to be incredibly good at shifting the blame. The large numbers of ex-lawyers in politics likely explains that one (nothing against lawyers but by the very nature of the profession they're more interested in finding who's to blame than in actually fixing the problem).
Amen to that.
To state that "something unexpected happened" - as with the census - is such a laugh. They don't realize that such a statement is not an excuse. Their job was to consider the unexpected and allow for it. And they clearly didn't get half way close to doing this.
Anyone want a school hall built? It comes with pink bats.
Knobby22
Mmmmmm 2nd breakfast
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Census done. Thought they would ask better questions.
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On top of that I think it is extremely rude (for someone/something that I don't know) to ask how much I earn, who I work for and their address.
So much for "generalisations" and "trends" in the census. Pretty darn specific when they ask WHO you work for and WHAT is their address and HOW MUCH do you earn dontchathink ????
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Interesting that they haven't yet asked how many times have you been divorced, have you ever been charged with a criminal offence, how long have you been on social security... Would be very useful information for "planning" purposes. No doubt they will include those next time along with gaol time for not answering or providing false information.
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A lot of hulla bulloo about nothing...You should all get over it....It is called innovation...There was bound to be some hiccups with a new idea...Same thing will happen first time you vote on line.
What should we do?...Go back to the 20th century where Census forms were hand delivered and then picked up from your door.....This is the 21st century.
1.2 million completed their census on line before August 9 without a hitch.......It was a shame more did not do the same instead of whinging.
What should we do?...Go back to the 20th century where Census forms were hand delivered and then picked up from your door.....This is the 21st century.
1.2 million completed their census on line before August 9 without a hitch.......It was a shame more did not do the same instead of whinging.
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I'm sorry, have you been living on a different planet the last week ?
People TRIED to do their census but the site was SHUT DOWN. It was a total cockup and I can't see how anyone except the politically rusted ons could defend the way it was handled.
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Success at last.
As others have noted, once one gets to the online form to answer the questions, the process is relatively simple.
As for some of the questions that have been the subject of public debate,
1) The name question asks for a Christian and surname. It does not ask for any middle names.
2) The date of birth question offers the option of providing age as an alternative to dob. I provided my age.
3) Earning options are provided in ranges which IIRC is consistent with previous census.
As a practical process, online is far better than filling out a paper form. It's obviously unfortunate that the online process failed on the night and then took as long at it did to get it up and running again.
I had no trouble....Perhaps I was one of the 1.2 million smart ones...The dopey ones left it until the last minute when the system was all clogged up....
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They seem obsessed with detail when it comes to income but it's the opposite with anything else.
Considering the housing aspect, I'd have thought at the very least someone would want to know what the main construction materials are and if there's solar panels on the roof. Etc. Seems not.
Maybe I'm being a bit cynical but I saw the questions asked as having more to do with checking for tax avoidance than anything else. Who do you work for, where, what do you get paid etc - sounds like it's being cross-referenced with the ATO and looking for anything that doesn't match.
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It was entirely foreseeable and reasonable to expect that most people would have come home from work, cooked dinner, then done the census. So there were always going to be a huge volume between 6 and 8pm, that's just basic commonsense that anyone with a background in utilities, communications / IT, traffic, public transport or anything else with a clear peak in demand due to the actions of the masses would have spotted in an instant.
It's just another symptom of the "knowledge is evil" approach that dominates in Australia these days. Blunder through and blame someone when it goes wrong seems to be the present mantra.
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Maybe I'm being a bit cynical but I saw the questions asked as having more to do with checking for tax avoidance than anything else. Who do you work for, where, what do you get paid etc - sounds like it's being cross-referenced with the ATO and looking for anything that doesn't match.
I'm not so cynical about it. Details about employer, modes of transport to get there etc. are useful in urban planning. Obviously the employer's street address might give the same thing, without needing the employer's name, but the additional detail could be of use in relation to bus stops, impact on workforce should a factory shut down etc.
With regards to the salary bands, I just use the information from my tax return. Were I moonlighting and not reporting some income earned, then I certainly wouldn't be putting in my census responses. It is far more serious to lie to the tax man than on the census so if one has already done the former, it makes sense to also lie on the latter.
Even if they did correlate with other sources, what can they do about it. You signed the census saying you answered as truthfully as possible, but that doesn't mean you didn't make a mistake. And if they tried to prosecute following a correlation mismatch, then they are up **** creek trying to explain why they did that when it is illegal according to the ABS charter.
Wysiwyg
Everyone wants money
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Yes obviously capital cities get the most funding while the regional centres make changes as industry and demand from population increase requires. If last census was successful then regional councils wouldn't be negotiating state or federal government funding for new infrastructure and existing infrastructure upgrades which change from year to year. This happens locally when council asks for state assistance with hospital upgrade and asks the local rate payers for extra at council rates time like now. Need is in constant flux and is provided for at a local level and not derived from a questionnaire.
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I didn't get asked whom I work for.
Different census?
Shhhhhhhhhhhhh ... not so loud they might hear you ?
Why would "census" need to know the EXACT address for the company you work for? So are they trying to tell me they will measure how far I live away from my place of work so they can "statistically" figure out that I drive a car to work or catch the bus? What if I take a different route every day? What if sometimes I ride my bike to work?
Would it not have been better to ask "How far do you live away from your place of work?" and "What mode of transport do you use to get to your place of work?"
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