Australia’s peak elected national Jewish roof body is urging all Jewish residents in Australia to answer the question on the Census form that asks you to nominate your religion, if any, by inserting the answerd ‘Jewish’ or ‘Judaism’.

“This should be done for each member of your household when you complete the ques­tion­naire on Census night on Tuesday 11 August 2026”, said Daniel Aghion KC, the President of the Executive Council of Aus­trali­an Jewry. “There is no box you can tick marked ‘Jewish’ or ‘Judaism’. This makes it all the more important to select the box marked ‘Other’ and insert the word ‘Jewish’ or ‘Judaism’ as the answer for each Jewish member of your household”.

“We know that Jewish identity is ethnic and cultural as well as religious”, Mr Aghion said. “However, inserting the word ‘Jewish’ or ‘Judaism’ in answer to the question on religion is the simplest and most recog­nis­able way to identify as Jewish in the Census”.

“Given our history and recent events in Australia, it is under­stand­able that there are some sens­it­iv­it­ies in the Jewish community about privacy, con­fid­en­ti­al­ity and security when identi­fy­ing oneself as Jewish to gov­ern­ments in any context”, Mr Aghion said. “However, the law imposes stiff penalties, including impris­on­ment, on any person, who divulges, directly or indir­ectly, any iden­ti­fi­able personal inform­a­tion collected in the Census, and this is strictly policed.”

“The ECAJ believes the census is extremely secure and it is very much in the interests of the Jewish community that the census ques­tion­naire is completed with full accuracy, including the optional question on religion.”

Mr Aghion added, “Census data affects Government’s alloc­a­tion of resources to assist the Aus­trali­an community in a host of vital areas. The Jewish community also depends on the Census for accurate planning inform­a­tion for services in fields such as education, welfare and aged care.”

Noting that most people will complete the 2026 Census ques­tion­naire online, Mr Aghion also emphas­ised that it will still be possible to request and complete a paper form for those who wish to do so.