We found a yellow card in our letterbox last night, informing us that a census officer has come and gone. A TV commercial featuring Ernie Dingo about the upcoming census has been running for a couple of weeks now so we weren’t really surprised to know that the forms are now being distributed. The card informed us that our census pack is under the mat and that it would be collected after the 9th. The pack consisted of the form itself with the form number filled in, a guide on how to correctly fill out the form and an envelope that contains a unique eCensus Number (something like a PIN), which we could use if we opt to fill out the form online.
I love the idea that we could complete the census form online, get a receipt number when we’re done and the collection officer assigned to us would be informed that he/she won’t have to come back to our house to collect our finished form. The only other time I had been a participant in a census was when I was still in the Philippines. The collection officer knocked on the door on a Saturday morning and asked some questions (which, if I remember correctly, weren’t nearly as detailed as the question on the form we got last night). Anyway, that collection officer in the past had a clipboard where she read questions then write down my answers with a ballpoint pen. Not particularly the height of technology. I don’t know how the National Statistics Office in the Philippines conduct the census now but I suspect the process hasn’t changed much.
Anyway, it’s the first time we’d be participating in a census here in Australia and it’s also convenient to be counted in. How cool is that?
@Chaz: I was actually gonna wait for tomorrow, the official census night, to fill out the online form but thought I’ll go and answer what I could then just go back and finish it all tomorrow. I was actually surprised that they even asked for the name of our employers! Jedi huh? That would have been amusing to see if they did get it placed under religion. As it is, they could tick Other and write in Jedi anyway. I wonder if they’ll include those results in the official tally?
@Linda: That question about keeping my record for 99 years actually gave me pause, I’ve never been asked that sort of question before and haven’t really thought about it. I ticked yes too, wistfully wondering if my great grandparents would have agreed to it had they been given the choice. I would love to have access to their records now if they exist. Unfortunately, no such record exists. Hopefully, our descendants would have better access to our records even if it’s just a small glimpse of our lives. :d
Hey, did you also know there’s a little box at the bottom that you can tick, where you can agree to have your information made available to the public (via the National Archives) after 99 years? (More or less for your desendants who might want to research family history). I think it’s fascinating to realise that my great grandchildren may one day get to read the responses I left, long after I am gone. So of course, I ticked yes!
We finished filling up the online forms today. It’s amazing how much information they want from us. But considering how important it is to forward planning, you can understand why.
The last time the census happend I remember there was a big issue about putting down religion information on the form and there was a movement of sorts to put down Jedi. To date, I think based on actual census data that there are over 70,000 Jedi in Australia. That’s cool too.