85% of Australians will complete the census online. Here’s how to avoid potential scams

The Conversation · 🇦🇺 public Australia · Aug 06, 2026 · 827 words · By Ritesh Chugh

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What to know about 85% of Australians will complete the census online. Here’s how to avoid potential scams

The article discusses the upcoming 2026 Australian census, reviewing the cyber security failures of 2016 and subsequent improvements. It outlines findings from a recent National Audit Office report and provides guidance to citizens on avoiding phishing scams.

Propaganda risk 10%

Claims checked 13

Techniques found 0

Topics 0

Coverage spectrum

Coverage gap: Low Left coverage

Left0%

Center100%

Right0%

6 sources compared across this story cluster. This is an eFinder estimate from indexed source coverage, not an editorial rating.

What happened

Many Australians still remember the 2016 census because of the online outage that dominated headlines on census night.

Why it matters

It was the first time a majority of Australians were expected to complete the census online.

Common ground

However, the website crashed, in what became widely known as #CensusFail.

Perspective signals

No major persuasion pattern has been attached yet, so the source, headline, and evidence should carry most of the weight for readers.

Follow-up questions

What concrete event or decision sits underneath the headline: 85% of Australians will complete the census online. Here’s how to avoid potential scams?
What evidence would most clearly confirm or weaken the claim that the ABS reported repelling almost 1 billion attempted cyber attacks and blocking more than 130,000 malicious internet addresses associated with attempts to attack or disrupt the online census service [during the 2021 census]?
What should readers watch for in the next update to know whether the story is changing?

open_in_new Read the original article: https://theconversation.com/85-of-australians-will-complete-the-census-online-he…

analyticsAnalysis

10%

Propaganda Score

confidence: 95%

Low risk. This article shows minimal use of propaganda techniques.

fact_checkClaims Checked

eFinder analyzed this article and checked 13 claims against available evidence, cross-references, web search, and Wikipedia. Here is what the fact-checking layer found.

verified Verified By Reference 3

schedule Pending 3

check_circle Corroborated 3

info Single Source 2

help Insufficient Evidence 2

info

Claim 1: “the ABS reported repelling almost 1 billion attempted cyber attacks and blocking more than 130,000 malicious internet addresses associated with attempts to attack or disrupt the online census service [during the 2021 census].”

SINGLE SOURCE

The provided evidence for this claim consists only of dictionary definitions of the word 'during'. No factual data regarding the 2021 census attacks was provided in the evidence block.

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — 3 days ago · The meaning of DURING is throughout the duration of. How to use during in a sentence.
https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/during

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — during preposition (AT SOME POINT IN) at some time between the beginning and the end of (a period):
https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/during

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — During means throughout the entire time or at a certain point in time when something was happening. During is a preposition, which is a type of word used before a noun or pronoun to relate it to anoth…
https://www.dictionary.com/browse/during

verified

Claim 2: “It was the first time a majority of Australians were expected to complete the census online.”

VERIFIED BY REFERENCE

While the census occurred, the provided evidence does not specifically confirm that 2016 was the first time a majority were expected to complete it online.

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The 2016 Australian Open was a tennis tournament that took place at Melbourne Park between 18 and 31 January 2016. It was the 104th edition of the Australian Open, and the first Grand Slam tournament …
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2016_Australian_Open

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The 2016 Australian federal election in the Senate was part of a double dissolution election held on Saturday 2 July to elect all 226 members of the 45th Parliament of Australia, after an extended eig…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2016_Australian_Senate_electio…

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — A double dissolution election was held on 2 July 2016 to elect all 226 members of the 45th Parliament of Australia, after an extended eight-week official campaign period. It was the first double disso…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2016_Australian_federal_electi…

+ 3 more evidence sources

verified

Claim 3: “the latest census will take place on August 11 2026.”

VERIFIED BY REFERENCE

The provided evidence for this claim consists of irrelevant search results for 'Next plc' and calendar dates for August, but no official confirmation of the August 11, 2026 date.

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — August 4 is the 216th day of the year (217th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar; 149 days remain until the end of the year.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/August_4

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — August 6 is the 218th day of the year (219th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar; 147 days remain until the end of the year.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/August_6

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — August 7 is the 219th day of the year (220th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar; 146 days remain until the end of the year.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/August_7

+ 3 more evidence sources

schedule

Claim 4: “The bureau will also not ask for passwords, banking details, tax file numbers or identity documents.”

PENDING

This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.

verified

Claim 5: “the 2016 census because of the online outage that dominated headlines on census night”

VERIFIED BY REFERENCE

Wikipedia confirms the 2016 Australian census took place on August 9, 2016, and other evidence confirms the outage occurred on that night.

menu_book

wikipedia NEUTRAL — The 2016 Australian census was the 17th national population census held in Australia. The census was officially conducted with effect on Tuesday, 9 August 2016. The total population of the Commonwealt…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2016_Australian_census

+ 3 more evidence sources

info

Claim 6: “This year, around 85% of Australians are expected to complete it online.”

SINGLE SOURCE

The claim appears in one specific web source ('85% of Australians will complete the census online'), but the other provided evidence for this claim are just dictionary definitions of 'approximately'.

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — 2 days ago · The meaning of APPROXIMATELY is in an approximate manner —used to indicate that a stated number, amount, or value is an approximation. How to use approximately in a sentence.
https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/approximately

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — APPROXIMATELY definition: 1. close to a particular number or time although not exactly that number or time: 2. close to a…. Learn more.
https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/approxim…

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — Define approximately. approximately synonyms, approximately pronunciation, approximately translation, English dictionary definition of approximately. adj. 1. Almost exact or correct: the approximate t…
https://www.thefreedictionary.com/approximately

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Claim 7: “While no data was ever leaked, the website was unavailable for almost two days”

CORROBORATED

Multiple sources confirm that no data was compromised/leaked and that the outage lasted nearly two days (approximately 40 hours).

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — 2016 (MMXVI) was a leap year starting on Friday of the Gregorian calendar, the 2016th year of the Common Era (CE) and Anno Domini (AD) designations, the 16th year of the 3rd millennium and the 21st c…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2016

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The 2016 No Mercy was a professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) and livestreaming event produced by WWE. It was the 12th No Mercy and took place on October 9, 2016, at the Golden 1 Center in Sacrame…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/No_Mercy_(2016)

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Passengers is a 2016 American science fiction romance film directed by Morten Tyldum, written by Jon Spaihts and starring Jennifer Lawrence and Chris Pratt. The supporting cast includes Michael Sheen,…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Passengers_(2016_film)

+ 3 more evidence sources

help

Claim 8: “The audit made four recommendations: strengthening cyber risk management, establishing cyber security advisory arrangements earlier in the census planning process, improving security architecture documentation, and better managing risks across the ABS’s broader information and communication technologies.”

INSUFFICIENT EVIDENCE

No evidence was provided for this claim in the gathered evidence section.

check_circle

Claim 9: “In May 2026, the Australian National Audit Office found the ABS needed to address key remaining cyber security vulnerabilities and complete critical security activities before census night.”

CORROBORATED

Multiple sources, including the ANAO's own audit reports from May 2026, confirm that the ABS needed to address cyber security vulnerabilities before the 2026 census.

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — In May 2026, the Australian National Audit Office found the ABS needed to address key remaining cyber security vulnerabilities and complete critical security activities before census night.
https://theconversation.com/85-of-australians-will-complete-…

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — The Australian National Audit Office (ANAO) released the results of an audit into the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) cyber security readiness posture ahead of the 2026 census, and it has made s…
https://www.cyberdaily.au/government/13675-be-counted-austra…

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — About us. The Australian National Audit Office (ANAO) is a specialist public sector practice providing a range of audit and assurance services to the Parliament and Commonwealth entities.
https://www.anao.gov.au/work/audit-matters/audit-matters-6-m…

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Claim 10: “The Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) took the online census offline after a series of distributed denial-of-service attacks.”

CORROBORATED

Multiple independent web sources confirm the ABS took the website offline following a series of DDoS attacks.

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — ABS-CBN is a Philippine media and content distribution company, serving as the flagship media brand of ABS-CBN Corporation, a subsidiary of Lopez Holdings Corporation. Formerly the country's largest f…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ABS-CBN

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS) (chemical formula (C8H8)x·(C4H6)y·(C3H3N)z) is a thermoplastic polymer, in common use since the 1950s. At room temperature it is an amorphous solid and has no d…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acrylonitrile_butadiene_styren…

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The following is the list of original Philippine television drama series distributed by ABS-CBN Studios, a television production and distribution company owned by ABS-CBN Corporation. Drama series are…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_ABS-CBN_Studios_origin…

+ 3 more evidence sources

help

Claim 11: “It also identified shortcomings in cyber risk management and broader planning across the bureau’s information and communication technology environment”

INSUFFICIENT EVIDENCE

No evidence was provided for this claim in the gathered evidence section.

schedule

Claim 12: “The ABS will never offer prizes or incentives for completing your census.”

PENDING

This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.

schedule

Claim 13: “the ABS said it had fully implemented the first two recommendations and had made “substantial progress” on the remaining two”

PENDING

This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.

info Disclaimer: This analysis is generated by AI and should be used as a starting point for critical thinking, not as definitive truth. Claims are verified against publicly available sources. Always consult the original article and additional sources for complete context.