Census 2021 is on 10 August and the results will offer an invaluable snapshot of the population since the last Census in 2016. It will look a little different to the previous Census because, for the first time, it will take place during a time of Pandemic, and will also ask respondents about their health and service in the Australian Defence Force or reserves.

Though usual questions of religious, cultural and financial circumstances will be asked, the census has ditched Greece as an ancestry of choice, lumping it among the ‘Others’ as an option, unlike Italian, German, Indian and Chinese.

Various groups have shown concern that this can skew the results, which would be a huge problem when bearing in mind that the results of the Census will be used to shape the country’s health education, transport and infrastructure needs and – for this reason – people’s answers matter as they will be used to identify future government priorities.

Neos Kosmos asked the Australian Bureau of Statistics why Greece, this year, was not listed as a separate option, and was told by Caroline Deans, Director of 2021 Census Dissemination, that it would be “too long and burdensome” to list all nationalities and backgrounds in Australia.

“Each time the Census form is designed, the order of the response options are updated to reflect the most frequently reported ancestries in the previous Census, while a write-in response is available for all other ancestries. This is the same approach used for questions on country of birth, religion, and language spoken at home,” Ms Dean said, explaining why Greek was not offered as a separate option.

READ MORE: Greeks ditched from the Census: The Greek omission

In complex cases, such as that of a Greek Cypriot, people are required to offer two options.

“People can give up to two answers to the ancestry question, therefore they can provide Greek or Turkish as one answer and Cypriot as the other. Based on the responses given in the 2016 Census, over 4,000 people answered with both Greek and Cypriot and a few hundred answered with both Turkish and Cypriot.”

Ms Dean said that ancestry is an important question on the Census form.

“Used in conjunction with answers to country of birth, language spoken and religious affiliation, it helps to paint a picture of the cultural diversity of our community,” she said.

Based on these answers, to include Greek as a separate option in the next Census, there would need to be a larger number of people stating that they identify as Greek.

The fact that there were 397,431 people of Greek ancestry and 93,740 people born in Greece – making Australia home to one of the largest Greek communities in the world – was not enough to justify a separately-listed Greek option in this year’s Census.

Andrew Giles, Shadow Minister for Multicultural Affairs, said, “I’m not sure why particular cultural, national and ethnic backgrounds have been selected in the census, but I’ve been concerned for some time that we don’t accurately or adequately measure our diversity.”

He told Neos Kosmos that “the census should enable us to accurately understand who we are today – in a proudly multicultural society, this should be informed by close consultation with community leaders so that the right questions are asked, in a way that enables the most useful answers to be obtained.”

Former minister Theo Theophanous said that the wording of a census is important so that results are accurate.

“They consistently understate how many Greeks there are in Australia by the way they frame the questions,” Mr Theophanous told Neos Kosmos.

“What is obvious is that Greece or Greek should be included as one of the choices alongside countries like Italy and Germany. My understanding is that Greece, up until now, has always been an option.”

Religion is another question which keeps changing. In the first Census, held in 1911, the number of people who identified as having no religion was one in 250. In 2011, it was one in five and, more recently, in 2016 it was nearly one in three. Other societal trends noted in the Census in recent years have been the decline of traditional marriage and a shift in people’s ancestry from European to Asian.

READ MORE: Census Censure: Census 2021 seeks to understand what it means to be Australian, but ignores the complexities of ancestry

Archbishop Makarios of Australia invited people to take part in the 2021 Census, by “carefully filling in the fields relating to the cultural origins of the censuses.”

He said, “I consider it necessary, in addition to who we are, to highlight how many we are. The accurate census of Greek-born Australians will allow government authorities and agencies to obtain a secure picture reflecting the reality, (and) the needs of our Homogeneity for years to come.”

The church hierarch urged people to not ignore their roots when filling out the Census.

“I am convinced that, following the example of your parents, grandmothers and grandparents, those who courageously traveled to the Antipodes and established the presence of Hellenism on the fifth continent, you also hold in your hearts today the Greek Orthodox values and traditions, and honor your identity and roots,” he said.

The Greek Community Centre of Melbourne is doing its part to help people fill out their Census forms to ensure that our sense of Greek identity doesn’t die out on Census forms. Those with difficulties answering the questions in Greek are invited to call the ABS service on 1800 512 441 to be sent a form or ask for an interpreter. The GCM urges people to not overlook their Greek ancestry just because it is not offered as a separate category or option and not neglect this even though they may be well assimilated into Australian society and way of life.

For more Census help, call the GCM on 03 9662 2722.