At a Glance
The 2026 Australian Census will take place on 11 August 2026, with the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) working closely with strata communities across the country to ensure secure apartment buildings are counted accurately. For owners and residents in larger apartment buildings, the process is largely managed behind the scenes through coordination between the ABS, strata managers and building representatives. Jamesons will assist Owners Corporations by facilitating access, coordinating Census activities and providing building-level dwelling information as required by law, while protecting residents’ personal information. For most committees and owners, the key actions are simply to be aware of Census activity in the building, complete Census forms on time and contact Jamesons with any questions.
On Tuesday 11 August 2026, the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) will conduct the next Census of Population and Housing. If you own or live in a Secure Apartment Building (SAB), there are a few things you should know, and a few small things you can do to help ensure your building is counted properly.
📅 Key Dates to Know
Late May 2026: ABS Census staff begin contacting Building Managers to coordinate building access.
June–early August 2026: Census materials delivered to residents in SABs.
Tuesday 11 August 2026: Census night. Residents complete their forms (online or paper).
What is a Secure Apartment Building?
The ABS classifies a building as a Secure Apartment Building (SAB) if it has more than 20 private dwellings and isn’t publicly accessible, think security doors, swipe-card lifts, or floor restrictions. If that sounds like your building, this applies to you.
Why your strata manager is involved
Counting every resident in a SAB is genuinely difficult. Locked lobbies, intercoms, restricted floors, and follow-up visits for unsubmitted forms all require coordination. That’s why the ABS contacts strata managers directly to help facilitate access for Census field staff.
Acting as agent for your Owners Corporation, Jamesons coordinates with the ABS on its behalf as part of our day-to-day management responsibilities. From late May 2026, Census staff will be reaching out to coordinate the delivery of Census materials and any follow-up activities after Census night.
Under instruction from your Owners Corporation, and as required under the Census and Statistics Act 1905 (Cth), we are also providing the ABS with dwelling-type information, identifying which lots within a scheme are private residences, serviced apartments, short-stays or hotel rooms, so the count is accurate from the outset.
This disclosure occurs under statutory obligation and on instruction from the Owners Corporation, not as a discretionary act of your strata manager. No personal information about individual residents is disclosed by Jamesons, only dwelling-type metadata relating to the building’s structure.
If your building operates under the Community Land Management Act 2021 (e.g. a community, precinct or neighbourhood scheme), the same principles apply under that framework.
What Census staff can and can’t do
This is the part that often raises questions at committee meetings, so it’s worth being clear.
Census staff are permitted by law to enter SABs to deliver materials and follow up with residents. They may leave Census forms or instructions under apartment doors or in letterboxes. They will not enter anyone’s home. Every Census worker carries official ABS identification, has passed police integrity checks, and operates under strict protocols.
Where Census staff are issued access credentials, those are coordinated through the Building Manager or the Owners Corporation’s nominated representative under the building’s access protocols, and returned at the conclusion of Census activities.
All information collected is kept confidential under the Census and Statistics Act 1905.
What strata committees and owners need to do
In most cases, not a great deal. Coordinating ABS engagement is handled under your agency arrangement with Jamesons, so committees don’t need to manage that process themselves.
There are, however, three things worth doing:
1. Expect visitors. Let residents know Census staff may be in the building between late May and August. This avoids confusion or security concerns when uniformed staff arrive in the lobby.
2. Complete your Census form on time. The more residents complete the form promptly, the less follow-up the ABS needs to do — which means less disruption for your building overall.
3. Direct questions to our customer care team. We’re already engaged with the ABS on access logistics and dwelling identification, so any building-specific queries can come straight through us.
The Census matters. It shapes how funding is allocated for schools, hospitals, transport and infrastructure in your area for the next five years.
For SABs in particular, having a strata manager already engaged with the ABS process, and authorised by your Owners Corporation to do so, means your building gets counted accurately, with committees freed up from having to coordinate the ABS engagement themselves.
If you have questions, your Jamesons customer care team is the right place to start.
