Summary
ABOUT
Census 2021: Numbers that matter' examines the data that matters most to the not-for-profit sector and combines it with original insights from Perpetual and social sector leaders – covering First Nations, ageing, women and girls, population and prosperity, disability and wellbeing, volunteering and mental health.
We’ve created this resource to help not-for-profits and philanthropists make data-driven decisions when allocating funds and resources, designing future programs and talking to government.
Every five years there’s much fanfare about what the latest Australian Census will tell us about our nation. In truth, the Census can provide no definitive answers. It is a snapshot in time, that provides us with important data points; but insights can only be drawn when those data are mixed with the voices and experiences of our communities. Like our nation and the respondents who answer the questions, the Census is also flawed. There are some questions the Census failed to ask and there are some communities the Census failed to include. The nuance of our cultures, our relationships, our families and our very existence will never be fully captured on Census night.
It is for all those reasons that we must find ways to ensure that data points from the Census are blended with lived experience. That our policy makers, our grant makers and our social leaders don’t simply design solutions based on singular data points.
