To the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) and the Assistant Treasurer:

We call on the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) to update the Census Ancestry question to ensure that pre-selected quick-select options fairly and accurately reflect Australia’s current demographic reality.

According to the ABS’s own official demographic data, Chinese ancestry is the 5th largest cultural background in Australia, representing over 5.5% of the total population (more than 1.3 million residents).

However, on the official Census form, "Chinese" is completely excluded from the primary quick-select checkboxes and relegated to the "Other" field, requiring respondents to manually type in their background.

What makes this user interface design particularly unreasonable is that significantly smaller demographic groups—such as Filipino ancestry (1.6%) and Vietnamese ancestry (1.3%)—are explicitly provided as primary quick-select options.

It is fundamentally illogical and unfair that a community three to four times larger than these groups is categorized under "Other."

Placing one of Australia's largest non-European communities into a catch-all "Other" category while providing checkboxes for much smaller populations creates a strong sense of marginalization and institutional exclusion. It diminishes the visibility and respect due to the Chinese-Australian community and fails to reflect modern multicultural Australia.

The Census is Australia’s most critical demographic tool. Its interface should be designed based on objective population data, not outdated historical standards.

We respectfully demand that the ABS:

Review the UI/UX layout of the Ancestry question in all future Censuses.

Include "Chinese" as a pre-selected quick-select option based on its status as Australia's 5th largest ancestry group.

Establish transparent, data-driven criteria for determining pre-selected ancestry checkboxes moving forward.

Please sign this petition to support equal representation and respect for all communities in Australia!

【中文说明与发起背景】

统计局（ABS）官方数据，华裔（Chinese Ancestry）是全澳第 5 大族群（占总人口 5.5%，超 130 万人）。

然而，在人口普查（Census）表格的 Ancestry（血统/祖先） 选项中，“Chinese”却没有直接的快捷勾选框，而是被归入“Other（其他）”需要手动打字输入；而占比明显更小的族群（如 1.6% 的菲律宾裔和 1.3% 的越南裔）却拥有预设勾选框。

我们呼吁 ABS 尊重人口客观数据，在未来的人口普查中将 Chinese 列为预设快捷选项，消除界面上的隐性排斥，给予全澳 130 万华裔应有的尊重与平等的代表权。

请签署并转发此请愿，共同为华人社区发声！