For Timothy Coles, home is a modest tent pitched on the fringes of Coffs Harbour. Facing the daily hardships of sleeping rough, filling out government paperwork is rarely a priority. Yet, as the national Census approaches, Coles is determined to make his voice heard.

"I want to complete the Census to shed light on the real hardships so many Australians are facing right now," Coles said. He plans to sit down at a local support service next week to officially log his details.

As one of regional New South Wales’ primary homelessness hotspots, Coffs Harbour is seeing unprecedented demand for crisis support. At Pete’s Place, a local drop-in center run by St Vincent de Paul, staff provide hot showers, laundry facilities, food, and caseworkers to those in need. However, helping clients participate in the national survey presents unique challenges.

Overcoming Barriers on the Streets

Pete’s Place team leader Anna Millett explained that many clients face steep barriers when it comes to completing the standard Census forms.

"Some of the people who access our service struggle with literacy, which makes a multi-page form incredibly daunting," Millett said. "We are supporting people dealing with highly complex issues, including mental health challenges, substance use, domestic violence, and youth homelessness."

To bridge this gap, Census field officers have been stationed at Pete’s Place and the Uniting Church Soup Kitchen in Coffs Harbour. Starting this week, they will conduct face-to-face interviews with those willing to participate, recording responses on a simplified, custom two-page form designed specifically for the homeless population.

Emily Walter, a national spokesperson for the Census, said support strategies have been initiated much earlier this cycle. "We are actively placing staff where we know there are higher concentrations of people sleeping rough," Walter said. "By partnering with soup kitchens and streetside medical facilities, we can meet people in places where they already feel safe."

A Maturing Measure of Homelessness

Demographer Dr. Liz Allen, from the Australian National University, knows firsthand how easy it is to be missed. As a teenager, her own experience with "couch surfing" went completely unrecorded in the 1996 Census.

However, Dr. Allen noted that data collection methods have significantly improved. "The approach has matured to become much more deliberate and sensitive," she said. "This allows specialized field teams to go into marginalized areas and capture vital data from those living in improvised dwellings."

In the 2021 Census, an estimated 122,494 Australians were recorded as experiencing homelessness—a 5.2 percent increase from 2016. Dr. Allen expects that number to rise further due to post-pandemic economic pressures. "People experiencing homelessness are not just those on the street; they are working full-time jobs, studying, and raising families right next door to us," she added.

The Fight for Cultural Visibility

The push for accurate representation is also being felt deeply within Coffs Harbour’s multicultural and refugee communities.

For the local Ezidi (also known as Yazidi) community, the Census represents an opportunity to be officially recognized by the Australian government. Many fled persecution and ISIS-led genocide in Iraq and Syria, settling in regional hubs like Coffs Harbour.

Sixteen-year-old Bahin Al-Hassan has been volunteering to produce community language videos explaining the Census to his peers. "The Census is incredibly important to us because we are trying to get recognized as a distinct region, religion, and language," Al-Hassan said.

Currently, Yazidis must select the "other" category and manually write in their faith and ethnicity. Local community leader Sami Sheebo has been actively campaigning for a dedicated checkbox on future forms.

"We want to be recognized clearly as Yazidi," Sheebo said. "We will continue to advocate and educate our community to show the government exactly how many of us have made Australia our home." Reflecting this growth, the national Yazidi population recorded in the Census surged from just 63 people in 2016 to over 4,100 in 2021.

Privacy and Trust

This desire for accurate representation is shared by the Jewish community, though historical trauma continues to influence participation.

Peter Wertheim, co-chief executive of the Executive Council of Australian Jewry (ECAJ), estimates the actual Jewish population in Australia is closer to 117,000, despite only 99,956 registering in the last Census.

Wertheim noted that a recent rise in antisemitism has heightened concerns about privacy. "There is a historical memory in Jewish families of totalitarian regimes using census data to compile target lists," Wertheim said. "While Australia has strict data protection laws, those deeply ingrained anxieties can still impact how comfortable people feel declaring their faith."

With Census night fast approaching, local support workers and community leaders alike are emphasizing that every response is crucial to securing the funding, resources, and recognition that regional communities desperately need.