Everything done to avert fresh Census fail
Australia's bean counters and cyber detectives hope to avoid the embarrassment of another bungled census.
The national survey will give 10 million households and 25 million people a chance to shape their future.
After trusting tech giant IBM with crucial infrastructure last time, which spectacularly crashed, the Australian Bureau of Statistics has rebuilt the census system with consultancy firm PwC Australia and Amazon Web Services.
Assistant Treasurer Michael Sukkar said the census is vital for government decisions.
"I am encouraging all Australians to take the time to complete your census tonight and help ensure that this important statistical exercise is a success." Mr Sukkar said.
Checked and rechecked by federal experts in the lead up, it is hoped any cyber attacks will fail.
Australian Statistician David Gruen says stress on the census system has been eased by more than 2.5 million Australians completing the survey early.
Mr Sukkar said the Australian Cyber Security Centre, the Department of Defence and the Digital Transformation Agency have ensured "state of the art" cyber security protections are in place in an era where cyber security and digital integrity are paramount.
"All information collected in the census will be securely hosted in Australia and encrypted end-to-end," he said.
Amazon Web Services has been certified by federal cyber experts for storing and processing highly sensitive data rated at the "protected" security classification level.
The data is expected to give an unusual snapshot compared to other years because of COVID-19 lockdowns and border restrictions.
Dr Gruen is predicting the survey will show a mixture of pandemic-specific information and longer-term trends.
He believes the trend of people moving out of capital cities, perhaps accelerated during the pandemic, will be documented in this year's census.
That would give policymakers a clearer idea of future needs for transport, health, education and other services.
Failure to fill out the compulsory form will attract a polite reminder and then a fine.
