James McGrath (Queensland, Liberal National Party, Assistant Minister to the Prime Minister) Share this | Hansard source

The Australian Bureau of Statistics is a respected independent Commonwealth agency as defined by the Australian Bureau of Statistics Act 1975. The Australian Statistician is responsible for the conduct of the census under the Census and Statistics Act 1905, including issuing fines. The statistician and other ABS employees have repeatedly stated that no Australians will be fined if they are willing to participate in the census, which the government encourages all Australians to do.