The government is adding a second new question to the 2026 census, restoring a proposed question on gender identity along with one on sexuality after a backlash over its initial decision to dump both. The treasurer, Jim Chalmers, revealed on Sunday that the government had advised the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) that a new single topic on gender and sexual orientation would be included in the next census, likely to include two questions, not just one. “We have listened to the community,” Chalmers told ABC TV’s Insiders program. “LGBTIQ+ Australians matter. They have been heard, and they will count in the 2026 census.”