In just under a month, Australians will complete the 2016 census with the data to give the most detailed picture yet of Australia's cultural diversity.
On the issue of religion, a change in the order of options is putting Catholicism at risk of losing its status as the most widely adhered to faith.
Australia's five-yearly head count is looming with the census taking place on August 9th.
More than 10 million households and 24 million people will be surveyed, with all of it adding up to three trillion cells of data.
Duncan Young is the Head of the 2016 Census and says the results generated will have an impact on government policy - "The census really helps us understand the beautiful diversity of the Australian people, where they live, what they do and how they've changed over the last five years, which helps with the planning of services, education, employment programs and other infrastructure like health."
Mr Young and his team are preparing to launch what is Australia's largest peacetime logistical operation.
More than 39 thousand temporary staff will travel the combined equivalent of 195 trips around the world to collate the information.
According the Mr Young, that data will reveal more than ever before about the country's multicultural makeup - "The census this year has expanded on the question on country of birth of parents, so last census it simply asked if people's parents were born in Australia or overseas ... but with our greater digital approach this time we've been able to expand this question to capture the actual country of birth, a person's father and a person's mother so we'll get a lot great and richer picture of our second generation migrants in Australia."
Mr Young is also predicting the census to record a milestone in the number of people who are born, or whose parents are born, overseas - "Every census tells a story of how Australia's evolving and changing. We've seen an increase in the number of people either born overseas or have at least one parent born overseas and this might be the first census where more than half of our population are either born overseas or have one of their parents born overseas."
On the question of faith, the "no religion" option will jump from last to first, overtaking Catholicism.
It was moved up as items considered to be the most likely to be chosen are put first, to make filling out the form easier for the majority of people.
When a similar change happened at the last New Zealand census, Christianity lost its majority.
The number of Australians identifying as non-religious has already increased significantly in the last century.
Religions Source: Getty Images
From 1 in 250 in 1911, to just over 1 in 5 at the last census in 2011.
Father Brian Lucas is the National Director of Catholic Mission - "There's always been a decline in religious practice, particularly in the western world ... this very much depends on different people's culture and background ... but of course the decline in formal religious belief doesn't necessarily mean there's a decline in spirituality and many people believe ... but don't necessarily adhere to a formal religious group."
The Atheist Foundation is launching a nationwide campaign asking Australians to consider whether because they were born into a religion, means they actually identify with it.
Kylie Sturgess is the President of the Foundation - "Maybe their mums, maybe their grandmums may have been involved in the Church, but they now longer are. For these people, who might have traditionally put themselves down as, say Christian, it's not truly accurate for them anymore. They might not even be going to church on a Christmas morning for example. It's entirely possible that this might have implications on funding for particular groups out there, such as hospitals, such as charities, it's entirely possible this might have an influence on politics. We just don't know, we'd like to find out more."
Two out of every three people are expected to fill out the census online this year, making it the biggest online event in Australia's history.
