Australias census has a history of keeping personal information secure and private.
However, this year the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) will make it compulsory for people to include their names and addresses.
Privacy advocates are concerned that the move will not only lead to public backlash against the census but also undermine the accuracy and credibility of the census results.
ABS Head of Census Program Duncan Young says the public neednt be concerned as the Bureau has over 100 years of a proven record in keeping personal data private and secure.
Its running a Save Our Census campaign calling for Treasurer Scott Morrison to overturn the ABS decision to retain names and addresses on census forms.
Greens Senator Scott Ludlam says it does increase the likelihood of boycott either subtle ones or overt ones where people just refuse to fill stuff out and that begins to effectively compromise the material that's being collected.
Australian Privacy Foundations Dr Roger Clarke predicts more than a million people will either fail to complete the census, or fill in fake information to protect their privacy.
ABS Duncan Young, however, is confident that they have the right measures in place to protect personal data against accidents and hackers.
Over 65 per cent of Australian households are expected to complete the census online on August 9.
But with privacy advocacy groups calling for a boycott, it seems that the reliability and accuracy of the 2016 census is about to face its biggest test to date.
