Taxpayers forked out almost $200,000 on machines to cut up completed paper forms from last year's Census.
The Australian Bureau of Statistics bought three guillotines to remove the bindings on filled-in forms so the pages could be scanned.
The $195,600 contract with Heidelberg Graphic Equipment included the supply and maintenance of the machines.
A further $1.65 million was spent on document scanners for the 2016 Census.
The ABS printed about 15 million paper forms, including the regular one issued to households as well as spares and tailored forms for people such as those in hospitals and hotels, the visually impaired, and homeless.
It cost more than $5.2 million to produce and print the paper forms, and millions more to mail them out.
A majority of households - 4.9 million - completed the Census online, with only about 3.5 million paper forms returned.
A list of contracts published online also reveals $450,000 was spent on leasing vehicles during the 2016 Census and at least $1.8 million on public relations services.
Last year's Census was to be Australia's "first predominantly digital Census", with the expectation that about 65 per cent would complete it online.
Despite issues with the website, about 59 per cent of forms came via the internet.
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