Australian TV host, social media users falsely claim Judaism removed from census
- Published on August 11, 2026 at 11:35
- Updated on August 11, 2026 at 12:04
- 4 min read
- By Dene-Hern CHEN, AFP Australia
Australia's census in August triggered a series of false claims on social media and network television that the government had "removed Judaism" as a religion option, playing into the Jewish community's fear and anger following the antisemitic Bondi Beach shooting. The Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) said the faith was not removed from the form, as it was not on the previous census -- and if residents do not see their religion, they can write it in under "Other".
"This is a revolting slap in the face to the Jewish people of Australia... The religion, Judaism, has been completely removed from the written choices in the Census," says a Facebook post shared on July 31, 2026, in a group containing content critical of Prime Minister Anthony Albanese.
The post includes a picture of what appears to be a question on the census asking "What is the person's religion?" and providing 10 options, as well as "Other" so residents could write in their answer.
"The Jewish faith. REMOVED, ERASED. Are we still in Australia?" the Facebook post asks.
The claim circulated ahead of the country's nationwide census on August 11, which occurs every five years (archived link).
It also comes months after a father-and-son duo opened fire at a Hanukkah celebration on Bondi Beach in December. The mass shooting, Australia's deadliest in 30 years, sparked national conversations about antisemitism and widespread anger over the failure to shield Jewish Australians from harm (archived link).
Claims that Judaism was removed from the census also made their way to broadcaster News24, formerly Sky News Australia, where host Peta Credlin amplified them during an August 3 segment.
"I am still appalled that as far as the ABS is concerned, Jews in Australia don't matter. And I say that because what other conclusion can you draw after the Australian Bureau of Statistics removed them from the form?" Credlin said in the clip, which circulated August 4 on Facebook.
"In 2021, Judaism was on the official census form, and this year they are not".
Her segment has since been removed from News24's social media pages and affiliated sites.
Similar posts still circulated elsewhere on Facebook and X, with some people also asking why Christianity was removed.
"Why have they removed the category CHRISTIAN from the census?" says one post in a Facebook group called "Made in Australia Movement".
But both claims are false.
The ABS said in an August 4 statement that the narrative "misrepresents the question on a person's religion and the way Judaism is captured and reported in Census data" (archived link).
"The 2026 Census includes the same religious affiliation question wording and tick box options as the 2021 Census," the agency said.
"Judaism has not been removed as an option from the Census form, as it has never been a pre-filled response option on the Census religion question."
Options unchanged
In its statement, the ABS included a link to the 2021 Census form, which includes a question with identical options to the latest version (archived link).
The agency said people who choose "Other" can specify their particular religion, and that "Judaism has been included as an example in the instructional text since examples were introduced in 2001".
After the ABS published its statement, News24 issued a correction on August 5 (archived link).
"The Credlin program published on 3 August 2026 stated that in 2021, Judaism was on the official census form, and this year, it is not. That was incorrect," the broadcaster said.
"In both 2021 and 2026 the census forms provided Judaism as an example of 'other' religions to be specified by those completing the census in writing."
The 2026 census, independently verified by AFP, lists Judaism as a write-in example alongside various denominations associated with Christianity, such as Catholic, Presbyterian and Baptist.
'Most common responses'
When asked how the ABS chooses which religion to include as an option, a spokesperson told AFP that "the selection and ordering of tick boxes... is usually based on the most common responses from the previous census".
"When we use tick boxes, they must be mutually exclusive to avoid public confusion in responding and to produce accurate statistics. This means that including Christianity as a tick box would result in a loss of information on the specific Christian denominations, such as Catholic and Anglican," the spokesperson said in an August 11 email.
"People can use the free text field if they want to respond with a religion not included in the tick boxes, including a response of 'Christian'."
According to the 2021 census, fewer than 100,000 Australians identify as Jewish -- about 0.4 percent of the country's population (archived link).
The ABS explained its changes to the 2026 census in a list published the previous year (archived link). The agency did the same thing before the 2021 census (archived link).
The Australian Associated Press and public broadcaster ABC also debunked claims that the government removed Judaism as a religion option on the 2026 census (archived here and here).
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