News

SYDNEY: With the 16th Australian Census of Population and Housing approaching, the Armenian National Committee of Australia (ANC Australia) is requesting that all Armenian-Australians write ‘ARMENIAN’ in question 18 of the 2011 Census relating to the ‘Census Ancestry' question.

Doing this will ensure that the Australian Bureau of Statistics accurately records the number of Australians with Armenian ancestry.

‘ARMENIAN’ ancestry is a unique selection that all Australian residents can make to identify their ancestry when completing the Australian Census on the night of 9 August 2011. Selection of ‘ARMENIAN’ provides the best indication of the ethnic background of first and second generation Armenian-Australians.

Unlike a person’s country of birth and whether the person’s parents were born in Australia or overseas, the ‘Census Ancestry' question is particularly useful to identify distinct ethnic or cultural groups such as Armenians whose populations are spread across many countries.

ANC Australia Executive Director Varant Meguerditchian emphasized the importance of having a true indication of the number of Armenians in Australia.

He said: “As Armenians in Australia come from countries throughout the world including Iran, Lebanon, Egypt, Cyprus, Syria and others, it is imperative that Armenian-Australians write ‘ARMENIAN’ in question 18 of the 2011 Census to ensure that the maximum number of Armenian-Australians is recorded.”

“This information regarding Armenian ancestry will be used by the Australian government to develop policies which reflect the needs of Armenian-Australians and for the effective delivery of services to the Armenian community.”

“By ensuring that our numbers are accurate we can attain the maximum entitlements for our community.”

In addition to writing ‘ARMENIAN’ in the ‘Census Ancestry' question, Armenian-Australians are encouraged to write ‘ARMENIAN’ in question 16 relating to the language spoken at home and members of the Armenian Apostolic Church are encouraged to write ‘ARMENIAN APOSTOLIC' in question 19 relating to religion.