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When is Community Profile data updated?

The update cycle for each dataset on your site, and when the 2026 Census data arrives


Community Profile combines Census data, updated every five years, with annual and monthly datasets that keep your site current between Censuses. This article sets out when each dataset is released, how soon it reaches your site and what to expect from the 2026 Census.

How often each dataset updates

Each table on your site shows its own source, so you can always check where a figure comes from. The main update cycles are:

  • Census data is included every five years, as soon as possible after the ABS release. The 2021 Census data was added rapidly after release, including new topics such as long-term health conditions.
  • Estimated Resident Population (ERP) is updated annually for LGAs and sub-state areas. The ABS releases ERP in late March each year, for the previous June (and revisions to previous years). The most recent release was 31 March 2026, and the next is due 25 March 2027. Quarterly state/territory releases are widely publicised but don’t correspond with the availability of local numbers.
  • Annual migration (ABS Regional Internal Migration Estimates) is updated annually, at the same time as ERP, around the end of March/early April.
  • Residential building approvals (ABS Building Approvals) and JobSeeker and Youth Allowance recipient data (Department of Social Services) are updated monthly, at LGA level, usually around the last week of the month for the previous month.

Social Atlas maps Census data from the last two Censuses, so it updates five-yearly with each new Census rather than between them. There is no non-Census data in Social Atlas.

How soon new data reaches your site

New annual and monthly datasets are added to Community Profile within about a week of release. We don't guarantee the timing, but about a week is the usual experience, and ERP has typically been live within a week of the late-March ABS release.

One caveat worth knowing when you quote ERP: the ABS revises it. Each annual release carries minor revisions to previous years, and after each Census the ABS revises the previous five years of ERP. A figure you quoted last year may shift slightly in a later release, or by a larger amount if it’s a Census-based revision.

When the 2026 Census data arrives

The ABS will release 2026 Census data in stages. There are three phases, and the exact dates are not yet confirmed by the ABS:

  • a first release around June 2027, covering about 75% of Census topics, including age, households, housing, birthplace, language, religion and education
  • a second release around October 2027, covering employment, qualifications, industry, occupation, journey to work and method of travel to work.
  • a third release from early 2028, covering distance to work, homelessness counts and the SEIFA indexes.

Your site will be updated as soon as possible after each release, so expect 2026 Census data to start appearing from mid-2027 and to arrive in stages rather than all at once. In previous Censuses we have updated topic-by-topic across all our clients, with the basic topics such as age and household type updated first. Because the ABS has not confirmed the dates, treat any specific day you see circulating as unconfirmed.

Frequently Asked Questions

Q: When is ERP released, and when will it be on my site?

A: The ABS releases ERP for Local Government and other sub-state areas in late March each year, for the previous June. It is usually live on your site within about a week of release, though we don't guarantee the timing.

Q: Why can't I get ERP by age in Community Profile?

A: The ABS releases ERP by age and sex around August each year, roughly 14 months after the 30 June reference period. We show it in Housing Monitor, at LGA level. It isn't in Community Profile because the ABS doesn't publish it at SA1 level, and many of our small areas are built from SA1s.

Q: Why does my site still show 2021 Census data?

A: The Census runs every five years and 2021 is the most recent one with published data. The 2026 Census was held on 11 August 2026, and its data releases start from around June 2027, so 2021 remains the latest Census data on your site until then. You still have all earlier Census years to compare to as well.

Q: Will figures I've already quoted change?

A: ERP figures can. The ABS revises ERP for the previous five years after each Census, and each annual release can carry minor revisions to earlier years. If a figure matters to a published document, note the release it came from.

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