2013 Census to count every person and household in New Zealand

The 2013 Census will count how many people and households there are in New Zealand on Tuesday 5 March. It will provide an official measure of how many Asian people live in New Zealand.

Every man, woman and child in the country on that day must fill in a census form. The information is completely confidential.

Statistics New Zealand is working hard to raise awareness among the Asian community about the census and why it is important, and will be providing a telephone service offering assistance in a number of languages including Korean, Mandarin, Cantonese and Hindi.

Asian people were undercounted in the last census, because many didn’t know they had to fill in the census forms. Asian people had the highest undercount of any ethnic group.

The information collected by the census is used to help decide funding for things like schools, roads, and health care. This information is used by community groups to apply for resources such as training and education opportunities, community centres and parks.

It is important that everyone in the country on Tuesday, 5 March 2013 fills in a census form - old and young, whether they were born in New Zealand or overseas, and whether they live here or are just visiting. Official census collectors will deliver an Internet Access Code and paper forms to every household.  You can do your census online or on the paper forms.

The confidentiality of personal information is protected by law. It will not be shared with any other government department including New Zealand Police, Immigration New Zealand or Inland Revenue.

Asian people play a key role in New Zealand society and their voice is valued. There were 354,552 Asian people in New Zealand in 2006 (at the time of the last census) – about 9% of the population. This community is growing rapidly, and it is important to know by how much, so that resources are properly allocated. 

Carol Slappendel, General Manager 2013 Census said: “The census is important because information from it helps determine how billions of dollars of government funding is spent in the community.”

“It is used to help make decisions about which services are needed and where they should be, such as hospitals, schools, roads, public transport, and recreational facilities. “

“Census information also tells you how your community has changed over the years, things like how many people live where you live, what sort of jobs they do and so on.”

Census collectors will deliver an Internet Access Code and paper forms to every household from Saturday, 16 February 2013 to Tuesday, 5 March 2013. Collection of forms will begin on Wednesday, 6 March 2013.

Information in other languages

• View Māori translation. (PDF 144 KB)
• View Samoan translation. (PDF 94 KB)
• View Chinese translation. (PDF 160 KB)
• View Tongan translation. (PDF 50 KB)

Information about the census is available in different languages.

There will also be a toll-free Helpline - 0800 CENSUS (0800 236 787) - available from 11 February for callers to talk to people who speak:

• Korean

• Mandarin

• Cantonese

• Hindi

More information about the 2013 Census can be found at www.census.govt.nz