{"id":"F2006B00779","name":"Census and Statistics Ordinance 1961 (CI)","slug":"census-and-statistics-ordinance-1961-ci","collection":"legislative_instrument","jurisdiction":"commonwealth","status":"in_force","isInForce":true,"actNumber":null,"makingDate":null,"administeringDepartment":null,"currentVersion":{"id":40822,"registerId":"commonwealth-F2006B00779-current","compilationNumber":null,"startDate":"2026-04-01","status":"InForce","reasons":null,"registeredAt":null},"sections":[{"sectionNumber":"1","sectionType":"section","heading":"Census and Statistics Ordinance 1961 (CI)","content":"![](image.001.png)\n\nTerritory of Christmas Island\n\nCensus and Statistics Ordinance 1961\n\nOrdinance No. 2 of 1961 as amended\n\nmade under the\n\nChristmas Island Act 1958\n\nThis compilation was prepared on 12 December 2001 \ntaking into account amendments up to Ordinance No. 4 of 1981\n\nPrepared by the Office of Legislative Drafting, \nAttorney-General’s Department, Canberra\n\nContents\n\nPage\n\nPart I Preliminary\n\n1 Citation \\[see Note 1\\]\n\n2 Application\n\n3 Definitions\n\nPart II Administration\n\n4 Appointment of Statistician\n\n5 Delegation by the Statistician\n\nPart III Census\n\n6 Taking of the Census\n\n7 Statistician to take steps for collection of the Census\n\n8 Division of the Territory for the Census\n\n9 Appointment of officers\n\n11 Duties of Field Supervisor\n\n12 Duties of Collectors\n\n13 Householder’s Schedule\n\n14 Distribution of Householder’s Schedules\n\n15 Delivery of Householder’s Schedules to ships\n\n16 Occupiers to fill up Householder’s Schedules\n\n17 Supply of particulars by persons who do not wish to provide information for inclusion in the Householder’s Schedule\n\n18 Persons may be required to furnish particulars\n\n19 Obligation of persons in respect of whom particulars are not furnished\n\n20 Collection of Schedules\n\n21 Particulars with respect to uninhabited dwellings\n\n22 Collectors to assist in filling up Schedules\n\n23 Persons to supply information to Collectors\n\nPart IV Statistics\n\n23A Collection of statistics\n\n23B Appointment of officers\n\n23C Duties of officers\n\n23D Completion of forms\n\n23E Requirement under section 23D\n\n23F Evidentiary provisions\n\n23G Duty of persons to answer questions\n\n23H Powers of entry and inspection\n\nPart V Miscellaneous\n\n23J Undertaking of fidelity and secrecy\n\n24 Failure by officers to perform duties\n\n25 Untrue returns by officers\n\n26 Officers to observe secrecy\n\n27 Penalty for false returns or answers\n\n28 Forgery of forms\n\n29 No penalty for failure to state the ethnic group or religion of a person\n\n30 Publication\n\n31 Regulations\n\nThe Schedule\n\nNotes\n\nAn Ordinance relating to the Taking and Collection of Censuses and the collection of statistics in the Territory of Christmas Island\n\nPart I Preliminary\n\n1 Citation \\[see Note 1\\]\n\nThis Ordinance may be cited as the Census and Statistics Ordinance 1961.\n\n2 Application\n\nWhere a building is let, sub-let or held in different apartments and occupied by different persons or families, this Ordinance applies to and in relation to each part so let, sub-let or held and used for the purpose of human habitation, and to and in relation to the persons residing in each such part, as if the part were a separate dwelling.\n\n3 Definitions\n\nIn this Ordinance, unless the contrary intention appears:\n\n> Census day means the day in a census year appointed by the Minister, by notice published in the Gazette, to be a census day for the purpose of the taking of the Census.\n\n> census year means a calender year in which the Census is required to be taken in the Territory in pursuance of section six of this Ordinance.\n\n> dwelling means a building, erection or tenement, whether permanent or temporary, that is wholly or partly used for the purpose of human habitation, and includes any ship or other vessel in a port in the Territory or on a passage between any two ports in the Territory.\n\n> Householder’s Schedule includes a personal slip.\n\n> officer means a person appointed under section 9 or 23B.\n\n> occupier includes a governor, superintendent, officer-in-charge or keeper of a gaol, prison, hospital, lunatic asylum or public or charitable institution.\n\n> personal slip means a personal slip referred to in section seventeen of this Ordinance.\n\n> ship includes any vessel used in navigation by water.\n\n> the Statistician means:\n\n(a) where a Statistician is appointed for the purposes of both Part III and Part IV — that Statistician; or\n\n(b) the Statistician appointed for the purposes of Part III or the Statistician appointed for the purposes of Part IV, as the case requires.\n\nPart II Administration\n\n4 Appointment of Statistician\n\n(1) The Minister may appoint a Statistician for the purposes of Part III.\n\n(2) The Minister may appoint a Statistician for the purposes of Part IV.\n\n(3) If no appointment is in force under subsection (1) or (2), the Minister may appoint a Statistician for the purposes of both Parts III and IV.\n\n5 Delegation by the Statistician\n\n(1) With the approval of the Minister, the Statistician may, by writing under his hand, in relation to a matter or class of matters, delegate any of his powers or functions under this Ordinance (except this power of delegation).\n\n(2) A power or function so delegated may be exercised or performed by the delegate in accordance with the instrument of delegation.\n\n(3) A delegation under this section is revocable at will and does not prevent the exercise of a power or the performance of a function by the Statistician.\n\nPart III Census\n\n6 Taking of the Census\n\nThe Census shall be taken in each year in which the Census is taken in the Commonwealth under the Census and Statistics Act 1905.\n\n7 Statistician to take steps for collection of the Census\n\nIt is the duty of the Statistician, subject to the directions of the Minister, to prepare and issue forms and instructions, and to take all necessary steps, for the taking and collection of the Census in a census year.\n\n8 Division of the Territory for the Census\n\n(1) The Statistician may, for the purposes of the taking and collection of the Census in a census year, divide the Territory into such Collector’s Districts as he considers necessary.\n\n(2) Where the Territory is not divided into Collector’s Districts under the last preceding subsection for the purposes of the taking and collection of the Census in a census year, the whole of the Territory shall be deemed to be a Collector’s District for those purposes in that census year.\n\n9 Appointment of officers\n\n(1) For the purposes of the taking and collection of the Census in a census year:\n\n(a) the Minister shall appoint a person to be the Field Supervisor for the Territory; and\n\n(b) the Field Supervisor for the Territory shall appoint, in respect of each Collector’s District, a person to be the Collector for that District.\n\n(2) A person appointed under this section holds office during the pleasure of the person by whom he has been appointed.\n\n(3) A person appointed under this section shall be paid, in respect of the performance of his duties under this Ordinance, such remuneration as the Minister approves.\n\n11 Duties of Field Supervisor\n\nSubject to this Ordinance and to any directions duly given him by the Statistician, the Field Supervisor shall:\n\n(a) make all necessary arrangements for the taking and collection of the Census in the Territory in the census year in relation to which he is appointed;\n\n(b) obtain an accurate record of the population in the Territory; and\n\n(c) forward that record, together with such summaries of that record as the Statistician directs, to the Statistician as soon as possible after that record or those summaries have been obtained.\n\n12 Duties of Collectors\n\nEach Collector shall carry out such duties in relation to the taking and collection of the Census in the census year in relation to which he is appointed as are prescribed by this Ordinance or as the Statistician directs.\n\n13 Householder’s Schedule\n\n(1) For the purposes of taking and collecting the Census in a census year, a Householder’s Schedule shall be prepared specifying the matters in relation to:\n\n(a) a dwelling; and\n\n(b) a person in that dwelling;\n\nin respect of which particulars are required to be furnished.\n\n(2) For the purposes of subsection (1) the matters in relation to a dwelling are:\n\n(a) the type of the dwelling, that is to say, whether the dwelling is a house, flat, community block or another type of dwelling;\n\n(b) if the dwelling is of a type other than a house, flat or community block — a description of the type of the dwelling;\n\n(c) the material of which the outer walls of the dwelling are constructed;\n\n(d) the number of rooms in the dwelling;\n\n(e) the principal purpose for which each of those rooms is used; and\n\n(f) the address of the dwelling.\n\n(3) For the purposes of subsection (1), the matters in relation to a person are:\n\n(a) the name of the person;\n\n(b) the sex of the person;\n\n(c) the age of the person on the Census day;\n\n(d) the relationship of the person to the head of the household in the dwelling in which the person resides;\n\n(e) whether the person has ever been married;\n\n(f) if the person has been married:\n\n(i) whether the spouse of the person is alive;\n\n(ii) whether the person is permanently separated from the person’s spouse; and\n\n(iii) whether the person has been divorced and is not, on the Census day, married;\n\n(g) the country where the person was born;\n\n(h) if the person was not born in the Territory — the year in which the person first entered the Territory;\n\n(i) the country of which the person is a citizen;\n\n(j) the ethnic group to which the person belongs;\n\n(k) the religion of the person;\n\n(l) the languages most frequently used by the person;\n\n(m) the principal work or activity normally undertaken by the person, that is to say, whether the person:\n\n(i) is normally in business or employment;\n\n(ii) normally undertakes unpaid home duties;\n\n(iii) is a child who attends school full-time; or\n\n(iv) normally undertakes an activity not referred to in subparagraph (i), (ii) or (iii);\n\n(n) if the person normally undertakes an activity not referred to in subparagraph (m) (i), (m) (ii) or (m) (iii) — a description of the principal activity normally undertaken by the person;\n\n(o) if the person is not a child who attends school full-time — whether the person ever attended school full-time;\n\n(p) if the person has ceased to attend school full-time — the age of the person when he ceased to attend school full‑time;\n\n(q) if the person ever obtained a professional, trade, technical or other occupational qualification — the name of each such qualification and of the institution that granted it;\n\n(r) if the person is skilled in a trade or other occupation — the name of the trade or occupation and the number of years during which the person exercised the skill;\n\n(s) if the person has a source of income — the total gross income which the person usually receives from all sources weekly or annually;\n\n(t) whether in the week immediately before the Census day the person had a full-time or part-time job, in employment or otherwise, other than unpaid home duties (whether or not the person worked in the job);\n\n(u) whether in that week the person worked in a job, in employment or otherwise, other than unpaid home duties;\n\n(v) if in that week the person worked in an industry, a business, government service or another service, other than unpaid home duties — the nature of that industry, business, government service or other service;\n\n(w) if in that week the person worked in a job, other than unpaid home duties — the nature of that job;\n\n(x) if in that week the person worked in a job, other than unpaid home duties — the number of hours the person worked in the job in that week;\n\n(y) whether in that week the person sought employment;\n\n(z) if on the Census day the person owned a motor vehicle, other than a motor cycle or motor scooter — whether the vehicle was purchased by the person after 30 June 1980;\n\n(za) whether on the Census day the person owned a television set; and\n\n(zb) whether on the Census day the person owned a video cassette recorder.\n\n(4) For the purpose of subsection (2) of this section, where a dwelling consists of one room only or is an apartment that consists of one room only, whether or not it is a room of a kind known as a bedsitting room, the dwelling shall be deemed not to contain a bedroom.\n\n14 Distribution of Householder’s Schedules\n\n(1) For the purposes of the taking and collection of the Census in a census year, a Collector shall leave a Householder’s Schedule at each occupied dwelling within the Collector’s District.\n\n(2) Except with the approval of the Field Supervisor for the Territory, a Collector shall not leave a Householder’s Schedule at a dwelling earlier than seven days before the Census day, or after the Census day, to which it relates.\n\n(3) A Collector shall leave the Householder’s Schedule at a dwelling:\n\n(a) by delivering it personally to the occupier of the dwelling;\n\n(b) by delivering it to a person apparently in charge of the dwelling or residing at the dwelling; or\n\n(c) if no person is in the dwelling at the time the Collector calls at the dwelling — by placing it in the letter-box for the dwelling, under a door of the dwelling or in some other place where it is likely to come to the notice of the occupier.\n\n(4) A person, not being the occupier of a dwelling, who receives a Householder’s Schedule, into whose hands a Householder’s Schedule comes or who receives notice of the fact that a Householder’s Schedule has been left at a dwelling shall deliver the Schedule to the occupier or give notice of that fact to the occupier, as the case requires.\n\nPenalty for a contravention of this subsection: Ten dollars.\n\n15 Delivery of Householder’s Schedules to ships\n\n(1) The Collector for a Collector’s District in which a port is included shall leave a Householder’s Schedule with the master of each ship that is in the port on the Census day in a census year.\n\n(2) Where a ship is on a passage between any two ports in the Territory on the Census day in a census year and a Householder’s Schedule was not left with the master of the ship before that Census day, the Collector for the Collector’s District in which the port at which the ship first arrives after that Census day is included shall leave a Householder’s Schedule with the master of the ship.\n\n16 Occupiers to fill up Householder’s Schedules\n\nThe occupier of a dwelling, or the master of a ship, with or for whom a Householder’s Schedule relating to the taking of the Census on a Census day has been left shall:\n\n(a) to the best of his knowledge and belief, fill up and furnish in the Schedule, in accordance with the instructions contained in or accompanying the Schedule, all the particulars specified in the Schedule in relation to the dwelling and in relation to every person who is residing in the dwelling or on the ship on the night of the Census day;\n\n(b) sign his name on the Schedule; and\n\n(c) deliver the Schedule, when so filled up and signed, to a Collector authorised to receive it.\n\nPenalty: Twenty dollars.\n\n17 Supply of particulars by persons who do not \nwish to provide information for inclusion in the Householder’s Schedule\n\n(1) Where a person does not wish to furnish to the occupier of a dwelling or to the master of a ship, for insertion in the Householder’s Schedule for that dwelling or ship, the particulars required to be furnished in that Schedule in respect of himself, the Collector shall supply to the occupier, for completion by that person, a personal slip containing the questions relating to the matters in respect of a person that are required to be specified in a Householder’s Schedule under section thirteen of this Ordinance.\n\n(2) A person who does not wish to furnish to the occupier of the dwelling or to the master of a ship for insertion in the Householder’s Schedule for that dwelling or ship the particulars so required to be furnished in respect of himself shall supply those particulars on the personal slip, shall sign the slip, seal it in an envelope and hand the envelope to the occupier or master, as the case may be.\n\nPenalty: Twenty dollars.\n\n(3) The occupier of a dwelling or the master of a ship shall deliver each envelope handed to him in accordance with the last preceding subsection to the Collector when delivering to the Collector the Householder’s Schedule for the dwelling or ship.\n\nPenalty for a contravention of this subsection: Twenty dollars.\n\n18 Persons may be required to furnish particulars\n\n(1) Where a Collector has reason to believe:\n\n(a) that a person did not reside in a dwelling on the night of the Census day in a census year; or\n\n(b) that a person:\n\n(i) is a person in respect of whom the particulars specified in a personal slip are required to be furnished under this Ordinance; and\n\n(ii) no such particulars in respect of the person have been so furnished;\n\nthe Collector shall require the person:\n\n(c) to supply, in a personal slip handed to the person by the Collector, the particulars in respect of the person specified in the slip; or\n\n(d) to furnish to the Collector such particulars as are necessary to enable a personal slip to be completed in respect of that person.\n\n(2) A person shall not fail to comply with a requirement made under the last preceding subsection.\n\nPenalty for an offence against this subsection: Twenty dollars.\n\n(3) The Statistician may require a person to furnish, with respect to another person who was in the Territory on the night of the Census day in a census year but did not reside in a dwelling on that night, particulars of any of the matters relating to a person that are specified in a Householder’s Schedule.\n\n(4) A person shall not fail to comply, to the best of his knowledge and belief, with a requirement made under the last preceding subsection.\n\nPenalty for an offence against this subsection: Twenty dollars.\n\n19 Obligation of persons in respect of whom particulars are not furnished\n\nWhere the particulars required under this Ordinance in respect of a person have not been included in a Householder’s Schedule or in a personal slip that has been furnished to an occupier of a dwelling, to the master of a ship or to a Collector, that person shall, as soon as practicable after the Census day in a census year, attend at a post office or police station and there furnish the particulars in respect of himself specified in a Householder’s Schedule.\n\nPenalty: Twenty dollars.\n\n20 Collection of Schedules\n\nA Collector shall, as soon as practicable after the Census day in a census year, call at each dwelling in the Collector’s District for which he has been appointed and collect the Householder’s Schedules and the personal slips in respect of that dwelling.\n\n21 Particulars with respect to uninhabited dwellings\n\nWhere a Collector finds that a dwelling is uninhabited on the Census day in a census year, the Collector shall:\n\n(a) supply, on a Householder’s Schedule, such of the particulars in relation to a dwelling as are specified in that Schedule and he can ascertain by observation and inquiry;\n\n(b) write on the Schedule the word ‘unoccupied’ and such brief particulars of the reasons why the dwelling is uninhabited as he can ascertain by inquiry; and\n\n(c) sign the Schedule.\n\n22 Collectors to assist in filling up Schedules\n\nIt is the duty of a Collector:\n\n(a) to assist a person who requests him so to do in filling up a Householder’s Schedule; and\n\n(b) to satisfy himself by inquiries from the occupiers of dwellings or other persons that the Householder’s Schedules collected by him have been correctly filled up.\n\n23 Persons to supply information to Collectors\n\nA person shall answer, to the best of his knowledge and belief, a question asked him by a Collector, being a question relevant to any information that the Collector is required to obtain for the purpose of the taking and collection of the Census in a census year.\n\nPenalty: Twenty dollars.\n\nPart IV Statistics\n\n23A Collection of statistics\n\nThe Statistician shall, subject to the regulations and in accordance with the directions (if any) of the Minister, collect statistics in relation to all or any of the following matters:\n\n(a) accidents;\n\n(b) banking, insurance and finance;\n\n(c) education;\n\n(d) employment and non-employment;\n\n(e) entertainments and amusements including sports, recreation and cultural activities;\n\n(f) erection, alteration and repair of buildings and other constructional activity;\n\n(g) housing;\n\n(h) imports and exports;\n\n(i) migration;\n\n(j) population;\n\n(k) postal and telegraphic matters;\n\n(l) prices, rents and household and family budgets;\n\n(m) public health and quarantine;\n\n(n) shipping and transport;\n\n(o) sickness, diseases and injuries;\n\n(p) superannuation, provident and pension schemes;\n\n(q) trade and commerce;\n\n(r) wages, earnings and conditions of employment;\n\n(s) wholesale and retail business;\n\n(t) wireless, radio and telephone matters.\n\n23B Appointment of officers\n\n(1) For the purpose of the collection of statistics under this Ordinance, the Minister may appoint such officers as he thinks fit.\n\n(2) A person appointed under this section holds office during the pleasure of the Minister.\n\n(3) A person appointed under this section shall be paid, in respect of the performance of his duties under this Ordinance, such remuneration as the Minister approves.\n\n23C Duties of officers\n\nEach officer appointed under section 23B shall perform such duties in relation to the collection of statistics under this Ordinance as are prescribed or as the Statistician directs.\n\n23D Completion of forms\n\nFor the purpose of enabling the collection of statistics under this Ordinance, the Statistician may require a person to supply, in accordance with the instructions contained in or accompanying a form supplied to that person by the Statistician, the particulars specified in that form, and that person shall, to the best of his knowledge, comply with the requirement.\n\nPenalty: $20.\n\n23E Requirement under section 23D\n\n(1) A requirement of the Statistician under section 23D shall be in writing and may be made:\n\n(a) in the case of a requirement on a person other than a body corporate, by delivering it personally or by leaving it at, or by sending it by post to, that person’s usual or last known place of residence or business; or\n\n(b) in the case of a requirement on a body corporate, by delivering it to, or sending it by post to, the registered office of the body corporate or to any office at which the body corporate carries on business.\n\n(2) The form and instructions referred to in section 23D shall be supplied to the person or body corporate with a requirement specified in subsection (1).\n\n(3) The requirement or the instructions shall specify a date on or before which the particulars specified in the form are to be supplied and the place and the person to whom those particulars are to be supplied.\n\n23F Evidentiary provisions\n\n(1) In a prosecution for an alleged offence under section 23D, a certificate purporting to have been signed by the Statistician shall, unless the contrary is proved, be deemed to have been duly signed by the Statistician.\n\n(2) For the purpose of a prosecution for an alleged offence under section 23D, the Statistician may certify:\n\n(a) that a document annexed to the certificate is a true copy of a requirement made of the defendant under section 23D;\n\n(b) that a form annexed to the certificate is a true copy of the form supplied to the defendant with the requirement;\n\n(c) that a document annexed to the certificate is a true copy of the instructions that were contained in or accompanied the form; and\n\n(d) that the requirement and the form were delivered to, left for, or sent to the defendant in accordance with section 23E;\n\nand such a certificate shall be evidence of the facts stated in the certificate.\n\n(3) The person to whom particulars were, in accordance with the requirement or instructions, to have been supplied may certify that the particulars were not so supplied, and such a certificate shall, unless the contrary is proved, be deemed to have been signed by that person and shall be evidence of the facts stated in the certificate.\n\n23G Duty of persons to answer questions\n\nA person shall, to the best of his knowledge and belief, answer all questions asked him by the Statistician or an officer appointed under section 23B that are necessary for the purpose of the collection of any statistics under this Ordinance.\n\nPenalty: $20.\n\n23H Powers of entry and inspection\n\nFor the purpose of making any inquiries or observations necessary for the proper exercise of his powers or performance of his functions under this Ordinance, the Statistician or any officer appointed under section 23B may, at any time:\n\n(a) during business hours, enter and inspect any shop or other place where goods are sold and inspect any goods for sale; or\n\n(b) during working hours, enter any factory, workshop or place where persons are employed and inspect any part of it, and all plant and machinery used in connection with it.\n\nPart V Miscellaneous\n\n23J Undertaking of fidelity and secrecy\n\nThe Statistician and each officer shall, before exercising any power or performing any duty conferred or imposed upon him under this Ordinance, sign, in the presence of a witness, an undertaking of fidelity and secrecy in accordance with the form in the Schedule.\n\n24 Failure by officers to perform duties\n\nAn officer who has signed an undertaking referred to in section 23J of this Ordinance shall not refuse or wilfully neglect, without just excuse, to perform the duties of his office.\n\nPenalty: Forty dollars.\n\n25 Untrue returns by officers\n\nAn officer shall not wilfully or without lawful authority alter a document or form under this Ordinance or sign a document or form that, to his knowledge, contains a false statement.\n\nPenalty: One hundred dollars.\n\n26 Officers to observe secrecy\n\nThe Statistician, an officer or the occupier of a dwelling shall not, except as permitted by this Ordinance, divulge the contents of a form filled up, or any information furnished for the purpose of the taking and collection of a Census or the collection of statistics.\n\nPenalty: One hundred dollars.\n\n27 Penalty for false returns or answers\n\nA person shall not, in a form or document filled up or furnished for the purpose of the taking and collection of a Census or the collection of statistics, or in an answer to a question asked him under the authority conferred by this Ordinance, make a statement that, to his knowledge, is untrue in a material particular.\n\nPenalty: One hundred dollars.\n\n28 Forgery of forms\n\n(1) A person who forges, or utters knowing it to be forged, a form or document under this Ordinance is guilty of an offence against this section.\n\n(2) An offence against this section may be tried by the Supreme Court, by the District Court or by the Magistrate’s Court, but an offender is not liable to be punished more than once in respect of the same offence.\n\n(3) The punishment for an offence against this section is:\n\n(a) if the offence is tried by the Supreme Court — imprisonment for a term not exceeding three years;\n\n(b) if the offence is tried by the District Court — imprisonment for a term not exceeding one year; or\n\n(c) if the offence is tried by the Magistrate’s Court — imprisonment for a term not exceeding six months.\n\n29 No penalty for failure to state the ethnic group or religion of a person\n\nA person is not liable to a penalty for failing to answer a question concerning the ethnic group or religion of a person.\n\n30 Publication\n\n(1) The Statistician shall compile and tabulate the information collected in pursuance of this Ordinance, and shall publish such statistics and abstracts of that information as the Minister directs.\n\n(2) The Statistician may publish such observations as he thinks fit on any statistics or abstracts published by him under the last preceding subsection.\n\n(3) Statistics and abstracts of information collected in pursuance of this Ordinance may be published in conjunction with any statistics or abstracts of information collected by the Commonwealth Statistician, or by the Statistician of another Territory of the Commonwealth, in pursuance of a law relating to the taking and collection of the Census in the Commonwealth or in that other Territory.\n\n(4) Nothing in this section authorizes the Statistician to disclose the identity of any person who supplied any information in the course of the taking and collection of the Census or in the course of the collection of statistics under this Ordinance.\n\n31 Regulations\n\nThe Minister may make regulations, not inconsistent with this Ordinance, prescribing all matters required or permitted by this Ordinance to be prescribed, or necessary or convenient to be prescribed for carrying out or giving effect to this Ordinance and, in particular, prescribing penalties not exceeding a fine of $100 for offences against the regulations.\n\nThe Schedule\n\n(section 23J)\n\n## Census Ordinance 1961\n\n## Undertaking of fidelity and secrecy\n\nI, , of , a person\n\nappointed under the Census and Statistics Ordinance 1961 to the office of , hereby undertake that, in connexion with the taking and collection of the Census or the collection of Statistics in the year 19 :\n\n(a) I will faithfully and to the best of my ability execute the powers conferred, and carry out the duties imposed, on me under the Census and Statistics Ordinance 1961 and the instructions issued in pursuance of that Ordinance;\n\n(b) I will not desert from my duty;\n\n(c) I will not, without just excuse, refuse or neglect to perform the duties of my office;\n\n(d) I will not, wilfully or without lawful authority, alter any document or form under that Ordinance;\n\n(e) I will not wilfully sign any untrue document or form; and\n\n(f) I will not, except as allowed by that Ordinance, divulge the contents of any form filled up, or any information furnished, in pursuance of that Ordinance.\n\nDated this day of , 19 .\n\n(Signature)\n\nSigned in my presence:\n\n(Signature and address of witness.)\n\n> Notes to the Census and Statistics Ordinance 1961\n\n> Note 1\n\n> Note: The Census and Statistics Ordinance 1961 (in force under the Christmas Island Act 1958) as shown in this compilation comprises Ordinance No. 2 of 1961 amended as indicated in the Tables below.\n\n> Note: Table of Ordinances\n\n| Year andnumber | Date of notificationin Gazette | Date ofcommencement | Application, saving ortransitional provisions |\n| -------------- | ------------------------------ | ------------------- | --------------------------------------------- |\n| No. 2, 1961 | 11 May 1961 | 11 May 1961 | |\n| No. 2, 1966 | 11 Feb 1966 | 14 Feb 1966 | — |\n| No. 7, 1966 | 23 June 1966 | 23 June 1966 | — |\n| No. 3, 1971 | 25 June 1971 | 25 June 1971 | — |\n| No. 3, 1980 | 31 Mar 1980 | 31 Mar 1980 | — |\n| No. 4, 1981 | 16 June 1981 | 16 June 1981 | — |\n\n> Note: Table of Amendments\n\n```html\n

ad. = added or inserted am. = amended rep. = repealed rs. = repealed and substituted

Provision affected

How affected

Title.................

am. No. 3, 1980

Heading to Part I........

ad. No. 3, 1980

S. 1.................

am. No. 3, 1980

S. 3.................

am. No. 3, 1980

Heading to Part II.......

ad. No. 3, 1980

S. 4.................

rs. No. 3, 1980

Heading to Part III.......

ad. No. 3, 1980

S. 6.................

rs. No. 3, 1980

S. 10.................

rep. No. 3, 1980

S. 13.................

am. No. 7, 1966; No. 3, 1971; No. 4, 1981

S. 14.................

am. No. 2, 1966

Ss. 16, 17.............

am. No. 2, 1966

S. 18.................

am. Nos. 2 and 7, 1966

S. 19.................

am. No. 2, 1966

S. 23.................

am. No. 2, 1966

Heading to Part IV ......

ad. No. 3, 1980

Ss. 23A–23H...........

ad. No. 3, 1980

Heading to Part V.......

ad. No. 3, 1980

S. 23J................

ad. No. 3, 1980

S. 24.................

am. No. 2, 1966; No. 3, 1980

S. 25.................

am. No. 2, 1966

Ss. 26, 27.............

am. No. 2, 1966; No. 3, 1980

S. 29.................

rs. No. 4, 1981

S. 30.................

am. No. 3, 1980

S. 31.................

ad. No. 3, 1980

The Schedule..........

am. No. 3, 1980

\n```","sortOrder":0}],"analysis":{"flash_summary_failed":{"failed":true,"reason":"A positive credit balance is required for all requests, including BYOK, so fallback providers remain available. Add credits at https://vercel.com/d?to=%2F%5Bteam%5D%2F%7E%2Fai%3Fmodal%3Dtop-up to continue.","source":"analysis-cron"},"flash_summary":{"complexity_score":4,"scope_assessment":{"changed":true,"description":"Yes. The Ordinance began as a statute clearly focused on taking a Territory census (Parts I–III). Later amendments (notably the addition of ss 23A–23H in 1980) extended its scope to an ongoing statutory basis for collecting a broad range of social and economic statistics (s 23A lists many subject areas) and added coercive powers for requiring forms, entry and inspection, and evidentiary procedures for prosecutions (ss 23D–23H, 23F). Those additions expanded the law from a periodic census machinery to a standing statistical‑collection regime with enforcement tools and business inspection powers."},"complexity_factors":["Single, compact ordinance of ~31 sections plus Schedule","Around 10 defined terms in s 3 (e.g. Census day, dwelling, Householder’s Schedule, officer, Statistician)","Long, detailed list of conditional questions in s 13 (many subparagraphs and nested conditions)","Separate Part IV (ss 23A–23H) adding broad statistical powers and multiple procedures for requiring forms, evidence and inspections","Multiple small monetary penalties and a few heavier criminal penalties (ss 23D/23G, 24–28), with different modes of enforcement","Delegation, appointment and ministerial-direction mechanisms (ss 4–5, 9, 23B) that create administrative discretion and cross‑references","Evidentiary provision (s 23F) and publication/privacy rule (s 30) introduce legal formalities and limits on disclosure"],"plain_english_summary":"**What this law does (mechanics)**\n\n- Establishes a legal framework for taking a population census and for collecting other statistics in the Territory of Christmas Island. Key powers and duties are given to a Statistician appointed by the Minister (ss 4–7). \n\n- Directs that a Census will be taken in any year in which a Commonwealth census is taken (s 6). The Minister fixes the census day by Gazette notice (definition of “Census day”). \n\n- Allows the Statistician to divide the Territory into Collector’s Districts, appoint Field Supervisor(s) and Collectors to distribute, collect and check household census forms (Collector’s Districts; ss 8–12). Collectors must leave a Householder’s Schedule (census form) at every occupied dwelling and with ship masters when relevant (ss 13–16, 15). \n\n- Specifies, in detail, the items that may appear on a Householder’s Schedule about a dwelling and about each person in the dwelling (long list in s 13: name, sex, age, relationship to head of household, marital status details, birthplace and migration entry year, citizenship, ethnic group, religion, languages, work/activity, education, qualifications, income, employment hours and related job/industry questions, ownership of specified consumer goods, etc.). Some questions are conditional (for example, questions about qualifications only if the person ever obtained them). \n\n- Provides a mechanism (personal slip) for any person who does not want their particulars recorded on the household form to supply their answers privately in a sealed envelope (s 17). The collector supplies the slip and must return sealed slips with the household schedule. \n\n- Gives powers to require individuals or persons present in the Territory on census night to supply particulars where those particulars are missing (ss 18–19) and imposes small fines for non‑compliance with many requirements (typically $20). \n\n- Creates a separate statutory basis for the collection of other statistics (Part IV, ss 23A–23H). The Statistician, subject to regulations and ministerial directions, may collect statistics across many economic and social categories (accidents; banking; education; employment; housing; imports and exports; population; health; trade; wages; communications; etc.) (s 23A). \n\n- For statistical collection the Minister may appoint officers, who may require persons and bodies to complete supplied forms according to instructions (ss 23B–23E). The law sets out evidentiary rules for prosecutions concerning non‑compliance with those form requirements (s 23F). Persons must answer questions “to the best of their knowledge and belief” and face modest fines for refusal or false answers (ss 23D, 23G, 23F, penalties in ss 23D/23G). \n\n- Gives the Statistician and his officers powers to enter and inspect business premises and goods during business/working hours for statistical purposes (s 23H). \n\n- Requires the Statistician and officers to sign an undertaking of fidelity and secrecy before acting (s 23J and Schedule). Officers and others are subject to secrecy obligations and criminal penalties for wrongful disclosure or for making false returns (ss 24–28, 26–27). Section 29 expressly provides that no penalty attaches for refusing to state ethnic group or religion. \n\n- Empowers the Statistician to compile, tabulate and publish statistics and abstracts as directed by the Minister, but prohibits disclosure of an individual’s identity (s 30). The Minister may make regulations and prescribe penalties up to $100 for breaches of those regulations (s 31). \n\n\n**Who is affected**\n\n- Householders and occupiers of dwellings on Christmas Island; masters of ships present in Territory ports on census night (ss 13–17). \n- Individuals who were present in the Territory on census night but not recorded on household schedules (ss 18–19). \n- Businesses, employers and other organisations: they may be required to complete forms and may be subject to entry and inspection powers during business hours for statistical collection (ss 23D–23H). \n- Officers appointed under the law and the Minister (appointment, delegation and supervision functions in ss 4–5, 9, 23B). \n\n\n**Why it matters (official purpose and practical effects)**\n\n- Officially: the Ordinance creates the mechanism to collect reliable population and other social/economic statistics for planning and administration of the Territory (ss 6, 23A, 30). \n\n- Practically: it compels cooperation by households and businesses, provides for enforcement (monetary penalties, criminal penalties for false returns and forgery), and sets privacy guardrails (secrecy undertakings and a prohibition on identifying individual respondents in publications; s 30 and ss 23J, 26). \n\n\n**Costs, incentives and trade-offs (mechanisms, not judgments)**\n\n- Compliance burden on households: s 13 lists many items that respondents may be required to provide (demographic, education, income, employment, ownership of goods). That imposes time and information-gathering costs on individual respondents. \n\n- Privacy vs. data completeness: the law requires answers generally (ss 16, 23D, 23G) and creates penalties for non‑compliance (typically $20 for ordinary failures), but it also allows private submission by sealed personal slips and protects refusal to state ethnicity or religion from penalty (s 17 and s 29). Mechanically, this reduces the legal compulsion to answer some sensitive items while keeping penalties for non‑response to other required items. \n\n- Administrative cost and discretion: the Minister appoints the Statistician and officers, sets the census day, and may issue directions and regulations (ss 4, 6, 31). The Minister’s control determines resourcing and priorities; the Ordinance authorises payment of remuneration to appointees (ss 9(3), 23B(3)). \n\n- Impact on businesses and reporting entities: ss 23D–23H allow compulsory forms and inspections of commercial premises during business hours. That imposes compliance costs on businesses and creates an enforcement mechanism to obtain sectoral data. \n\n- Enforcement incentives and risks: penalties for false or misleading statements, forgery, and unlawful disclosure create sanctions to protect data integrity and secrecy. The law also provides evidentiary shortcuts (Statisticians’ certificates in s 23F) to support prosecutions for non‑compliance with form requirements. \n\n\n**Implementation risks and practical points**\n\n- Data security and confidentiality depend on administrative practice: the statute requires secrecy undertakings and penalises disclosure (s 23J and s 26), but the statute relies on administrative systems to protect stored data. \n\n- The operational effectiveness depends on adequate staffing, remuneration and resources (appointments under ss 4, 9, 23B; payment approved by Minister). \n\n- The power to enter and inspect business premises for statistics (s 23H) is limited to business/working hours and to matters necessary for the performance of the function; nevertheless it creates a direct compliance obligation for firms. \n\n\n(References: key provisions cited above by section number — ss 4–7, 8–12, 13–23, 23A–23H, 23J, 24–31.)"},"kimi_summary":{"content_quality":"ok","complexity_score":4,"scope_assessment":{"changed":true,"description":"The original 1961 Ordinance appears to have been focused primarily on census-taking. The 1980 amendments (No. 3 of 1980) significantly expanded the scope by adding Part IV (sections 23A-23H), which created a comprehensive ongoing statistics collection power covering 20 broad subject areas from banking to wireless communications. This transformed the legislation from a periodic census instrument into a permanent statistical authority with continuous data collection powers, including entry and inspection powers for businesses."},"complexity_factors":["Multiple overlapping appointment mechanisms for the Statistician (separate appointments for Part III, Part IV, or both)","Detailed procedural requirements for census collection including specific time windows (7 days before Census day), delivery methods, and chain-of-custody rules for 'personal slips'","Extensive list of 26 specific data points required in Householder's Schedule (section 13(3)), including nested conditional questions (e.g., marriage details only if married, employment details only if worked)","Dual enforcement structure with both census-specific offences (Part III) and general statistics collection offences (Part IV)","Evidentiary certificate provisions in section 23F creating presumptions of validity","Cross-references between Parts III and IV regarding officer appointments and secrecy obligations"],"plain_english_summary":"This law sets up the rules for running a national headcount (census) and collecting other statistics on Christmas Island. It requires people to fill out forms about who lives in their household, their jobs, income, and other personal details. The law creates specific roles—a Statistician who runs the show, Field Supervisors and Collectors who hand out and collect forms—and makes it a legal duty for residents to answer questions truthfully. It also protects privacy by making it an offence for officials to leak personal information, and includes special protections so no one can be fined for refusing to state their ethnicity or religion."}},"importantCases":[],"_links":{"self":"/api/acts/census-and-statistics-ordinance-1961-ci","history":"/api/acts/census-and-statistics-ordinance-1961-ci/history","analysis":"/api/acts/census-and-statistics-ordinance-1961-ci/analysis","conflicts":"/api/acts/census-and-statistics-ordinance-1961-ci/conflicts","importantCases":"/api/acts/census-and-statistics-ordinance-1961-ci/important-cases","documents":"/api/acts/census-and-statistics-ordinance-1961-ci/documents"}}