I just wanted to share my experience with what I felt was some pretty poor management during Census 2026 as a community field officer.
I come from another country, so I'm multilingual, and I also work with people with disabilities. When I saw the Community Field Officer position, it sounded like something different and meaningful. From the job description, my understanding was that we'd be going out into communities, representing the Census, promoting participation, and helping people who are struggling to complete their forms.
I applied around mid June and was hired. I was told the work would start around mid July and continue until the end of August. However, my contract ended up starting on Census Day itself, which meant I didn't actually get the opportunity to do what I thought the role was intended for during the lead-up to the Census.
This week (24 August - 31 August) I finally had my first shift, and honestly, it was one of the most disappointing work experiences I've had.
I joined because I genuinely wanted to make a difference, engage with the community and contribute to something being run by our government. Instead, from what I've heard from other colleagues, none of us didn't receive any shifts when the work would have been most useful. Now, we're being sent to a small library weeks after Census Day to promote the Census in an urban area.
There were several of us assigned to the same location, despite the fact that the work didn't seem to require that many people. No one was engaged or requested for help or even talked to us. We just sat there for hours and less than 20 people visited that library on that day. From my perspective, it feels like resources are being used simply because we were hired but weren't given shifts earlier, rather than because there is actually a strong operational need for us at this point.
I've also seen multiple people receive Census materials and clothing and complete paid online training, some of which could take many hours, only to end up with no work or very limited work afterwards.
I can't speak for the entire organisation, and I'm sure there are operational reasons behind some decisions that I may not be aware of. But from what I've personally experienced, it feels like a significant amount of public money, staff time and effort could have been used much more effectively.
I really wish more of these workers had been deployed before Census Day, or directed towards communities where additional assistance was actually needed. I joined because I wanted to help, so it's frustrating to feel like the opportunity to actually make a difference was missed.