Census still not finished

THE ABS will ignore its own deadline and continue to accept paper forms next week as it waits on the five per cent of Australians who have failed to submit their forms.

People who fail to follow a demand to submit a census form face a fine of $180 a day.

An ABS spokesman yesterday said the nation’s number crunchers would continue to accept paper forms next week, and the helpline for people struggling to complete their forms would remain open until the end of the month.

He said prosecution of people for failing to submit a census form was “a last resort”.