We can determine how our industry is funded and recognised for the next five years.
The way you describe your job on the 2026 Census matters.
Census Night:
Every five years, Australia counts its workforce. How you describe your job on Census Night, Tuesday 11 August 2026, determines how the landscaping industry is counted, funded and supported for the next five years.
Why does it matter?
Most landscape workers are not being counted as landscapers. Write "labourer," "gardener," or "contractor" and you disappear into a category that does not represent you or your industry.
Workforce data from the Census shapes government decisions on training funding, apprenticeship investment and skills recognition. When our industry is undercounted, those decisions get made without us.
The 2026 Census is the first to be coded to OSCA, Australia's new occupation classification system. The code your job gets assigned depends entirely on what you write. Landscape Queensland has been working with Skills Insight, Build Skills Australia and government to secure the right OSCA classifications for our industry. Accurate Census reporting is one of the most powerful things the industry can do to support that work right now.
One small change. Big impact.
A few extra words on Census Night can shape workforce data for years to come. Your occupation description is how our industry gets counted, and how it makes the case for funding, training and recognition.
What to do
The ABS codes your occupation based on what you write. A few specific words make the difference between being counted as a landscape professional and being lost in data that does not represent you.
The guides below cover six streams. Find your role, follow the guide, and share it with your whole team before Census Night.
What will the Census ask?
4 x Employment Questions
Answer them all.
What is your occupation?
Write your specific job title - e.g. Landscaper (Construction) or Landscaper (Maintenance)
Not 'labourer", or "gardener" or "landscaper" alone - these get miscoded.
What are the main tasks you usually perform?
Describe what you actually do on site - e.g. be specific about materials, machinery and activities.
e.g. Construct retaining walls, paving, fencing and outdoor structures. Operate machinery. Work to construct places.
What is the industry or business you work in?
Name your industry clearly - e.g. Landscape Construction Services or Landscape and Garden Services
What goods or services does your employer provide?
Describe what your employer builds or provides - anchor it to the landscape industry.
e.g. "Design and construction of outdoor landscapes including structures, drainage, irrigation and paving."
On Census Night add Landscape to your occupation.
