A new review of Australia’s preparations for the national census says the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) has critical security gaps to address before the survey moves online on August 11. The coverage, from multiple outlets, links the warning to concerns raised after the last census, describing the current situation as occurring about a decade after prior “census disaster” events. The review characterises the ABS’s plans as insufficiently robust in areas that could affect the security of the census count when millions of people access the service. All three reports focus on the same central point: the ABS is required to close identified vulnerabilities and strengthen its systems before the main online period begins. While the articles do not detail the technical issues in their provided excerpts, they collectively describe the review as scathing and emphasise that the deadline is imminent. The reports frame the risk as both operational and security-related, with the outcome dependent on whether the ABS addresses the gaps before August 11.