29/10/2026
Our population has changed. The way Australia counts it hasn’t.
In the 2021 Census, more than 85,000 people were in the Pilbara on Census night, yet only around 55,000 listed it as their usual place of residence. Thousands of FIFO workers, new arrivals and some remote community members were counted elsewhere, and the funding and planning decisions that rely on Census data followed them.
At our Regionalisation Dialogue Day, Daiva Gillam, CEO of Regional Development Australia Pilbara, shared how Count the Pilbara set out to close that gap ahead of the 2026 Census.
𝗥𝗮𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝗻 𝘄𝗮𝗶𝘁 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗽𝗼𝗹𝗶𝗰𝘆 𝗿𝗲𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗺, 𝗥𝗗𝗔 𝗣𝗶𝗹𝗯𝗮𝗿𝗮 𝗿𝗮𝗻 𝗮 𝗿𝗲𝗴𝗶𝗼𝗻-𝘄𝗶𝗱𝗲 𝗴𝗿𝗮𝘀𝘀𝗿𝗼𝗼𝘁𝘀 𝗰𝗮𝗺𝗽𝗮𝗶𝗴𝗻 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗮 𝗰𝗹𝗲𝗮𝗿 𝗺𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗮𝗴𝗲: 𝗶𝗳 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗹𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗸 𝗶𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗣𝗶𝗹𝗯𝗮𝗿𝗮 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗺𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝗻 𝗵𝗮𝗹𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘆𝗲𝗮𝗿, 𝗹𝗶𝘀𝘁 𝗶𝘁 𝗮𝘀 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝘂𝘀𝘂𝗮𝗹 𝗽𝗹𝗮𝗰𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝗿𝗲𝘀𝗶𝗱𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲.
Community leaders, Traditional Owners and local organisations helped create the videos, materials and messaging, so the information came from people residents already trust.
The campaign brought together a rare level of alignment:
🤝 The ABS, the Australian Government through RDA Pilbara and the WA Government through the Pilbara Development Commission
🏛️ Three Pilbara local governments, Aboriginal organisations and community leaders
👷 Industry, employers and workforce accommodation providers
📻 Local businesses and media, reaching people through radio, print, billboards, hospitality venues, social media and ABS information sessions
The stakes are real. In Newman, around 5,000 residents support a workforce population several times larger. Local governments invest heavily in the infrastructure, water services and community facilities those workers use, without funding allocations that reflect actual demand.
The Census is over, but the work continues. RDA Pilbara is advocating for reform so the 2031 Census can accurately capture mobile workforces: keeping the usual residence question, collecting clearer information on work location and mobility, and developing better measures of regional service populations. The approach also offers a blueprint for other resource regions facing the same challenge.
Accurate population data underpins every target in the Regionalisation Ambition 2032 - see how the regions are progressing in our Year 3 Progress Report: https://regionalaustralia.org.au/Web/Web/Rebalance-the-Nation/Progress-Reports.aspx?hkey=328f434b-03db-418b-aed6-d039aef53cf2
👉 Read more about Count the Pilbara and the 23 other member-led projects showcased at Regionalisation Dialogue Day in the RDD 2026 booklet:https://www.regionalaustralia.org.au/common/Uploaded%20files/Files/2026/Events/Regionalisation%20Dialogue%20Day/Regionalisation%20Dialogue%20Day%202026%20Booklet.pdf
