If filling in your Census form has dropped off your to-do list, there is still time.

Census Ōamaru/South Canterbury team manager Helen Jansen said Ōamaru is doing well, with the return rate at 83% and rising this week, but she wanted it to be great.

Census Day in New Zealand was March 7, however the return date for forms has been extended to April 30, due to the devastation caused by Cyclone Gabrielle in the North Island in mid-February.

“So there’s flexibility, a little bit, around it. So that gives us scope to be able to keep going,” Helen said. 

The focus is on getting those aged between 18 and 30 more engaged, and offering more support to the Pasifika and Māori communities.

The return rate for Ōamaru was about 75% last time, she said.

“We’re really, really pleased with the response of Ōamaru and the Waitaki - because all of our figures for the whole of the region are tracking quite well - and I think that’s got a lot to do with the cohesion that we’ve got with Stronger Waitaki, and with other networks.”

Everybody has a role to support those who are yet to complete their forms, Helen said.

“So for example, certain businesses, the business owner has made it their job to ensure that everybody has completed the census, where they can. 

“The fact is that everybody that’s counted counts. We get more money for the schools, we get more money for the hospitals.” 

Treasury allocates funds based on the Census results, and the 2018 Census was completely online, which proved problematic, she said.

“It’s why in Ōamaru in particular we got so uppity last time, because so many elderly and so many of the minority groups couldn’t access online, and we were only doing it online. 

“The great thing is this time, Census have responded to that, they’ve changed it. There are people on the ground, we’ve had community events, we’ve been to places.”

She asked that people be patient with the paper process. Some forms have not been written or marked clearly, or a problem has occurred during the scanning, which means things have not gone as smoothly as they would like. 

“So, if everybody can be patient, because everybody is doing their best for the best outcome for Ōamaru and the country, it would be greatly appreciated.”

For people who are yet to fill in their Census information, they can phone 0800 CENSUS and if they need assistance it is available, while non-English speakers can be spoken to in their chosen language.

If people need another form, local collectors have forms they can allocate.  

“Or we can help them do it on their own devices online, which is the quickest way of doing it,” Helen said. 

“There’s still time, there’s plenty of help.”

Helen also reinforced the process was confidential. 

“So once people’s name and address has been ticked off as done, it’s completely anonymised. So any information they give on their Census, is totally unattached to them.”