JUNE 28: The population grew to 25.5 million in the 2021 survey - up 2.1 million from 2016 - and average incomes were slightly higher.
The census also revealed trends that will help shape the country's future. Here are five.
Australia is becoming less religious
For the first time, fewer than half of Australians (44%) identify as Christian, the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) said. Just over 50 years ago, the proportion was about 90%.
Although Christianity remains the biggest religion, it is closely followed by those with no religion at all. That cohort has increased to 39%, up by almost 9%.
Hinduism and Islam are the fastest growing religions in Australia, but each are followed by only around 3% of the population.
But it's also becoming more diverse
Modern Australia has been built on immigration. And now - in another first - more than half of people were born overseas or have a parent who was.
Migration has slowed during the pandemic, but more than a million people have moved to Australia since 2016. Of those, almost a quarter were from India.
India has overtaken China and New Zealand to become the third-largest country of birth, behind Australia and England.
One in five people speak a language other than English at home - most commonly Chinese or Arabic - an increase of almost 800,000 since 2016.
The Indigenous population is larger
The number of people who identified as Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander jumped by a quarter from the last census.
Births contributed to the growth but people are also becoming more comfortable with identifying themselves as Indigenous, the ABS says.
Indigenous Australians now number 812,728 - about 3.2% of the population.
he data shows there are 167 active Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander languages, spoken by more than 78,000 people across Australia.
Estimates of Indigenous population size before Europeans arrived in 1788 range from 315,000 to more than one million people. It sharply declined from that point due to new diseases, violence, displacement and dispossession.
Millennials now have the numbers
Another key finding is that Australia is on the cusp of a significant generational shift.
Baby Boomers - those born between 1946 and 1965 - have previously been the country's largest generation. Now Millennials - born between 1981 and 1995 - have caught up.
Each generation accounts for 21.5% of the population.
That's likely to hugely inform policies on issues such as housing and aged care, experts say.
Home ownership is stagnant, but caravans are increasingly popular
A similar share of Australians to 25 years ago are buying houses, but fewer are paying them off.
The number of people with a mortgage has doubled since 1996, with property prices skyrocketing since.
Australian cities now rank among the worst globally for housing affordability, according to a 2022 report.
But the census also revealed that more people are turning to alternative dwellings - something likely spurred on by the pandemic.
The number of caravans - popular with domestic tourists - jumped by 150%. Australians now own 60,000 caravans and almost 30,000 houseboats.
MAY 3: The rise will put extra strain on household budgets as Australia prepares for an election that is heavily focused on the rising cost of living.
The Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) lifted the cash rate to 0.35% on Tuesday.
The move is designed to combat rising inflation, which is at a 21-year high.
RBA Governor Philip Lowe said although inflation had picked up more quickly than expected, unemployment was low and there was evidence wage growth would improve.
It was time to withdraw "some of the extraordinary monetary support that was put in place to help the Australian economy during the pandemic", he said in a statement.
Although the economic outlook for Australia remains positive, Mr Lowe said said further rises in interest rates were imminent.
The last time rates rose during an election campaign was in 2007, when it was widely seen to negatively impact John Howard before he lost government.
Prime Minister Scott Morrison dismissed suggestions the decision would impact his chances of re-election on 21 May.
"It's not about politics," he said. "It's not about me."
Labor said the hike showed a "full-blown cost of living crisis" had developed on Mr Morrison's watch.
For someone paying off a A$600,000 (£340,000; $426,000) mortgage - which is roughly average for an owner-occupier in Australia - the increase will be about A$80 per month.
This is the last thing Scott Morrison needs less than three weeks before the election.
It is another financial curveball after last week's news that Australia hit a 21-year inflation rate high of 5.1%.
Remember, the government's campaign rests on how well the economy has been faring - how robustly it recovered after Covid.
But this picture is changing quickly and painfully for Australians and for the government.
For days the prime minister has been at pains to explain that the RBA's decision has nothing to do with his government's handling of the economy.
He blamed "the extraordinary global environment" of Covid lockdowns in China and of course the war in Ukraine.
He stood in front of cameras holding a chart comparing the rate of inflation in Australia to other developed nations to prove how better off the country was.
But those struggling to pay rent and keep on top of their household bills will likely see a leadership not taking responsibility.
This may be a gift to the opposition's campaign, but whoever ends up winning on 21 May will face an anxious population reeling from high costs of living and wages that have failed to measure up.
AUSTRALIA , November 22: Australia on Monday further relaxed its travel rules as it allows fully vaccinated eligible visa holders to enter the country without the need to apply for a travel exemption from December 1. Eligible visa holders include skilled and student cohorts, as well as humanitarian, working holidaymakers and provisional family visa holders.
The additional changes have been announced as part of the National plan to safely reopen Australia. Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison, in a statement, said: "From 1 December 2021, fully vaccinated eligible visa holders can come to Australia without needing to apply for a travel exemption.
Eligible visa holders include skilled and student cohorts, as well as humanitarian, working holidaymaker and provisional family visa holders." He said that these changes will ensure that "we continue to protect the health of Australians while reuniting families and securing our economic recovery by opening our border to skilled and student visa holders". Under these arrangements, Morrison said that the travellers must be fully vaccinated with a completed dosage of a vaccine approved or recognised by Australia's Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA), hold a valid visa for one of the eligible visa subclasses, provide proof of their vaccination status and present a negative COVID-19 Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) test taken within three days of departure.
"The return of skilled workers and international students to Australia will further cement our economic recovery, providing the valuable workers our economy needs and supporting our important education sector," Morrison said. Australia has reopened its border to quarantine-free travellers on November 1 after months of stringent pandemic restrictions On March 20 last year, Australia introduced some of the world's toughest border restrictions in response to the coronavirus pandemic. Strict restrictions were imposed by Australia from travelling overseas without permission for 18-months.
