Adactin completes ABS Census paper form service testing
Tue, 13th Oct 2026 (Today)
Adactin has completed testing work for an Australian Bureau of Statistics service that let people request paper Census forms during the 2026 Census.
The project covered the ABS Paper Form Request Service, a public-facing system that used Interactive Voice Response technology to let people request a paper Census form. It was intended as an alternative for Australians who had difficulty completing the Census online.
ABS engaged Adactin to provide IVR performance-testing expertise, test management and specialised tooling supplied through Cyara. The work also included planning and executing performance-testing activities within a time-boxed programme, as well as coordinating and reporting to ABS stakeholders.
According to information released by Adactin, the testing assignment focused on an area ABS did not have available internally. Adactin said it delivered the required expertise, tooling and management within short timeframes.
It also said all agreed activities were completed on schedule and within budget. The engagement was intended to give ABS confidence that the underlying IVR system could handle expected demand during peak Census operations.
Public access
The Paper Form Request Service formed part of the infrastructure supporting the national Census. For people unable or unwilling to use the online process, the telephone-based option provided another way to obtain a paper form.
That made reliability a key issue for the agency, particularly given the concentration of demand around the Census period. Performance testing is typically used to assess how systems behave under load before they are made available to the public.
In this case, the engagement centred on an automated voice response service rather than a conventional website or application. IVR systems have different testing requirements because they depend on telephony workflows, call handling and capacity under concurrent demand.
Specialist work
Adactin said the contract combined several elements: specialist IVR testing knowledge, programme delivery and the use of purpose-built tools from Cyara. Cyara develops software used to test and monitor customer interaction systems, including voice-based services.
The engagement illustrates how government agencies often turn to external suppliers for highly specialised assurance work when systems must be deployed within fixed timeframes. In this case, the testing programme had to be completed before the Census service went live.
Adactin is headquartered in Sydney and was established in 2011. The company operates across the Asia-Pacific region and works in areas including cloud, artificial intelligence and quality engineering services.
Its work for ABS adds to a broader pattern of public sector demand for technology testing tied to essential citizen services. Census-related systems carry particular sensitivity because they support a statutory national data-gathering exercise and must remain accessible to a wide range of users.
According to Adactin, the paper form request service was used successfully by the public during the Census period. The service was intended to help maintain access for people who needed a non-digital option.
"The successful completion of the performance testing provided the ABS with the assurance and confidence required ahead of deployment of the PFRS for the 2026 Census," said Vab Mittal, Country Head - ANZ, Adactin. "The service subsequently operated smoothly throughout the Census period and was successfully used by the Australian public, providing access to Census paper forms for thousands of people."