It was called #CensusFail. There were privacy concerns, calls for a boycott, and when the big night came around, millions of Australians couldn't lodge their census forms online.

The nation's biggest compulsory survey turned into a big stuff up. Or did it?

The Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) hasn't yet referred anyone for prosecution for not completing the 2016 Census, despite expectations an unprecedented number would opt out.

Anyone who failed to complete the Census form faces penalties of up to $180 for each day past the Census period. In a submission to the Senate inquiry in September, the ABS said more than 6,700 people had refused to complete the 2016 Census.

This 2016 figure was substantially less than the 13,194 refusals in 2011.

Exact figures will be available in June, with the full release of Census data, as well as the results of the Post Enumeration Survey - a short survey run in the month after each Census to provide an independent assessment of the completeness of the Census.

But the ABS has said the signs are good.

"It is not possible to be certain but the ABS is reasonably confident that the non-response rates to the 2016 Census questions should be at least no worse than the relatively low level in 2011," the ABS said in the September submission to the Senate inquiry.

The ABS's confidence in low rates of non-compliance may come as a surprise after widespread reports of people boycotting the name-and-address requirement of the form. High-profile boycotters included three senators: Nick Xenophon and the Greens' Scott Ludlam and Sarah Hanson-Young. There was talk the quality of the census data would be ruined because of non-compliance.

Again, we don't have the full figures yet, but in its submission to the Senate inquiry the ABS said the boycott had not happened. "Early investigations have shown low rates of non-response to the 'name' question, and the estimated rates of non-response to selected other questions for 2016 is generally less than the rates of non-response in 2011."

"... the ABS is reasonably confident that the non-response rates to the 2016 Census questions should be at least no worse than the relatively low level in 2011."

Could I still get fined?

After the Census, ABS field officers knock on the doors of anyone who has not completed the form, including those who refused to give their name. The door-knocking was to begin two weeks after the August 9 Census date. If you haven't yet heard from the ABS - five months after the Census date - there's a good chance you have avoided a fine.

Here's a rough timeline for how this works:

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Field officers may visit a household multiple times, and if the person continues to refuse to complete the Census, the ABS may then refer the case to the Commonwealth Department of Public Prosecutions (CDPP). The CDPP pursues the fine.

The CDPP told Hack it had not received any referrals from the ABS in relation to the 2016 Census. The ABS referred 78 cases in 2011, and 266 in 2006.

If you have heard from the ABS, but haven't yet been fined, you may still be prosecuted depending on the overall quality of the census data. "A decision on referring matters regarding individuals not providing a full response to the census will be made in the context of the impact on the quality of the census," the ABS said in a submission to the Senate inquiry.

A spokesman told Hack on Wednesday the ABS "continues to assess instances of non-response relating to the 2016 Census ... this is an ongoing process."

"The ABS may refer cases to the CDPP for consideration."

'Emphasis on fines caused many Australians distress'

But then few people are ever prosecuted for not giving their name. ABS head David Kalisch told the Senate inquiry the ABS rarely pursued people for not answering all the compulsory questions (all the questions are compulsory except the one about your religion). "We have had aspects of item nonresponse in the census in past years...aspects such as income, occupation, age, country of birth ... In most of those cases, I am not aware that we have prosecuted people."

This kind of moderate language may come as a surprise given the widespread impression failure to give a name could result in a fine.

ID Consulting, a private demographics company, made a submission to the inquiry saying the ABS emphasised the fines for non-completion of the census in 2016 far more than in earlier years. "The increased emphasis on fines resulted in a lot of public confusion and fear when the online site went down," it said. "Many elderly people with no access to a paper form were terrified of receiving fines and just wanted to do the right thing."

Who was talking about fines? Not us, the ABS told the inquiry. It said it was mainly the fault of the media and social media. On Census night, when the system went down, the ABS made it clear there were no fines for completing the Census late.

But there may have been mixed messages. According to administrative law expert Kathryn Miller, in her own submission, the ABS website plainly stated the refusal to complete the census could result in fines of $180 per day and a criminal conviction.

The Senate committee didn't lay any blame, but agreed that "prominent discussions of the prospects of fines appear to have caused many Australians distress."

It recommended the ABS develop a "clear communications strategy outlining the outcomes for non-compliance with the census, including the resolution process." It also found the ABS should state the maximum value of fines (right now it's $180 per day, indefinitely). "The committee considers that the prospect of a penalty of unknown size to be unfair, and disproportionate to the harm caused by the small levels of census non-participation."

News the ABS has not yet referred anyone to prosecution may also help settle the nerves of anyone waiting for a knock on the door.