 In December 1905, Coghlan was offered the chance to become the inaugural Commonwealth Statistician, heading the newly created Commonwealth Bureau of Census and Statistics.In February 1906, he informed Prime Minister Alfred Deakin that he could not accept the offer due to his obligations to the Premier of New South Wales, Joseph Carruthers.He later told Deakin that Carruthers had threatened to withdraw his pension entitlements if he accepted the federal position.