Employment
Unpaid domestic work
About this topic
Unpaid domestic work measures how much time people aged 15 years and over spent doing housework for their household in the week before the Census. It helps show the distribution of unpaid labour that supports home and family life.
This topic is useful for understanding household roles, time pressures, and gender or life-stage differences in unpaid work. It is best read with household type, employment, and income, because the amount of unpaid domestic work can be shaped by family structure and the ability to outsource tasks.
Interpretation notes
- The hours refer to unpaid domestic work done for the person's household in the week before the Census.
- This topic does not measure childcare, disability care, or other unpaid help unless it falls within domestic work for the household.
Related topics
Key insight
In 2021, doing unpaid domestic work was the most common response among residents aged 15 and over in Canterbury-Bankstown (A), accounting for 54.8% (162,915 people). This share was lower than Greater Sydney (65.5%). Since 2016, the biggest change was in not doing unpaid domestic work, which increased by 19,930 people and 4.2 percentage points.
Section overview
Unpaid domestic work
Canterbury-Bankstown (A) - Persons aged 15+ (Usual residence)
This table summarises unpaid domestic work for Canterbury-Bankstown (A) in 2021 for persons, with comparison against Greater Sydney and change since 2016.
Unpaid domestic work snapshot
2021 distribution by category for Canterbury-Bankstown (A), with comparison markers for Greater Sydney.
Did Unpaid Domestic Work
2021 count
162,915
% of total
54.8%
Change from 2016
-4.4pp
162,915
54.8%
-4.4pp
Less Than 5 Hours
2021 count
47,181
% of total
15.9%
Change from 2016
-4.6pp
47,181
15.9%
-4.6pp
Between 5 And 14 Hours
2021 count
59,486
% of total
20.0%
Change from 2016
-0.5pp
59,486
20.0%
-0.5pp
Between 15 And 29 Hours
2021 count
29,216
% of total
9.8%
Change from 2016
+0.5pp
29,216
9.8%
+0.5pp
30 Hours Or More
2021 count
27,032
% of total
9.1%
Change from 2016
+0.3pp
27,032
9.1%
+0.3pp
Did No Unpaid Domestic Work
2021 count
110,186
% of total
37.0%
Change from 2016
+4.2pp
110,186
37.0%
+4.2pp
Not Stated
2021 count
24,430
% of total
8.2%
Change from 2016
+0.2pp
24,430
8.2%
+0.2pp
Chart view
Unpaid domestic work change
Absolute change in category counts between 2016 and 2021.
Did Unpaid Domestic Work
+1
-4.4pp
Less Than 5 Hours
-9,261
-4.6pp
Between 5 And 14 Hours
+2,984
-0.5pp
Between 15 And 29 Hours
+3,572
+0.5pp
30 Hours Or More
+2,706
+0.3pp
Did No Unpaid Domestic Work
+19,930
+4.2pp
Not Stated
+2,337
+0.2pp
Data table
Unpaid domestic work for Canterbury-Bankstown (A). Unpaid domestic work. 2021 and 2016 counts, percentages, and change compared with Greater Sydney.
| Category | 2021 | 2016 | Change | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Count | % | Greater Sydney% | Count | % | Greater Sydney% | Count | pp | |
| Did Unpaid Domestic Work | 162,915 | 54.8% | 65.5% | 162,914 | 59.2% | 67.0% | +1 | -4.4pp |
| Less Than 5 Hours | 47,181 | 15.9% | 19.0% | 56,442 | 20.5% | 23.8% | -9,261 | -4.6pp |
| Between 5 And 14 Hours | 59,486 | 20.0% | 26.1% | 56,502 | 20.5% | 24.6% | +2,984 | -0.5pp |
| Between 15 And 29 Hours | 29,216 | 9.8% | 11.8% | 25,644 | 9.3% | 10.4% | +3,572 | +0.5pp |
| 30 Hours Or More | 27,032 | 9.1% | 8.6% | 24,326 | 8.8% | 8.1% | +2,706 | +0.3pp |
| Did No Unpaid Domestic Work | 110,186 | 37.0% | 28.5% | 90,256 | 32.8% | 25.2% | +19,930 | +4.2pp |
| Not Stated | 24,430 | 8.2% | 6.1% | 22,093 | 8.0% | 7.8% | +2,337 | +0.2pp |
| Total | 297,532 | 100.0% | 100.0% | 275,266 | 100.0% | 100.0% | +22,266 | 0.0pp |