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.

Key insight

In 2021, doing unpaid domestic work was the most common response among residents aged 15 and over in Cockburn (C), accounting for 69.5% (66,098 people). This share was higher than Greater Perth (68.5%). Since 2016, the biggest change was in doing unpaid domestic work, which increased by 7,203 people, while its share fell by 1 percentage point.

Section overview

Unpaid domestic work

Cockburn (C) - Persons aged 15+ (Usual residence)

This table summarises unpaid domestic work for Cockburn (C) in 2021 for persons, with comparison against Greater Perth and change since 2016.

Unpaid domestic work snapshot

2021 distribution by category for Cockburn (C), with comparison markers for Greater Perth.

Cockburn (C)
Greater Perth

Did Unpaid Domestic Work

2021 count

66,098

% of total

69.5%

Change from 2016

-1.0pp

Less Than 5 Hours

2021 count

20,769

% of total

21.8%

Change from 2016

-1.7pp

Between 5 And 14 Hours

2021 count

26,814

% of total

28.2%

Change from 2016

+1.3pp

Between 15 And 29 Hours

2021 count

10,521

% of total

11.1%

Change from 2016

-0.1pp

30 Hours Or More

2021 count

7,994

% of total

8.4%

Change from 2016

-0.5pp

Did No Unpaid Domestic Work

2021 count

24,012

% of total

25.2%

Change from 2016

+3.7pp

Not Stated

2021 count

5,017

% of total

5.3%

Change from 2016

-2.7pp

Data table

Unpaid domestic work for Cockburn (C). Unpaid domestic work. 2021 and 2016 counts, percentages, and change compared with Greater Perth.

Unpaid domestic work for Cockburn (C). Unpaid domestic work. 2021 and 2016 counts, percentages, and change compared with Greater Perth.
Unpaid domestic work for Cockburn (C). Unpaid domestic work. 2021 and 2016 counts, percentages, and change compared with Greater Perth.
Category20212016Change
Count%Greater Perth%Count%Greater Perth%Countpp
Did Unpaid Domestic Work66,09869.5%68.5%58,89570.5%70.2%+7,203-1.0pp
Less Than 5 Hours20,76921.8%21.4%19,60323.5%23.3%+1,166-1.7pp
Between 5 And 14 Hours26,81428.2%27.4%22,44826.9%26.5%+4,366+1.3pp
Between 15 And 29 Hours10,52111.1%11.3%9,38011.2%11.3%+1,141-0.1pp
30 Hours Or More7,9948.4%8.4%7,4648.9%9.1%+530-0.5pp
Did No Unpaid Domestic Work24,01225.2%25.5%18,00021.5%21.5%+6,012+3.7pp
Not Stated5,0175.3%6.0%6,6838.0%8.3%-1,666-2.7pp
Total95,118100.0%100.0%83,575100.0%100.0%+11,5430.0pp