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 Australind (part), accounting for 72.4% (8,871 people). This share was higher than Harvey (S) (71.9%). Since 2016, the biggest change was in not doing unpaid domestic work, which increased by 850 people and 5 percentage points.

Section overview

Unpaid domestic work

Australind (part) - Persons aged 15+ (Usual residence)

This table summarises unpaid domestic work for Australind (part) in 2021 for persons, with comparison against Harvey (S) and change since 2016.

Unpaid domestic work snapshot

2021 distribution by category for Australind (part), with comparison markers for Harvey (S).

Australind (part)
Harvey (S)

Did Unpaid Domestic Work

2021 count

8,871

% of total

72.4%

Change from 2016

-1.3pp

Less Than 5 Hours

2021 count

2,415

% of total

19.7%

Change from 2016

-0.5pp

Between 5 And 14 Hours

2021 count

3,567

% of total

29.1%

Change from 2016

+1.3pp

Between 15 And 29 Hours

2021 count

1,551

% of total

12.7%

Change from 2016

-0.5pp

30 Hours Or More

2021 count

1,338

% of total

10.9%

Change from 2016

-1.6pp

Did No Unpaid Domestic Work

2021 count

2,736

% of total

22.3%

Change from 2016

+5.0pp

Not Stated

2021 count

657

% of total

5.4%

Change from 2016

-3.5pp

Data table

Unpaid domestic work for Australind (part). Unpaid domestic work. 2021 and 2016 counts, percentages, and change compared with Harvey (S).

Unpaid domestic work for Australind (part). Unpaid domestic work. 2021 and 2016 counts, percentages, and change compared with Harvey (S).
Unpaid domestic work for Australind (part). Unpaid domestic work. 2021 and 2016 counts, percentages, and change compared with Harvey (S).
Category20212016Change
Count%Harvey (S)%Count%Harvey (S)%Countpp
Did Unpaid Domestic Work8,87172.4%71.9%8,04973.7%72.6%+822-1.3pp
Less Than 5 Hours2,41519.7%19.0%2,20720.2%19.6%+208-0.5pp
Between 5 And 14 Hours3,56729.1%28.4%3,03727.8%26.5%+530+1.3pp
Between 15 And 29 Hours1,55112.7%13.3%1,44513.2%13.6%+106-0.5pp
30 Hours Or More1,33810.9%11.3%1,36012.5%12.9%-22-1.6pp
Did No Unpaid Domestic Work2,73622.3%22.2%1,88617.3%17.6%+850+5.0pp
Not Stated6575.4%5.9%9758.9%9.7%-318-3.5pp
Total12,258100.0%100.0%10,921100.0%100.0%+1,3370.0pp