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 Hume (C), accounting for 55.2% (104,336 people). This share was lower than Greater Melbourne (66.6%). Since 2016, the biggest change was in not doing unpaid domestic work, which increased by 23,361 people and 6.3 percentage points.
Section overview
Unpaid domestic work
Hume (C) - Persons aged 15+ (Usual residence)
This table summarises unpaid domestic work for Hume (C) in 2021 for persons, with comparison against Greater Melbourne and change since 2016.
Unpaid domestic work snapshot
2021 distribution by category for Hume (C), with comparison markers for Greater Melbourne.
Did Unpaid Domestic Work
2021 count
104,336
% of total
55.2%
Change from 2016
-4.7pp
104,336
55.2%
-4.7pp
Less Than 5 Hours
2021 count
31,233
% of total
16.5%
Change from 2016
-3.8pp
31,233
16.5%
-3.8pp
Between 5 And 14 Hours
2021 count
39,337
% of total
20.8%
Change from 2016
-0.6pp
39,337
20.8%
-0.6pp
Between 15 And 29 Hours
2021 count
17,417
% of total
9.2%
Change from 2016
-0.2pp
17,417
9.2%
-0.2pp
30 Hours Or More
2021 count
16,349
% of total
8.6%
Change from 2016
-0.2pp
16,349
8.6%
-0.2pp
Did No Unpaid Domestic Work
2021 count
72,615
% of total
38.4%
Change from 2016
+6.3pp
72,615
38.4%
+6.3pp
Not Stated
2021 count
12,199
% of total
6.4%
Change from 2016
-1.6pp
12,199
6.4%
-1.6pp
Chart view
Unpaid domestic work change
Absolute change in category counts between 2016 and 2021.
Did Unpaid Domestic Work
+12,385
-4.7pp
Less Than 5 Hours
+91
-3.8pp
Between 5 And 14 Hours
+6,472
-0.6pp
Between 15 And 29 Hours
+3,021
-0.2pp
30 Hours Or More
+2,801
-0.2pp
Did No Unpaid Domestic Work
+23,361
+6.3pp
Not Stated
-56
-1.6pp
Data table
Unpaid domestic work for Hume (C). Unpaid domestic work. 2021 and 2016 counts, percentages, and change compared with Greater Melbourne.
| Category | 2021 | 2016 | Change | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Count | % | Greater Melbourne% | Count | % | Greater Melbourne% | Count | pp | |
| Did Unpaid Domestic Work | 104,336 | 55.2% | 66.6% | 91,951 | 59.9% | 68.2% | +12,385 | -4.7pp |
| Less Than 5 Hours | 31,233 | 16.5% | 20.4% | 31,142 | 20.3% | 24.5% | +91 | -3.8pp |
| Between 5 And 14 Hours | 39,337 | 20.8% | 27.1% | 32,865 | 21.4% | 25.3% | +6,472 | -0.6pp |
| Between 15 And 29 Hours | 17,417 | 9.2% | 11.3% | 14,396 | 9.4% | 10.5% | +3,021 | -0.2pp |
| 30 Hours Or More | 16,349 | 8.6% | 7.8% | 13,548 | 8.8% | 8.0% | +2,801 | -0.2pp |
| Did No Unpaid Domestic Work | 72,615 | 38.4% | 27.9% | 49,254 | 32.1% | 24.1% | +23,361 | +6.3pp |
| Not Stated | 12,199 | 6.4% | 5.5% | 12,255 | 8.0% | 7.7% | -56 | -1.6pp |
| Total | 189,145 | 100.0% | 100.0% | 153,462 | 100.0% | 100.0% | +35,683 | 0.0pp |