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 Ku-ring-gai (A), accounting for 77.9% (77,828 people). This share was higher than Greater Sydney (65.5%). Since 2016, the biggest change was in doing unpaid domestic work, which increased by 5,073 people and 0.7 percentage points.

Section overview

Unpaid domestic work

Ku-ring-gai (A) - Persons aged 15+ (Usual residence)

This table summarises unpaid domestic work for Ku-ring-gai (A) in 2021 for persons, with comparison against Greater Sydney and change since 2016.

Unpaid domestic work snapshot

2021 distribution by category for Ku-ring-gai (A), with comparison markers for Greater Sydney.

Ku-ring-gai (A)
Greater Sydney

Did Unpaid Domestic Work

2021 count

77,828

% of total

77.9%

Change from 2016

+0.7pp

Less Than 5 Hours

2021 count

21,406

% of total

21.4%

Change from 2016

-4.1pp

Between 5 And 14 Hours

2021 count

30,326

% of total

30.3%

Change from 2016

+2.5pp

Between 15 And 29 Hours

2021 count

16,061

% of total

16.1%

Change from 2016

+1.9pp

30 Hours Or More

2021 count

10,035

% of total

10.0%

Change from 2016

+0.2pp

Did No Unpaid Domestic Work

2021 count

19,160

% of total

19.2%

Change from 2016

+1.3pp

Not Stated

2021 count

2,936

% of total

2.9%

Change from 2016

-2.0pp

Data table

Unpaid domestic work for Ku-ring-gai (A). Unpaid domestic work. 2021 and 2016 counts, percentages, and change compared with Greater Sydney.

Unpaid domestic work for Ku-ring-gai (A). Unpaid domestic work. 2021 and 2016 counts, percentages, and change compared with Greater Sydney.
Unpaid domestic work for Ku-ring-gai (A). Unpaid domestic work. 2021 and 2016 counts, percentages, and change compared with Greater Sydney.
Category20212016Change
Count%Greater Sydney%Count%Greater Sydney%Countpp
Did Unpaid Domestic Work77,82877.9%65.5%72,75577.2%67.0%+5,073+0.7pp
Less Than 5 Hours21,40621.4%19.0%24,04125.5%23.8%-2,635-4.1pp
Between 5 And 14 Hours30,32630.3%26.1%26,19827.8%24.6%+4,128+2.5pp
Between 15 And 29 Hours16,06116.1%11.8%13,32914.2%10.4%+2,732+1.9pp
30 Hours Or More10,03510.0%8.6%9,1879.8%8.1%+848+0.2pp
Did No Unpaid Domestic Work19,16019.2%28.5%16,82517.9%25.2%+2,335+1.3pp
Not Stated2,9362.9%6.1%4,6094.9%7.8%-1,673-2.0pp
Total99,922100.0%100.0%94,189100.0%100.0%+5,7330.0pp