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 No usual address (Vic.), accounting for 37.5% (2,983 people). This share was lower than Victoria (67.2%). Since 2016, the biggest change was in not doing unpaid domestic work, which decreased by 275 people and 7.5 percentage points.
Section overview
Unpaid domestic work
No usual address (Vic.) - Persons aged 15+ (Usual residence)
This table summarises unpaid domestic work for No usual address (Vic.) in 2021 for persons, with comparison against Victoria and change since 2016.
Unpaid domestic work snapshot
2021 distribution by category for No usual address (Vic.), with comparison markers for Victoria.
Did Unpaid Domestic Work
2021 count
2,983
% of total
37.5%
Change from 2016
-4.1pp
2,983
37.5%
-4.1pp
Less Than 5 Hours
2021 count
1,148
% of total
14.4%
Change from 2016
-4.4pp
1,148
14.4%
-4.4pp
Between 5 And 14 Hours
2021 count
1,118
% of total
14.1%
Change from 2016
+0.1pp
1,118
14.1%
+0.1pp
Between 15 And 29 Hours
2021 count
391
% of total
4.9%
Change from 2016
+0.2pp
391
4.9%
+0.2pp
30 Hours Or More
2021 count
326
% of total
4.1%
Change from 2016
0.0pp
326
4.1%
0.0pp
Did No Unpaid Domestic Work
2021 count
1,694
% of total
21.3%
Change from 2016
-7.5pp
1,694
21.3%
-7.5pp
Not Stated
2021 count
3,270
% of total
41.2%
Change from 2016
+11.6pp
3,270
41.2%
+11.6pp
Chart view
Unpaid domestic work change
Absolute change in category counts between 2016 and 2021.
Did Unpaid Domestic Work
+146
-4.1pp
Less Than 5 Hours
-133
-4.4pp
Between 5 And 14 Hours
+164
+0.1pp
Between 15 And 29 Hours
+67
+0.2pp
30 Hours Or More
+48
0.0pp
Did No Unpaid Domestic Work
-275
-7.5pp
Not Stated
+1,250
+11.6pp
Data table
Unpaid domestic work for No usual address (Vic.). Unpaid domestic work. 2021 and 2016 counts, percentages, and change compared with Victoria.
| Category | 2021 | 2016 | Change | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Count | % | Victoria% | Count | % | Victoria% | Count | pp | |
| Did Unpaid Domestic Work | 2,983 | 37.5% | 67.2% | 2,837 | 41.6% | 68.5% | +146 | -4.1pp |
| Less Than 5 Hours | 1,148 | 14.4% | 20.0% | 1,281 | 18.8% | 23.3% | -133 | -4.4pp |
| Between 5 And 14 Hours | 1,118 | 14.1% | 27.1% | 954 | 14.0% | 25.4% | +164 | +0.1pp |
| Between 15 And 29 Hours | 391 | 4.9% | 11.8% | 324 | 4.7% | 11.1% | +67 | +0.2pp |
| 30 Hours Or More | 326 | 4.1% | 8.3% | 278 | 4.1% | 8.6% | +48 | 0.0pp |
| Did No Unpaid Domestic Work | 1,694 | 21.3% | 26.8% | 1,969 | 28.8% | 23.2% | -275 | -7.5pp |
| Not Stated | 3,270 | 41.2% | 6.0% | 2,020 | 29.6% | 8.4% | +1,250 | +11.6pp |
| Total | 7,946 | 100.0% | 100.0% | 6,825 | 100.0% | 100.0% | +1,121 | 0.0pp |