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 Orange (C), accounting for 68.2% (23,293 people). This share was lower than Regional NSW (68.6%). Since 2016, the biggest change was in not doing unpaid domestic work, which increased by 1,790 people and 3.7 percentage points.

Section overview

Unpaid domestic work

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

This table summarises unpaid domestic work for Orange (C) in 2021 for persons, with comparison against Regional NSW and change since 2016.

Unpaid domestic work snapshot

2021 distribution by category for Orange (C), with comparison markers for Regional NSW.

Orange (C)
Regional NSW

Did Unpaid Domestic Work

2021 count

23,293

% of total

68.2%

Change from 2016

-1.3pp

Less Than 5 Hours

2021 count

6,636

% of total

19.4%

Change from 2016

-1.5pp

Between 5 And 14 Hours

2021 count

9,585

% of total

28.1%

Change from 2016

+1.0pp

Between 15 And 29 Hours

2021 count

4,261

% of total

12.5%

Change from 2016

+0.5pp

30 Hours Or More

2021 count

2,811

% of total

8.2%

Change from 2016

-1.3pp

Did No Unpaid Domestic Work

2021 count

8,652

% of total

25.3%

Change from 2016

+3.7pp

Not Stated

2021 count

2,189

% of total

6.4%

Change from 2016

-2.6pp

Data table

Unpaid domestic work for Orange (C). Unpaid domestic work. 2021 and 2016 counts, percentages, and change compared with Regional NSW.

Unpaid domestic work for Orange (C). Unpaid domestic work. 2021 and 2016 counts, percentages, and change compared with Regional NSW.
Unpaid domestic work for Orange (C). Unpaid domestic work. 2021 and 2016 counts, percentages, and change compared with Regional NSW.
Category20212016Change
Count%Regional NSW%Count%Regional NSW%Countpp
Did Unpaid Domestic Work23,29368.2%68.6%22,09269.5%69.2%+1,201-1.3pp
Less Than 5 Hours6,63619.4%18.5%6,63720.9%19.6%-1-1.5pp
Between 5 And 14 Hours9,58528.1%27.3%8,61627.1%26.1%+969+1.0pp
Between 15 And 29 Hours4,26112.5%13.3%3,83012.0%13.0%+431+0.5pp
30 Hours Or More2,8118.2%9.5%3,0099.5%10.5%-198-1.3pp
Did No Unpaid Domestic Work8,65225.3%23.9%6,86221.6%20.5%+1,790+3.7pp
Not Stated2,1896.4%7.5%2,8519.0%10.2%-662-2.6pp
Total34,134100.0%100.0%31,801100.0%100.0%+2,3330.0pp