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 Playford (C), accounting for 63.3% (48,405 people). This share was lower than Greater Adelaide (70.7%). Since 2016, the biggest change was in not doing unpaid domestic work, which increased by 5,383 people and 4.5 percentage points.
Section overview
Unpaid domestic work
Playford (C) - Persons aged 15+ (Usual residence)
This table summarises unpaid domestic work for Playford (C) in 2021 for persons, with comparison against Greater Adelaide and change since 2016.
Unpaid domestic work snapshot
2021 distribution by category for Playford (C), with comparison markers for Greater Adelaide.
Did Unpaid Domestic Work
2021 count
48,405
% of total
63.3%
Change from 2016
-2.0pp
48,405
63.3%
-2.0pp
Less Than 5 Hours
2021 count
14,467
% of total
18.9%
Change from 2016
-0.8pp
14,467
18.9%
-0.8pp
Between 5 And 14 Hours
2021 count
18,902
% of total
24.7%
Change from 2016
+0.1pp
18,902
24.7%
+0.1pp
Between 15 And 29 Hours
2021 count
8,205
% of total
10.7%
Change from 2016
-0.5pp
8,205
10.7%
-0.5pp
30 Hours Or More
2021 count
6,831
% of total
8.9%
Change from 2016
-0.9pp
6,831
8.9%
-0.9pp
Did No Unpaid Domestic Work
2021 count
23,008
% of total
30.1%
Change from 2016
+4.5pp
23,008
30.1%
+4.5pp
Not Stated
2021 count
5,101
% of total
6.7%
Change from 2016
-2.4pp
5,101
6.7%
-2.4pp
Chart view
Unpaid domestic work change
Absolute change in category counts between 2016 and 2021.
Did Unpaid Domestic Work
+3,452
-2.0pp
Less Than 5 Hours
+886
-0.8pp
Between 5 And 14 Hours
+1,992
+0.1pp
Between 15 And 29 Hours
+465
-0.5pp
30 Hours Or More
+109
-0.9pp
Did No Unpaid Domestic Work
+5,383
+4.5pp
Not Stated
-1,140
-2.4pp
Data table
Unpaid domestic work for Playford (C). Unpaid domestic work. 2021 and 2016 counts, percentages, and change compared with Greater Adelaide.
| Category | 2021 | 2016 | Change | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Count | % | Greater Adelaide% | Count | % | Greater Adelaide% | Count | pp | |
| Did Unpaid Domestic Work | 48,405 | 63.3% | 70.7% | 44,953 | 65.3% | 71.4% | +3,452 | -2.0pp |
| Less Than 5 Hours | 14,467 | 18.9% | 21.0% | 13,581 | 19.7% | 22.6% | +886 | -0.8pp |
| Between 5 And 14 Hours | 18,902 | 24.7% | 29.0% | 16,910 | 24.6% | 27.9% | +1,992 | +0.1pp |
| Between 15 And 29 Hours | 8,205 | 10.7% | 12.6% | 7,740 | 11.2% | 12.3% | +465 | -0.5pp |
| 30 Hours Or More | 6,831 | 8.9% | 8.1% | 6,722 | 9.8% | 8.6% | +109 | -0.9pp |
| Did No Unpaid Domestic Work | 23,008 | 30.1% | 24.9% | 17,625 | 25.6% | 21.8% | +5,383 | +4.5pp |
| Not Stated | 5,101 | 6.7% | 4.4% | 6,241 | 9.1% | 6.8% | -1,140 | -2.4pp |
| Total | 76,510 | 100.0% | 100.0% | 68,816 | 100.0% | 100.0% | +7,694 | 0.0pp |