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AustraliaCommunity profile

Greater Sydney

Unpaid domestic work

In Greater Sydney 12% of the male population over 15 did more than 14 hours of housework each week in 2021.

There has been increased interest in identifying, acknowledging and valuing the unpaid work that supports home and community life. The changing amount of time spent on unpaid housework in different Household Types and, particularly the distribution of this work within the household, can indicate the changing roles of males, females and older children in society. The level of unpaid domestic work in Greater Sydney may also be related to Household Income, as higher income households are able to outsource some of these tasks.

Q:

Derived from the Census question:

'In the last week did the person spend time doing unpaid domestic work for their household?'

Unpaid domestic work
Greater Sydney - Males aged 15+ (Usual residence)20212016Change
Hours spent on unpaid domestic workNumber%Victoria %Number%Victoria %2016 to 2021
Did unpaid domestic work1,292,20161.863.31,190,14662.263.8+102,055
Less than 5 hours491,68523.525.1565,19229.529.5-73,507
Between 5 and 14 hours551,56326.427.0456,46723.824.7+95,096
Between 15 and 29 hours168,7408.17.7114,8436.06.4+53,897
30 hours or more80,2133.83.553,6442.83.2+26,569
Did no unpaid domestic work666,06831.930.3569,38929.727.5+96,679
Not stated131,7236.36.4154,7818.18.7-23,058
Total persons aged 15+2,089,992100.0100.01,914,316100.0100.0+175,676
Source: Australian Bureau of Statistics, Census of Population and Housing 2016 and 2021. Compiled and presented by .id (informed decisions).
Please refer to specific data notes for more information

Dominant groups

Analysis of the unpaid domestic work performed by the male population in Greater Sydney in 2021 compared to Victoria shows that there was a higher proportion of males who performed 15 hours or more of unpaid domestic work per week.

Overall, 12% of the male population reported performing 15 hours or more of unpaid domestic work, compared with 11.2% for Victoria.

The major differences between the share of the male population performing unpaid domestic work in Greater Sydney and Victoria were:

  • A larger percentage of males who did no unpaid domestic work (31.9% compared to 30.3%)
  • A smaller percentage of males who did less than 5 hours of domestic work (23.5% compared to 25.1%)
  • A smaller percentage of males who did unpaid domestic work (total) (61.8% compared to 63.3%)
  • A smaller percentage of males who did between 5 and 14 hours of domestic work (26.4% compared to 27.0%)

Emerging groups

The largest changes in the number of males performing unpaid domestic work in Greater Sydney, between 2016 and 2021 were those who:

  • Did unpaid domestic work (+102,055 males)
  • Did no unpaid domestic work (+96,679 males)
  • Between 5 and 14 hours (+95,096 males)
  • Less than 5 hours (-73,507 males)

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