idc-logo
svg rectangle color
AustraliaCommunity profile

Queensland

Unpaid domestic work

In Queensland 21% of the 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 Queensland 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
Queensland - Persons aged 15+ (Usual residence)20212016Change
Hours spent on unpaid domestic workNumber%Victoria %Number%Victoria %2016 to 2021
Did unpaid domestic work2,873,87668.667.22,671,86370.568.4+202,013
Less than 5 hours845,01820.219.9853,12222.523.3-8,104
Between 5 and 14 hours1,161,72927.727.11,017,23326.825.4+144,496
Between 15 and 29 hours507,77112.111.8448,33711.811.0+59,434
30 hours or more359,3588.68.3353,1719.38.6+6,187
Did no unpaid domestic work1,013,08424.226.8768,72720.323.2+244,357
Not stated304,8587.36.1349,9119.28.4-45,053
Total persons aged 15+4,191,818100.0100.03,790,501100.0100.0+401,317
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 population in Queensland in 2021 compared to Victoria shows that there was a higher proportion of persons who performed 15 hours or more of unpaid domestic work per week.

Overall, 21% of the population reported performing 15 hours or more of unpaid domestic work, compared with 20.1% for Victoria.

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

  • A larger percentage of persons who did unpaid domestic work (total) (68.6% compared to 67.2%)
  • A larger percentage of persons who did between 5 and 14 hours of domestic work (27.7% compared to 27.1%)
  • A smaller percentage of persons who did no unpaid domestic work (24.2% compared to 26.8%)

Emerging groups

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

  • Did no unpaid domestic work (+244,357 persons)
  • Did unpaid domestic work (+202,013 persons)
  • Between 5 and 14 hours (+144,496 persons)
  • Between 15 and 29 hours (+59,434 persons)

DISCLAIMER: While all due care has been taken to ensure that the content of this website is accurate and current, there may be errors or omissions in it and no legal responsibility is accepted for the information and opinions in this website.

Please view our Privacy Policy, Terms of use and Legal notices. Stats NZ Data and the copyright in the Stats NZ Data remains the property of the Statistics New Zealand.

The copyright in the way .id has modified, transformed or reconfigured the Stats NZ Data as published on this website remains the property of .id. Stats NZ Data can be accessed on the Statistics New Zealand website at www.stats.govt.nz. Unless otherwise specified, content that Stats NZ produce is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International licence. For further information see https://www.stats.govt.nz/about-us/copyright/.