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Western Sydney (LGA)Community profile

Western Sydney (LGA)

Unpaid domestic work

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In Western Sydney (LGA) 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 Western Sydney (LGA) 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
Western Sydney (LGA) - Persons aged 15+ (Usual residence)20212006Change
Hours spent on unpaid domestic workNumber%Greater Sydney %Number%Greater Sydney %2006 to 2021
Did unpaid domestic work1,247,66860.465.5971,64164.667.0+276,026
Less than 5 hours348,19516.819.0314,55120.923.0+33,644
Between 5 and 14 hours473,10822.926.1331,45722.023.3+141,650
Between 15 and 29 hours230,34211.111.8162,37810.810.8+67,963
30 hours or more196,0239.58.6163,25310.99.9+32,769
Did no unpaid domestic work679,85132.928.5374,73524.921.9+305,116
Not stated139,1386.76.1157,69610.511.1-18,559
Total persons aged 15+2,066,657100.0100.01,504,073100.0100.0+562,583
Source: Australian Bureau of Statistics, Census of Population and Housing 2006 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 Western Sydney (LGA) in 2021 compared to Greater Sydney shows that there was a similar 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 20.4% for Greater Sydney.

The major differences between the share of the population performing unpaid domestic work in Western Sydney (LGA) and Greater Sydney were:

  • A larger percentage of persons who did no unpaid domestic work (32.9% compared to 28.5%)
  • A smaller percentage of persons who did unpaid domestic work (total) (60.4% compared to 65.5%)
  • A smaller percentage of persons who did between 5 and 14 hours of domestic work (22.9% compared to 26.1%)
  • A smaller percentage of persons who did less than 5 hours of domestic work (16.8% compared to 19.0%)

Emerging groups

The largest changes in the number of people performing unpaid domestic work in Western Sydney (LGA), between 2006 and 2021 were those who:

  • Did no unpaid domestic work (+305,116 persons)
  • Did unpaid domestic work (+276,026 persons)
  • Between 5 and 14 hours (+141,650 persons)
  • Between 15 and 29 hours (+67,963 persons)

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