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AustraliaCommunity profile

South East Queensland

Unpaid domestic work

In South East Queensland 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 South East 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
South East Queensland - Males aged 15+ (Usual residence)20212016Change
Hours spent on unpaid domestic workNumber%Greater Sydney %Number%Greater Sydney %2016 to 2021
Did unpaid domestic work935,35766.361.8843,34067.162.2+92,017
Less than 5 hours364,30625.823.5374,67929.829.5-10,373
Between 5 and 14 hours399,20728.326.4333,12426.523.8+66,083
Between 15 and 29 hours118,0328.48.190,8727.26.0+27,160
30 hours or more53,8123.83.844,6653.62.8+9,147
Did no unpaid domestic work384,27527.231.9305,81524.329.7+78,460
Not stated92,1486.56.3107,3608.58.1-15,212
Total persons aged 15+1,411,780100.0100.01,256,515100.0100.0+155,265
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 South East Queensland in 2021 compared to Greater Sydney shows that there was a similar 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 11.9% for Greater Sydney.

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

  • A larger percentage of males who did unpaid domestic work (total) (66.3% compared to 61.8%)
  • A larger percentage of males who did less than 5 hours of domestic work (25.8% compared to 23.5%)
  • A larger percentage of males who did between 5 and 14 hours of domestic work (28.3% compared to 26.4%)
  • A smaller percentage of males who did no unpaid domestic work (27.2% compared to 31.9%)

Emerging groups

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

  • Did unpaid domestic work (+92,017 males)
  • Did no unpaid domestic work (+78,460 males)
  • Between 5 and 14 hours (+66,083 males)
  • Between 15 and 29 hours (+27,160 males)

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