Australia
Unpaid domestic work
In Australia 20.5% of the population over 15 did more than 14 hours of housework each week in 2016.
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 Australia may also be related to Household Income, as higher income households are able to outsource some of these tasks.
Derived from the Census question:
'In the last week did the person spend time doing unpaid domestic work for their household?'
Persons aged 15 years and over.
| Unpaid domestic work | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Australia - Persons aged 15+ (Usual residence) | 2016 | 2011 | Change | |||||
| Hours spent on unpaid domestic work | Number | % | Regional Australia % | Number | % | Regional Australia % | 2011 to 2016 | |
| Did unpaid domestic work | 13,143,922 | 69.0 | 69.1 | 12,148,316 | 70.0 | 70.4 | +995,606 | 10001 |
| Less than 5 hours | 4,298,607 | 22.6 | 20.0 | 3,882,987 | 22.4 | 19.9 | +415,620 | 10002 |
| Between 5 and 14 hours | 4,944,575 | 26.0 | 26.0 | 4,444,236 | 25.6 | 25.5 | +500,339 | 10003 |
| Between 15 and 29 hours | 2,189,770 | 11.5 | 12.7 | 2,074,999 | 12.0 | 13.1 | +114,771 | 10004 |
| 30 hours or more | 1,710,970 | 9.0 | 10.5 | 1,746,094 | 10.1 | 11.9 | -35,124 | 10005 |
| Did no unpaid domestic work | 4,226,844 | 22.2 | 20.3 | 3,736,129 | 21.5 | 20.4 | +490,715 | 10006 |
| Not stated | 1,666,525 | 8.8 | 10.6 | 1,476,713 | 8.5 | 9.2 | +189,812 | 10007 |
| Total persons aged 15+ | 19,037,291 | 100.0 | 100.0 | 17,361,158 | 100.0 | 100.0 | +1,676,133 | |
Source: Australian Bureau of Statistics, Census of Population and Housing (opens a new window) 2011 and 2016. Compiled and presented by .id (opens a new window)(informed decisions).
Compiled and presented in profile.id by .id (informed decisions).
Compiled and presented in profile.id by .id (informed decisions).
Dominant groups
Analysis of the unpaid domestic work performed by the population in Australia in 2016 compared to Regional Australia shows that there was a lower proportion of persons who performed 15 hours or more of unpaid domestic work per week.
Overall, 20.5% of the population reported performing 15 hours or more of unpaid domestic work, compared with 23.1% for Regional Australia.
The major differences between the share of the population performing unpaid domestic work in Australia and Regional Australia were:
- A larger percentage of persons who did less than 5 hours of domestic work (22.6% compared to 20.0%)
- A larger percentage of persons who did no unpaid domestic work (22.2% compared to 20.3%)
- A smaller percentage of persons who did 30 hours or more of domestic work (9.0% compared to 10.5%)
- A smaller percentage of persons who did between 15 and 29 hours of domestic work (11.5% compared to 12.7%)
Emerging groups
The largest changes in the number of people performing unpaid domestic work in Australia, between 2011 and 2016 were those who:
- Did unpaid domestic work (+995,606 persons)
- Did between 5 and 14 hours of domestic work (+500,339 persons)
- Did no unpaid domestic work (+490,715 persons)
- Did less than 5 hours of domestic work (+415,620 persons)