Recent Research
Time Use Surveys by the Australian Bureau of Statistics
The time use of Australians has been investigated by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) in Time Use Surveys conducted in 1992, 1997 and 2007. In these three surveys, participants recorded what they did for two 24-hour periods. All their activities were classified into nine categories. Here are some examples of activities for each category (ABS, 1998b).
Personal care activities included sleeping, personal hygiene activities such as showering, brushing teeth, health care, eating and drinking.
Employment activities included your main job, other jobs and searching for jobs.
Education activities included attending courses, job-related training, homework and study.
Domestic activities included food and drink preparation and clean up, laundry, cleaning, gardening, animal care and household management.
Child care activities included caring for children, helping them, playing with them, minding them such as when they sleep, transporting them and school activities such as concerts and parent-teacher nights.
Purchasing activities included buying goods, window shopping and purchasing services including repair, medical care and child care services.
Voluntary work and care activities included caring for adults, doing favours and unpaid voluntary work.
Social and Community Interaction included socialising, religious activities, attending meetings and going places such as to the movies, a concert, a museum, sporting events and festivals.
Recreation and leisure activities included playing organised and informal sport, exercising, games, hobbies, reading, AV media, holiday travel and interacting with pets.
The results of all three surveys show an overall pattern of time use in families that has changed little and still follows traditional gender roles with men spending more time in employment activities and women spending more time in domestic, child care, purchasing and voluntary activites.
Table 1 Time Use By Parents in couple families with children under 15 years in the ABS Time Use Surveys of 1997 and 2006
| 1997 Time Use Survey | 2006 Time Use Survey | |||
| Males | Females | Males | Females | |
| Personal care activities | 10 hrs 22 mins |
10 hrs 34 mins |
10 hrs 6 mins |
10 hrs 21 mins |
| Employment & Education activities | 6 hrs 12 mins |
2 hrs 10 mins |
6 hrs 50 mins |
2 hrs 21 mins |
| Domestic, Child Care, Purchasing & Voluntary activities | 3 hrs 17 mins |
7 hrs 19mins |
3 hrs 20mins | 7 hrs 48 mins |
| Social, Recreation & Leisure activities | 4 hrs 3 mins |
3 hrs 53 mins |
3 hrs 35 mins |
3 hrs 25 mins |
References
Australian Bureau of Statistics. (1998a). How Australians Use their Time 1997. Cat 4153.0 (Vol. Cat no. 4153.0). Canberra: ABS.
Australian Bureau of Statistics. (1998b). Time Use Survey, Australia. Users’ Guide 1997. Cat no 4150.0. Canberra: ABS.
Australian Bureau of Statistics (2007). 4153.0 - How Australians Use Their Time, 2006. Retrieved 21/02/2007, from www.abs.gov.au/AUSSTATS//abs@.nsf/DetailsPage/4153.02006?OpenDocument