# Community Participation — Palmerston

How people contribute — volunteering, unpaid care and domestic work, and defence service.

Area: Palmerston (Council (LGA))

A high 7.8% of residents in Palmerston have served in the Defence Force, which is well above the national figure. While military service is common, fewer people here volunteer for community groups compared to most other areas. The community is also marked by a very high number of people providing unpaid childcare.

Volunteering is much lower here than in most other areas, with only 12.8% of people pitching in. This is a little below the national figure and has fallen by 1.9 percentage points since 2011.

Unpaid childcare is very common, with 32.4% of people providing this care, which is well above the Australian figure. In contrast, only 16.9% of residents do 15 or more hours of unpaid housework, a rate well below the national average.

The proportion of people who served in the Defence Force is among the highest at this level. At 7.8%, it is a little above the Northern Territory average and well above the national rate of 2.8%.

## Statistics

| Statistic | Value | Change since |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Volunteers | 12.8% | -12.7% since 2011 |
| People providing unpaid care | 9.2% | +25.5% since 2011 |
| People caring for children unpaid | 32.4% | -4.0% since 2011 |
| People who served in the Defence Force | 7.8% | — |
| People doing 15+ hours of unpaid housework | 16.9% | -11.2% since 2011 |

Interactive: https://censusatlas.au/region/lga/LGA72800/palmerston/topic/community