12.0% ▼ -23.8%
Lower than 94% of urban area areas.
- 2011: 15.8%
- 2016: 12.6%
- 2021: 12.0%
Share of people aged 15+ who did voluntary work for an organisation or group.
Melbourne · Urban Area
Community Participation in Melbourne
How people contribute — volunteering, unpaid care and domestic work, and defence service.
Low volunteer rates define the community spirit in Melbourne, where only 12% of people give their time for free. This is among the lowest rates for similar areas and marks a decline from previous years. Other forms of community contribution, such as unpaid care and defence service, also sit below national figures.
Participation
Volunteering for organisations and groups.
Only 12% of people in Melbourne volunteer, which is a little below the national figure of 14.1%. This rate has fallen by 3.7 percentage points since 2011.
Unpaid care & work
Caring for others and unpaid domestic work.
About 26.5% of people provide unpaid childcare, which is about the same as the national average. Those doing 15 or more hours of housework per week are much lower than in most areas at 19%.
12.5% ▲ +15.5%
Lower than 58% of urban area areas.
- 2011: 10.9%
- 2016: 12.4%
- 2021: 12.5%
Share of people aged 15+ who provided unpaid assistance to someone with a disability or due to old age.
26.5% ▼ -1.4%
Higher than 62% of urban area areas.
- 2011: 26.8%
- 2016: 32.3%
- 2021: 26.5%
Share of people aged 15+ who provided unpaid child care.
19.0% ▼ -3.1%
Lower than 86% of urban area areas.
- 2011: 19.6%
- 2016: 20.7%
- 2021: 19.0%
Share of people aged 15+ who did 15 hours or more of unpaid domestic work in the week before the Census.
Defence service
People who served in the Australian Defence Force.
Just 1.6% of the population has served in the Defence Force, a figure that is among the lowest for similar areas and a little below the Australian average of 2.8%.
1.6%
Lower than 99% of urban area areas.
Share of people aged 15+ who have ever served in the Australian Defence Force (currently or previously).
Sources
- Census of Population and Housing — Australian Bureau of Statistics, 2021 (CC BY 4.0).
More for Melbourne
Cite this page
Australian Bureau of Statistics. (2021). Community Participation in Melbourne [Census of Population and Housing]. CensusAtlas, used under CC BY 4.0. https://censusatlas.au/region/sua/2011/melbourne/topic/community