12.0% ▼ -23.3%
Lower than 82% of urban centre areas.
- 2011: 15.7%
- 2016: 17.5%
- 2021: 12.0%
Share of people aged 15+ who did voluntary work for an organisation or group.
Melbourne · Urban Centre
Community Participation in Melbourne
How people contribute — volunteering, unpaid care and domestic work, and defence service.
Fewer people in Melbourne contribute their time to volunteering compared to most other areas. Only 12% of residents volunteer, a figure that has fallen 3.7 points since 2011. While unpaid childcare is common, other forms of community and home support are less frequent here than elsewhere.
Participation
Volunteering for organisations and groups.
Volunteering rates in Melbourne are much lower than in most areas. At 12%, this is a little below both the Victorian figure of 13.3% and the national rate of 14.1%.
Unpaid care & work
Caring for others and unpaid domestic work.
About 26.3% of people provide unpaid childcare, which is higher than most areas and matches the state and national figures. Other unpaid work is less common; only 18.8% do 15 or more hours of housework, a result much lower than most areas.
12.5% ▲ +15.2%
Lower than 61% of urban centre areas.
- 2011: 10.8%
- 2016: 11.2%
- 2021: 12.5%
Share of people aged 15+ who provided unpaid assistance to someone with a disability or due to old age.
26.3% ▼ -1.5%
Higher than 60% of urban centre areas.
- 2011: 26.7%
- 2016: 27.3%
- 2021: 26.3%
Share of people aged 15+ who provided unpaid child care.
18.8% ▼ -3.1%
Lower than 86% of urban centre areas.
- 2011: 19.4%
- 2016: 18.1%
- 2021: 18.8%
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.
Defence service is rare in Melbourne, with only 1.5% of residents having served. This is among the lowest rates for similar areas and sits a little below the Australian figure of 2.8%.
1.5%
Lower than 90% of urban centre 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/ucl/UCL201001/melbourne/topic/community