7 ways we spent our time in 2024

The 2024 Time Use Survey data was released today by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS). This survey provides a broad snapshot of how Australians spend their time, and is used by governments to inform policy about family support, gender equality, workplaces and the value of unpaid work and looking after children.

Here are 7 things you might not know about how Australians used their time in 2024:

Australians are feeling time pressures, with more than a third of females (36 per cent) and 30 per cent of males reporting they always or often feel rushed for time.

People who work from home spend an hour longer doing unpaid work during their workday. 

On average, those who worked from home spent 3 hours and 24 minutes doing unpaid work, compared with 2 hours and 26 minutes for those who worked outside the home. 

Females continued to spend more time on unpaid work, averaging 4 hours and 53 minutes a day, while males spent 3 hours and 52 minutes.

Unpaid work includes domestic duties like housework, food and drink preparation and shopping, as well as looking after children, other adults and volunteering.

Mothers spend more time looking after children (4 hours 38 minutes) than fathers (3 hours 29 minutes). This includes things like providing personal care like feeding, bathing or changing, playing or helping with homework.

Just under one quarter (23 per cent) of people supervised a child while doing another activity (e.g., cooking, gardening, or watching TV) for an average of 7 hours 8 minutes a day. 

When doing paid work, 9 per cent of people were also supervising a child, for an average of 5 hours 41 minutes a day.

Watching TV or streaming was the most reported free time activity, with 62 per cent of people switching on for an average of 2 hours and 55 minutes a day. 

Almost a quarter of young people aged 15-24 (23 per cent) reported playing video or mobile games.  

Young male gamers spent an average of 3 hours and 56 minutes gaming, while females spent 2 hours and 25 minutes.

Find more interesting insights from the latest release of How Australians use their time.