On Census day, Tuesday 10 August 2021, 2.53 million employed Australians worked at home: 21.0% of the workforce, against 4.7% at the 2016 Census. Parts of the country were under stay-at-home orders that day, and the share ran from 31.0% in New South Wales to 4.2% in the Northern Territory. Of the 8.04 million people who did travel to work, 84.7% went by car and 6.8% used public transport. Among larger suburbs the car share ran from 16.2% to 96.3%.
The Census asks how each employed person got to work on Census day, Tuesday 10 August 2021.
What is measured
The Census asks every employed person aged 15 and over how they got to work on Census day. A person can report up to three methods, or that they worked at home, or that they did not go to work that day (because of leave, illness, a rostered day off or any other reason). Table G62 of the Census General Community Profile counts the answers. People are counted where they usually live, not where they work.
The answer describes one day, not a usual week. The Australian Bureau of Statistics notes that a number of regions were in various stages of lockdown on Census day and in the week before it, and that New South Wales and Victoria spent a significant amount of time under stay-at-home orders, while Queensland and South Australia were not affected by stay-at-home restrictions on the day. Every figure below should be read with that in mind.
The day in total
How employed people got to work on Census day, 10 August 2021
APN calculation based on Australian Bureau of Statistics data: Census of Population and Housing: General Community Profile, 2021, Table G62 (method of travel to work). Employed people aged 15 and over, by how they got to work on Tuesday 10 August 2021, when parts of the country were under stay-at-home orders. Share of all employed people, with the number in each group. Public transport is a train, bus, ferry or tram as the only method, or a train or bus combined with another method. Other methods are truck, motorbike, taxi, other single methods and other combinations.
Of 12.05 million employed people, 8.04 million (66.7%) travelled to work. Of those, 6.81 million went by car alone, as driver or passenger, 544,726 used public transport and 385,134 walked or cycled all the way. A further 1.42 million people (11.8%) did not go to work that day.
The ABS reports that 503,582 people worked at home at the 2016 Census, 4.7% of the employed, and, on its own count of public transport, which includes taxis and ride-share (585,774 in 2021), that the number using it more than halved between the two Censuses, from 1.25 million.
Working at home, by state and territory
Share of employed people who worked at home on Census day, 2021, with the 2016 share
APN calculation based on Australian Bureau of Statistics data: Census of Population and Housing: General Community Profile, 2021, Table G62 (method of travel to work). Employed people who worked at home on Census day as a share of all employed people. The 2016 shares are as published by the ABS in ‘Australia’s journey to work’ (3 November 2022).
The two states the ABS names as under COVID-19 restrictions close to Census day stand apart: 31.0% in New South Wales and 25.7% in Victoria. Everywhere else the share was under 15%, from 14.1% in Queensland to 4.2% in the Northern Territory. The share was higher than in 2016 in every state and territory, including Queensland and South Australia, which the ABS describes as not affected by stay-at-home restrictions on Census day: in Queensland it rose from 5.3% to 14.1% and in South Australia from 4.4% to 9.6%.
Those who travelled, by state and territory
| State or territory | Employed people | Travelled to work | Of those: car | Public transport | Walked or cycled only |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| New South Wales | 3,684,158 | 55.3% | 83.7% | 7.2% | 5.2% |
| Victoria | 3,162,893 | 62.6% | 85.3% | 6.9% | 4.8% |
| Queensland | 2,444,090 | 74.3% | 86.2% | 5.4% | 4.4% |
| South Australia | 839,414 | 79.1% | 86.2% | 6.5% | 4.2% |
| Western Australia | 1,306,249 | 80.3% | 83.1% | 9.2% | 3.5% |
| Tasmania | 254,722 | 79.9% | 86.7% | 3.9% | 6.2% |
| Northern Territory | 107,035 | 86.4% | 81.1% | 3.0% | 11.1% |
| Australian Capital Territory | 248,603 | 78.9% | 81.2% | 7.5% | 7.8% |
| Australia | 12,049,410 | 66.7% | 84.7% | 6.8% | 4.8% |
APN calculation based on Australian Bureau of Statistics data: Census of Population and Housing: General Community Profile, 2021, Table G62 (method of travel to work). Employed people aged 15 and over, by how they got to work on Tuesday 10 August 2021, when parts of the country were under stay-at-home orders. The last three columns are shares of the people who travelled to work. Public transport is a train, bus, ferry or tram as the only method, or a train or bus combined with another method.
The share who travelled to work ran from 55.3% in New South Wales to 86.4% in the Northern Territory. Among those who did travel, the states differ much less. The car share lies between 81.1% and 86.7% in every state and territory. Public transport ranges from 3.0% in the Northern Territory to 9.2% in Western Australia, and walking or cycling from 3.5% in Western Australia to 11.1% in the Northern Territory.
By size of place
Public transport share of people who travelled to work, by the size of the locality
APN calculation based on Australian Bureau of Statistics data: Census of Population and Housing: General Community Profile, 2021, Tables G01 (selected person characteristics) and G62 (method of travel to work). Share of the people who travelled to work on Census day who used public transport; the share who walked or cycled only is shown beside each bar. Public transport is a train, bus, ferry or tram as the only method, or a train or bus combined with another method. Localities are ABS Suburbs and Localities, grouped by their number of residents.
Public transport use rises with the size of the place, from 1.5% of travellers in localities of 201 to 999 residents to 9.2% in the 143 localities of 20,000 or more. Walking and cycling run the other way, from 6.4% to 4.2%. The car share changes little, between 83.3% and 87.0% in all four groups.
Working at home was 15.5% of employed people in localities of 201 to 999 residents and 25.0% in those of 20,000 or more, but most of that difference is where the large localities are: 118 of the 143 largest are in New South Wales or Victoria. Within those two states the share was 19.9%, 24.7%, 31.2% and 27.8% across the four size groups; in the other six states and territories it was between 9.7% and 11.5% in every group. Localities with 200 or fewer residents, which are not reported individually, had a share of 22.4% taken together.
How larger suburbs are spread
Number of larger localities by the car share of people who travelled to work
APN calculation based on Australian Bureau of Statistics data: Census of Population and Housing: General Community Profile, 2021, Tables G01 (selected person characteristics) and G62 (method of travel to work). The 1,561 localities with at least 5,000 residents, by the share of people who travelled to work on Census day who went by car alone, as driver or passenger.
Across the 1,561 localities with at least 5,000 residents, the middle locality had 87.5% of its travelling workers go by car, and in 63% of them the share was 85% or more. In 39 localities fewer than half went by car. In the middle locality 6.3% used public transport; the highest share was 45.9%.
Where the car share was lowest
The lowest car shares are in city centres and the suburbs beside them, where large shares of residents walked or used public transport. Seven of the ten lowest are in inner Sydney.
| Locality | State | Travelled to work | Car | Public transport | Walked or cycled only |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Haymarket | NSW | 2,163 | 16.2% | 43.9% | 34.4% |
| Sydney | NSW | 4,622 | 16.9% | 39.1% | 39.9% |
| Melbourne | Vic. | 17,293 | 21.7% | 42.9% | 30.4% |
| Ultimo | NSW | 1,764 | 24.1% | 32.4% | 36.5% |
| Chippendale | NSW | 1,580 | 26.2% | 35.4% | 31.8% |
| Potts Point | NSW | 1,695 | 26.9% | 26.8% | 36.5% |
| Brisbane City | Qld | 4,966 | 28.7% | 18.2% | 46.8% |
| Surry Hills | NSW | 3,355 | 29.4% | 27.1% | 37.9% |
| Carlton | Vic. | 4,270 | 30.9% | 30.4% | 33.1% |
| Darlinghurst | NSW | 2,453 | 31.2% | 22.0% | 41.7% |
APN calculation based on Australian Bureau of Statistics data: Census of Population and Housing: General Community Profile, 2021, Tables G01 (selected person characteristics) and G62 (method of travel to work). Localities with at least 5,000 residents. Public transport is a train, bus, ferry or tram as the only method, or a train or bus combined with another method. Counts are as published by the ABS, which makes small random adjustments to protect confidentiality.
Where working at home was most common
In 76 larger localities at least half of employed residents worked at home on Census day, all of them in New South Wales. The ten highest are inner and lower north shore suburbs of Sydney. The middle larger locality was 29.2% in New South Wales, 23.9% in Victoria, 13.2% in Queensland, 8.7% in South Australia and 6.9% in Western Australia. In 112 larger localities the share was under 5%.
| Locality | State | Employed people | Worked at home | Share |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Erskineville | NSW | 6,805 | 4,367 | 64.2% |
| Wollstonecraft | NSW | 5,040 | 3,150 | 62.5% |
| North Sydney | NSW | 5,439 | 3,367 | 61.9% |
| St Leonards | NSW | 4,820 | 2,976 | 61.7% |
| Paddington | NSW | 7,675 | 4,678 | 61.0% |
| Balmain | NSW | 5,711 | 3,479 | 60.9% |
| Cammeray | NSW | 4,007 | 2,437 | 60.8% |
| Naremburn | NSW | 3,312 | 2,010 | 60.7% |
| Rozelle | NSW | 4,964 | 2,982 | 60.1% |
| Woollahra | NSW | 3,734 | 2,241 | 60.0% |
APN calculation based on Australian Bureau of Statistics data: Census of Population and Housing: General Community Profile, 2021, Tables G01 (selected person characteristics) and G62 (method of travel to work). Localities with at least 5,000 residents. Public transport is a train, bus, ferry or tram as the only method, or a train or bus combined with another method. Counts are as published by the ABS, which makes small random adjustments to protect confidentiality.
What this does not show
The figures describe one Tuesday in August 2021, not how people usually travel. Where stay-at-home orders applied, many people who would normally have commuted worked at home or did not work, so the people who still travelled are not a cross-section of the usual commuters. The low car shares and high working-at-home shares in inner Sydney cannot be separated from the orders in force that day. The figures count people, not trips or distance, and they say nothing about how often services ran or how long a journey took. A companion article sets out how many motor vehicles households keep, by state and suburb, a count that does not depend on the day. Results from the August 2026 Census will show how much of the 2021 pattern has lasted.
- Australian Bureau of Statistics (Reference period: 2021) Australia’s journey to work [https://www.abs.gov.au/articles/australias-journey-work], ABS Website, accessed 12 October 2026.
- Australian Bureau of Statistics (Reference period: 2021) Census of Population and Housing: Census dictionary, Method of travel to work (MTWP) [https://www.abs.gov.au/census/guide-census-data/census-dictionary/2021/variables-topic/transport/method-travel-work-mtwp], ABS Website, accessed 12 October 2026.
- Australian Bureau of Statistics (Reference period: 2021) Census of Population and Housing: General Community Profile, tables G01 and G62, by Suburbs and Localities, state and Australia [https://www.abs.gov.au/census/find-census-data/datapacks], ABS Website, accessed 12 October 2026.
ABS material is used under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International licence. Calculations, standardisations and index readings are APN’s and are not attributable to the ABS.
Disclaimer
The analysis and information contained in this publication are for general informational and strategic purposes only and do not constitute financial, investment, legal, or any other form of professional advice. Australian Property Network is not a licensed financial advisor. Property values and market conditions can go up or down. Before making any property or investment decisions, you must conduct your own thorough research and seek independent professional advice tailored to your specific circumstances. Images are for illustrative purposes only. E.&O.E.
Findings are presented on the basis of data and evidence alone.
