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TIME SPENT BY ALL PERSONS

The 1997 Time Use Survey found that, on average, Australians aged 15 years and over spent 5 hours 16 minutes (or 21.9%) of each day on free time as the main activity. Males had 24 minutes more free time than females.

Overall, most free time was spent on Recreation and leisure (85.8% or 4 hours 31 minutes per day) leaving 14.2% or 45 minutes for Social and community interaction. Almost half (48.3% or 2 hours 11 minutes) of Recreation and leisure time was spent on Audio/visual media. In comparison, 10% (27 minutes) of Recreation and leisure time was spent on Sport and outdoor activity. Males tended to spend more time on Sport and outdoor activity than females (33 minutes compared with 20 minutes).

4.1 AVERAGE TIME SPENT ON FREE TIME ACTIVITIES, Main activities by sex - All persons(a) - 1997
		Males	Females	Persons
Purpose of activities		minutes per day	minutes per day	minutes per day
Social and community interaction		43	48	45
	Socialising	11	11	11
	Visiting entertainment and cultural venues	5	6	5
	Attendance at sports events	2	1	2
	Religious activities/ritual ceremonies	4	5	5
	Other	20	24	22
Recreation and leisure		286	257	271
	Sport and outdoor activity	33	20	27
	Games/hobbies/arts/crafts	17	15	16
	Reading	24	26	25
	Audio/visual media	145	118	131
	Attendance at recreational courses	1	1	1
	Talking (incl. phone)	27	44	35
	Other	38	32	34
Total free time		329	305	316
(a) Refers to persons aged 15 years and over on a single day.
Source: Time Use on Culture/Leisure Activities, 1997 (cat. no. 4173.0).

The Time Use Survey collected data about time spent on 'main activities' and time spent on 'all activities'. Main activities are those activities reported as the main activity in a particular time period. In contrast, all activities include those activities that were undertaken simultaneously with a main activity in a specified period. Respondents could record up to two activities as being undertaken in the same time period (i.e. simultaneously). When time spent on simultaneous activities was also taken into account it was found that Australians spent more time on some activities, such as Audio/visual media and Talking, than they did when only main activities were considered. However, time spent on Sport and outdoor activity increased only by one minute on average. This means that Sport and outdoor activity is only rarely undertaken as other than a main activity.