Quality of time


Time

Quality of time

The type of time available to individuals is an important factor impacting their sense of control in life.

Quality of time scale

This measure shows how Canberrans feel about their use of time across the following activities:

This is important because how we spend our time can impact our physical and mental health. It can also affect our sense of social connection and belonging.

High quality of time use has increased steadily after dropping during the first lockdown. In 2022, more than 1 in 4 Canberrans (27.6%) reported high quality use of time. However, this increase was not reported by:

There has been an increase in the number of people reporting low quality of time use, with 52.3% in 2022 reporting low quality time use compared to 39.6% in 2021.

Line graphs of percentage of respondents who reported high, moderate, or low levels of quality use of time in the ACT, between 2019 and 2023.

In 2022, 52.3% reported low quality use of time compared to 39.6% in 2021.

In 2022, 27.6% reported high quality use of time compared to 24.6% in 2021.

In 2022, 20.1% reported moderate quality use of time compared to 35.8% in 2021.

The Living Well in the ACT Region survey, conducted by the University of Canberra, aims to measure, track and understand the wellbeing of adult residents living in the Australian Capital Territory region of Australia. It examines factors known to affect wellbeing at the individual, household, community and regional level.

When generating data for the ACT, statistical weighting is used to address differences between the sample of people who respond to the survey, and the characteristics of the ACT adult population. Differences between groups are reported when there is a statistically significant difference based on 95% confidence intervals or other tests of significance.

Data are produced from this survey for different groups of people in the ACT. The ‘overall response’ category represents responses at the ACT population level. Where reliable estimates can be produced, data are also presented for Canberrans by: gender, age, cultural background, gender identity and sexuality, carer role and experience of disability.

Care is needed when interpreting the differences in findings between groups as the descriptive statistics published here show where there are differences in wellbeing, but not what has caused those differences in wellbeing.

The University of Canberra has been conducting the survey since 2019. As of mid-2023, the survey had been conducted 6 times. Not all questions have been measured each time the survey has been conducted.

There have been no changes in measure design, analysis or reporting of this measure since it was first included in the survey.

Data for people with disability can only be compared between 2022 and 2023 due to a change in the way disability was defined and measured in the survey, to better reflect international best practice.

Further information about the survey can be found at Living Well in the ACT Region or by contacting Professor Jacki Schirmer at the University of Canberra.