(Australian Associated Press)

Women carry out nearly three quarters of all unpaid work in Australia, with child care taking up the bulk of their time.

A report by accounting house PwC estimates that unpaid child care is Australia’s largest industry and worth $345 billion – almost three times the value of the financial and insurance services sector.

Overall, women are estimated to carry out 72 per cent of the total of unpaid work, doing three quarters of child care, two thirds of domestic work, nearly 70 per cent of caring for adults and more than half of volunteering.