Social, economic and technological change has altered the way in which families spend time together. Important changes include increases in maternal employment, part-time employment and the number of people living alone. There have also been higher levels of geographic mobility, lower fertility rates and the development of affordable communication technology such as the mobile phone, email and the internet. This fact sheet discusses the time that families spend together, drawing on data from the Household, Income and Labour Dynamics in Australia (HILDA) survey, the Growing Up in Australia: Longitudinal Study of Australian Children (LSAC) and the Australian Bureau of Statistics, 1997 Time Use Survey.