Restaurant Award pay guide: rates, penalties & classifications 2026/2027

Most cafés and restaurants employ casual workers. Here are the casual rates you need to know for ordinary weekday hours (Mon–Fri, standard times). These figures are generated from the current Fair Work pay guide:

If you only skim one section, make it this one:

• The Restaurant Industry Award 2020 [MA000119] sets minimum pay and conditions for table-service restaurants, cafés and catering businesses.
• Minimums are reviewed each July after the Fair Work Commission’s Annual Wage Review. The FY2026/27 pay guide took effect from the first full pay period on or after 1 July 2026, lifting all rates by 4.75%.
• You must get four things right for every staff member: award coverage, classification level (Introductory, Level 1–6), employment type (full-time, part-time, casual) and when they work (weekday, late night, weekends, public holidays, overtime).
• Example of 2026/27 adult minimum pay:
  • Level 1 Food & Beverage Attendant / Kitchen Attendant: full-time/part-time $26.44/hr, casual $33.05/hr (includes 25% casual loading).
  • Level 3 Cook Grade 2 / experienced wait staff: full-time/part-time $27.97/hr, casual $34.96/hr.
• Junior rates are lower but fixed by the Award — e.g. a 17-year-old full-time Level 1 attendant must get $15.87/hr ($19.84 as a casual).
• On top of base rates you may also pay penalty rates (weekends, public holidays, late night/early morning), overtime, and allowances (meal, laundry, tools, special clothing).
• Casuals must be paid a minimum of 3 hours per shift, and casuals with regular ongoing hours can request conversion to permanent.

Think of the Restaurant Award as a standard contract template you can’t go below.

It sets:

• Minimum hourly rates for different jobs and ages
• Extra pay for weekends, public holidays, late nights and overtime
• Allowances (meal, laundry, tools, special clothing)
• Rules about casuals, rostering, breaks and classification
• Links into the National Employment Standards (NES) for leave and other basic rights

You can always pay more, but you can’t legally pay less than the Award. It’s reviewed each July after the Fair Work Commission’s Annual Wage Review. Your job is to confirm coverage, classify staff correctly, pay at least the Award minimum (including penalties and allowances), and update rates when the pay guide changes.

The Restaurant Award covers businesses where table service and dining are the key feature, including:

• Restaurants and bistros
• Cafés with table service
• Catering businesses
• Casual dining venues

Typical roles: wait staff, cooks and chefs, kitchen attendants, baristas, bar staff (in a restaurant), and restaurant supervisors/managers.

Opening a table-service franchise? Our cost to open a Grill’d franchise breakdown covers the labour costs under this award.

Important: Pubs, bars, taverns and hotels are usually covered by the Hospitality Award, and quick-service/takeaway outlets (counter ordering, limited table service) by the Fast Food Award. Coverage depends on the primary nature of the business and the employee’s duties, not the venue’s label.

This section gives you a practical snapshot of the current FY2026/27 rates so you can sanity-check your payroll. All figures are minimums from the Fair Work pay guide effective from the first full pay period on or after 1 July 2026, and are generated from the same data that powers the calculator above.

The rates below assume correct award coverage and classification.

For adult employees (usually 20+), ordinary weekday hours:

Casuals receive the same base rate plus a 25% casual loading. Adult casual rates for ordinary weekday hours:

Junior rates are a percentage of the adult rate: under 17 → 50%, 17 → 60%, 18 → 70%, 19 → 85%, 20 and over → 100% (adult). FY2026/27 examples (Level 1):

• Under 17: $13.22/hr full-time/part-time ($16.53 casual)
• 17-year-old: $15.87/hr ($19.84 casual)
• 18-year-old: $18.51/hr
• 19-year-old: $22.48/hr

Match age + classification + employment type in the Fair Work pay guide for the exact figure.

Apprentice cooks have separate rates. The FY2026/27 full-time apprentice base rates are:

Getting the classification wrong is one of the most common causes of underpayment. The Restaurant Award classifies staff by skill, experience and responsibility, not job title.

• Introductory – brand-new starters doing basic tasks under supervision, for a limited time.
• Level 1 – basic food & beverage or kitchen attendant duties.
• Level 2 – Cook Grade 1, F&B Attendant Grade 2, clerical/storeperson with some experience.
• Level 3 – Cook Grade 2, experienced/senior wait staff, handyperson.
• Level 4 – trade-qualified Cook Grade 3, F&B Attendant Grade 4, clerical/store grade 3.
• Level 5 – supervisors and Cook Grade 4 (tradesperson).
• Level 6 – Cook Grade 5 (tradesperson), the most senior kitchen classification.

Write each employee’s award, classification level and employment type into their contract and your payroll/rostering system. If unsure, read the classification definitions in the Award or confirm the right level with our free checker.

Here’s how common restaurant roles map to award classifications and 2026/27 casual ordinary rates:

• Level 1: basic table service — $33.05/hr casual
• Level 2: experienced wait staff, wine service — $33.85/hr casual
• Level 3: senior/supervisory wait staff — $34.96/hr casual

See the full duties at each level in our waiter job description template.

• Level 2: Cook Grade 1 (basic cooking) — $33.85/hr casual
• Level 3: Cook Grade 2 (skilled cook) — $34.96/hr casual
• Level 4: Cook Grade 3 tradesperson — $36.81/hr casual
• Level 5: Cook Grade 4 tradesperson (senior chef) — $39.13/hr casual
• Level 6: Cook Grade 5 tradesperson (head chef) — $40.16/hr casual

Trade-qualified chefs (Cert III/IV in Commercial Cookery) typically start at Level 4 or above.

• Level 1 kitchen attendant casual: $33.05/hr ordinary hours
• Level 2–3 with experience/additional duties: $33.85–$34.96/hr casual
• Weekend rates: apply penalties (Saturday +25%, Sunday +50% for full-time/part-time)

• Around 38 hours per week, ongoing, with guaranteed regular hours
• Entitled to paid annual leave and paid personal (sick & carer’s) leave, plus other NES leave

• Less than 38 hours per week, with a regular agreed pattern
• Paid leave on a pro-rata basis
• The Restaurant Award requires part-time hours and the pattern to be agreed in writing so it’s clear what counts as ordinary hours vs overtime

• No firm advance commitment to ongoing work
• Paid a 25% casual loading instead of paid leave
• Must be paid a minimum of 3 hours per shift, even if they work less

Casual conversion now mainly operates through the employee choice pathway under the Fair Work Act, alongside the Restaurant Award clause. In simple terms, a casual may request conversion if they’ve been employed for at least 6 months (12 months for small businesses) and their work pattern has become regular and ongoing.

If they convert, they lose the 25% loading, gain paid leave entitlements, and you treat them as permanent going forward. Because the rules depend on hire date and business size, get advice before refusing a conversion request — see our casual conversion guide.

This is where many restaurants lose the plot — and where underpayments happen. The Restaurant Award sets different pay for weekday ordinary hours, late nights, weekends, public holidays and overtime:

• Saturday: 125% (full-time/part-time), 150% (casual)
• Sunday: 150% (full-time/part-time), 150% (casual)
• Public holiday: 225% (full-time/part-time), 250% (casual) — plus a substitute day off for permanents
• Late night (Mon–Fri 10pm–midnight): +$2.95/hr loading
• Early morning (Mon–Fri midnight–6am): +$4.42/hr loading
• Overtime: 150% for the first 2 hours, 200% after

Unlike the Hospitality Award, the Restaurant Award has no general evening (7pm) loading — only the late-night and early-morning loadings above.

Because these details are fiddly and change over time, the safest options are to use Fair Work’s Pay and Conditions Tool (PACT) when calculating wages, or award-interpreting payroll/rostering software with roster warnings and time and attendance that has the Restaurant Award rules built in.

Beyond hourly pay and penalties, the Restaurant Award has allowances that kick in for specific situations:

• Meal allowance (overtime) – when staff work overtime without a meal break (about $17.42).
• Tool allowance – cooks and apprentice cooks – about $2.03/day (max $9.94/week).
• Laundry / special clothing – reimbursement of demonstrated laundering or purchase costs for special or protective clothing.

Exact amounts are updated with each pay guide and listed under “Allowances” in the Fair Work pay guide.

The Award sits on top of the National Employment Standards (NES), which set minimum leave entitlements for permanent employees.

• Paid annual leave – generally 4 weeks per year (pro-rata for part-time).
• Paid personal/carer’s leave – based on ordinary hours.
• Compassionate leave, parental leave, family and domestic violence leave, and other NES entitlements.

• No paid annual or personal/carer’s leave.
• Instead, they receive the 25% casual loading on their hourly rate.

A simple process you can actually follow:

• Check your venue and staff fit the Restaurant Industry Award 2020 [MA000119] coverage (table service / dining).
• If unsure, confirm with Fair Work’s PACT or get advice — the wrong award makes every calculation wrong.

• Grab the official Restaurant Award pay guide (FY2026/27).
• Save it somewhere obvious — it’s your “price list”.

For each staff member write down: award, classification level (Introductory, Level 1–6), employment type and age (for juniors). Match actual duties, not job titles.

• Enter the correct base rate for each classification and age.
• Double-check adult rates like Level 1 FT/PT $26.44, Level 1 casual $33.05, and juniors (e.g. a 17-year-old Level 1 casual at $19.84).

Use Fair Work’s PACT each pay run, or award-interpreting rostering/payroll software with payroll integration that understands Restaurant Award weekend, public-holiday, late-night and overtime rules.

• Apply meal, tool and laundry/special-clothing allowances where relevant.
• Keep rosters, timesheets, pay records and contracts for 7 years. Consider HR software with digital employment contracts to stay organised.

The traps that trip up a lot of restaurants:

Paying a trade-qualified chef at Level 2 instead of Level 4, or experienced wait staff at Level 1. Classification follows duties and skills, not titles.

Staff on fixed rosters for years still getting casual loading and no paid leave — backpay and casual-conversion risk.

Rostering casuals for short shifts but not paying the 3-hour minimum engagement.

Applying hospitality penalty rates by mistake, or forgetting the public-holiday substitute day off for permanents.

Still paying last year’s rates. Download the new pay guide every July and compare it to your payroll.

Applying the Restaurant Award correctly isn’t optional — it’s a legal requirement, but it doesn’t have to be overwhelming:

• Get the basics right: confirm the award, classify staff correctly, use the right base rates.
• Don’t ignore penalties and allowances: weekends, public holidays and late nights are where most underpayments happen — estimate weekend and overtime costs before you publish a roster.
• Review your casuals for conversion, update every July, and keep good records.
• Use the right guide: pubs/hotels → Hospitality Award; takeaway/QSR → Fast Food Award.

For official guidance, visit the Fair Work Ombudsman website.