← Hospitality and personal services

ANZSCO 4314Skill level 5Hospitality and personal services

Hospitality worker

Provide front-of-house service in cafes, restaurants, hotels and event venues.

Registration: RSA / RSG required for any alcohol or gambling service

Salary

Cited figures from Job Outlook and QILT. ExamExplained does not publish predictive earnings or projections.

FigureAUDSource
Full-time weekly earnings$1100Job Outlook (2025-06-01)

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What a hospitality worker actually does

Hospitality workers run the front of house in cafes, restaurants, pubs, clubs, hotels, function venues and quick-service chains. A cafe shift usually starts around 6am with set-up: turning on machines, polishing glassware and cutlery, brewing the first batch and laying out the morning pastry case. From the coffee rush through to lunch you take orders, run food, clear and reset tables, run the till and answer questions about the menu. Restaurant and pub shifts split the day across a lunch service finishing around 3pm and a dinner service starting at 5pm and running past 10pm. Hotels add room service, breakfast buffet and event functions on top. Most hospitality workers run 25-45 hours a week across casual or part-time contracts, with the busiest shifts being Friday and Saturday nights and weekend brunches. Pay is set by the Hospitality Industry (General) Award 2020 or the Restaurant Industry Award 2020 with weekend, public holiday and late-night penalty rates. Casuals get a 25% loading on top of the base hourly rate. The work is physical: on your feet for the whole shift, carrying plates and trays, working in tight spaces during service, and cleaning down at the end. Most people start here in high school or while studying; many step into bartending, supervision or hospitality management after a few years.

Typical tasks

  • Take orders and serve customers.
  • Operate POS and process payments.
  • Maintain cleanliness and stock front-of-house.

Skills you'll use

  • Customer service and remembering regulars
  • Point-of-sale and contactless payments
  • Carrying multiple plates and drinks without spilling
  • Food and wine product knowledge
  • Responsible Service of Alcohol where the venue serves drinks
  • Working a section of tables and timing courses correctly
  • Handling complaints calmly and getting a manager when needed
  • Cleaning, restocking and closing down the venue

How to become one

  1. 1Finish Year 9 at minimum; most hospitality workers start in part-time and casual roles while still at school
  2. 2Complete the Responsible Service of Alcohol (RSA) ticket if you want to work anywhere that serves alcohol
  3. 3Get a first job as a cafe runner, glassy, dishwasher or function attendant to learn pace
  4. 4Step up to a barista, waiter, or front-of-house all-rounder role
  5. 5Consider a Certificate II or III in Hospitality at TAFE or as a school-based traineeship if you want to formalise the skills
  6. 6Move into supervisor, duty manager or bartender if you want a clear next step in pay and responsibility

Where you can work

  • Cafes and breakfast venues
  • Restaurants and bistros
  • Pubs, clubs and gaming venues
  • Hotel restaurants, bars and room service
  • Function, conference and wedding centres
  • Quick-service restaurant chains
  • Sporting and event venues
  • Cruise ships and resorts

Career progression

Typical stages and salary bands. Salary figures are sourced from Job Outlook, QILT or industry bodies; brackets are 25th-75th percentile not absolute floors or ceilings.

  1. Junior or casual hospitality worker
    0-2 years
    Typical roles: Cafe all-rounder, Glassy, Function attendant, Quick-service team member
    Salary band: $45,000 - $55,000 per year (source, sourced 2026-05-21)
  2. Experienced front-of-house
    2-5 years
    Typical roles: Waiter, Barista, Bar attendant, Front-of-house team leader
    Salary band: $55,000 - $65,000 per year (source, sourced 2026-05-21)
  3. Supervisor or duty manager
    5+ years
    Typical roles: Duty manager, Restaurant supervisor, Venue manager
    Salary band: $65,000 - $85,000 per year (source, sourced 2026-05-21)

Is this for you?

You might love this if

  • You enjoy fast-paced people-facing work
  • You can stay friendly when you're tired or busy
  • You're comfortable working evenings, weekends and public holidays
  • You can hold five tables and three drink orders in your head at once
  • You take feedback without taking it personally

This might not suit you if

  • You want a sit-down office job with predictable hours
  • You can't stay polite when a customer is rude or drunk
  • You want every weekend and public holiday off
  • You're not physically up to a long shift on your feet

Three ways in

Uni, TAFE and trade routes for hospitality worker. Not every career has all three; we only list pathways that actually lead to this occupation.

University

Bachelor degrees that lead to this career.

No direct undergraduate pathway. Consider postgraduate study after a related bachelor degree.

TAFE / VET

Nationally accredited Certificate and Diploma qualifications.

Apprenticeship trade

Earn while you learn through an Australian Apprenticeship.

Not an apprenticeship trade.

Sources

ExamExplained does not publish predictive salary figures. For current Australian earnings data check Job Outlook directly. Career classifications follow the ABS ANZSCO 2022 release.