Restaurant Award, explained for shift work.
Restaurant Industry Award 2020 · Reviewed July 2026 by the MyGig compliance team
Restaurants, cafés serving meals prepared on the premises, and their catering operations, distinct from pubs/hotels (Hospitality Award) and takeaway outlets (Fast Food Award).
Penalties and loadings to know
- Casual loading of 25% on the ordinary hourly rate
- Weekend penalty treatment differs from the Hospitality Award: check the current clause
- Substantial public holiday penalties
- Split-shift and late-work allowances can apply
Roles typically covered
Casual hourly rates under the Restaurant Award
| Classification | Casual $/hr |
|---|---|
| Introductory level | $32.18 |
| Level 1 - food and beverage attendant grade 1 | $33.05 |
| Level 1 - kitchen attendant grade 1 | $33.05 |
| Level 2 - clerical grade 1 | $33.85 |
| Level 2 - cook grade 1 | $33.85 |
| Level 2 - door person/security officer grade 1 | $33.85 |
| Level 2 - food and beverage attendant grade 2 | $33.85 |
| Level 2 - kitchen attendant grade 2 | $33.85 |
| Level 2 - storeperson grade 1 | $33.85 |
| Level 3 - clerical grade 2 | $34.96 |
| Level 3 - cook grade 2 | $34.96 |
| Level 3 - food and beverage attendant grade 3 | $34.96 |
Adult casual hourly rates including the 25% casual loading, effective from the first full pay period on or after 1 July 2026. Showing the 12 lowest-paid of 24 casual classifications in MyGig's award engine; the official pay guide has the full set. Source: MyGig award engine, built from Fair Work Commission pay guides. Penalties, overtime, and allowances apply on top per the award.
Free download:the 2026 Casual Rates Card puts every award’s entry casual rate on one printable sheet.
Get the rates cardBreaks under the Restaurant Award
| Min hours | Max hours | Break (mins) | Type | Paid | To be taken after | To be taken before | What the award says | Clause |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| - | - | - | Rest | - | - | - | “When the employer rosters an employee’s rest breaks, they must make all reasonable efforts to ensure that breaks are spread evenly across the employee’s shift.” | cl 16.3 |
| - | - | - | Meal | Unpaid | The first hour of work (by agreement) | The first 6.5 hours of work | “An employer and an employee may agree that an unpaid meal break is to be taken after the first hour of work and within the first 6.5 hours of work (a ‘facilitation agreement’).” | cl 16.4(a) |
Quoted from the award text published by Fair Work, as at 20 August 2026. Clause numbers are the award’s own. The quoted words are the award’s. The structured columns are MyGig’s transcription of the quoted sentence in the same row, and a dash means the sentence does not state that value. Breaks vary with shift length, roster and agreement, so read the clause in full before relying on any row.
Current minimum rates
Entry-level adult casual: $33.05/hr as at 1 July 2026, from MyGig's award engine (the same data that prices every shift). Award rates change with every annual wage review (first full pay period on or after 1 July). For the full classification tables, use the official pay guide, or let MyGig apply them for you: every shift estimate uses current rates, penalties included, clause cited.
Restaurant Award FAQs
My café: Restaurant Award or Hospitality Award?
A café preparing and serving meals on premises generally sits under the Restaurant Award; a café inside a hotel or pub operation follows the Hospitality Award. Classification depends on the operation, and MyGig determines it per venue.
Are restaurant weekend penalties the same as pubs?
Not identical: the two awards have different penalty tables and histories. It is a classic source of payroll error when venues assume they match. MyGig applies the correct award’s table per shift.
Where are current restaurant award rates?
In the official MA000119 pay guide linked here, updated each annual wage review.
General information only, not legal advice. The award itself (Restaurant Industry Award 2020, MA000119) and the Fair Work Ombudsman’s pay tools are the authoritative sources: read the award. Back to all award guides or MyGig compliance & EOR.
Stop interpreting awards by hand.
MyGig employs your casual workers as EOR and applies this award automatically: rates, loadings, penalties, and super, with the clause cited.