Kitchen Hand Pay Rate 2026-27
Kitchen hand work sits under two different awards depending on the venue, and both are published below. The classification the awards actually use is kitchen attendant, in three grades.
Two awards can cover a kitchen hand
Which one applies is decided by the business, not by the job. A kitchen hand in a restaurant or cafe is covered by the Restaurant Industry Award 2020 (MA000119). A kitchen hand in a hotel, pub, motel, resort or catering business is covered by the Hospitality Industry (General) Award 2020 (MA000009). A kitchen hand in a registered or licensed club is covered by a third award again.
Both tables are published below rather than one, because a page that quietly picks a single award for this job is wrong for a large share of the people reading it. The two awards currently set the same minimum weekly rate for each of these classifications, so which one covers you does not change the base rate. It does change the penalty rates, overtime, allowances and classification structure that sit around it.
The short answer
A kitchen hand is paid $26.44 an hour at kitchen attendant grade 1, or $1,004.90 a week full-time. The grade scale runs to $27.97 an hour at grade 3. A casual at grade 1 is paid $33.05 an hour, including the 25% loading, before any evening or weekend penalty. Someone entering the industry with no relevant experience can start below grade 1, at $25.74 an hour on the introductory classification.
Award floor
$25.74
Introductory Level, an hour
Top attendant grade
$27.97
Level 3, an hour
Casual, at the floor
$32.18
Includes the 25% loading
Take-home a year
$44,066
$1,695 a fortnight, at the floor
These are legal minimums set by a modern award, not a market average. This site does not publish average or advertised salaries, because the number that matters on a payslip is the floor an employer cannot go below. Many employers pay more, and an enterprise agreement can set a higher rate again.
Kitchen hand rates, under each award.
The same four classifications under both awards, published side by side so you can read the one that covers your venue instead of taking the first figure a search returns. Neither table is the default.
Restaurant Industry Award 2020 (MA000119)
1 July 2026 · PR799399
Restaurants, cafes and similar food service businesses. Read from the minimum rates table at the Fair Work award library.
| Classification | Weekly | Hourly | Casual hourly | Take-home a year |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Introductory Levelentering the industry with no relevant experience | $978.10 | $25.74 | $32.18 | $44,066 |
| Level 1kitchen attendant grade 1 | $1,004.90 | $26.44 | $33.05 | $45,013 |
| Level 2kitchen attendant grade 2 | $1,029.10 | $27.08 | $33.85 | $45,869 |
| Level 3kitchen attendant grade 3 | $1,062.90 | $27.97 | $34.96 | $47,064 |
Hospitality Industry (General) Award 2020 (MA000009)
1 July 2026 · PR799290
Hotels, pubs, motels, resorts and catering. Read from the minimum rates table at the Fair Work award library.
| Classification | Weekly | Hourly | Casual hourly | Take-home a year |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Introductory levelentering the industry with no relevant experience | $978.10 | $25.74 | $32.18 | $44,066 |
| Level 1kitchen attendant grade 1 | $1,004.90 | $26.44 | $33.05 | $45,013 |
| Level 2kitchen attendant grade 2 | $1,029.10 | $27.08 | $33.85 | $45,869 |
| Level 3kitchen attendant grade 3 | $1,062.90 | $27.97 | $34.96 | $47,064 |
Hourly figures are the weekly rate over 38 ordinary hours. Take-home is an estimate for a single Australian resident for tax purposes with no study loan debt and no Medicare levy surcharge, worked out with the same Wage Calculator used across this site. Superannuation is paid by your employer on top of these rates and is never deducted from them.
Which award covers a kitchen hand.
There is no single answer. Coverage follows the business. The Restaurant Industry Award 2020 (MA000119) covers restaurants, cafes and similar food service businesses. The Hospitality Industry (General) Award 2020 (MA000009) covers hotels, pubs, motels, resorts, caterers and accommodation. A registered or licensed club is covered by neither: it has its own award, with its own classifications and rates, on the Clubs Award Pay Rates page.
Neither award uses the words kitchen hand. Both classify the work as a kitchen attendant, in three grades, sitting at Levels 1, 2 and 3 of the minimum rates table. Below grade 1 both awards carry an introductory classification, for an employee entering the industry with no relevant experience, which an employee moves off after a limited period set in the award. That is why four rows appear in each table rather than three.
The two awards currently set the same minimum weekly rate for each of these classifications, so which one covers you does not change the base rate. It does change the penalty rates, overtime, allowances and classification structure that sit around it. The classifications above this band are where the two awards genuinely diverge, because the restaurant award carries a cooking apprentice scale and the hospitality award carries a separate casino gaming scale. Both are on their own award pages, and the hospitality one is on the Hospitality Award Pay Rates page.
Award rates are also only the floor. Large hotel groups, contract caterers and several restaurant chains operate under enterprise agreements that set their own rates and rosters, and where one applies it is that agreement, not either award, that governs the payslip.
Every classification in this award, including the ones this page leaves out, is listed on the Restaurant Award Pay Rates page.
Where these figures come from.
Provenance
Verified- Award
- Restaurant Industry Award 2020 and Hospitality Industry (General) Award 2020 (MA000119 and MA000009)
- Effective from
- 1 July 2026
- Consolidated to
- 1 July 2026
- Determinations
- PR799280, PR799399, PR799554, PR799290, PR799447
- Retrieved
- 6 September 2026
- Ordinary hours
- 38 a week
Every rate above was read from the award text at the Fair Work award library and nothing on this page is copied from another pay site. Rates change from the first full pay period on or after the effective date, so a payslip covering the changeover can lawfully carry the older figure for part of the period.
What this page does not cover.
Listed as plainly as what it does, because a rate page that hides its gaps is how the wrong number ends up on a payslip.
Junior rates
This page publishes adult rates. Where an award sets a junior percentage of the adult rate, this site does not publish it, so do not read a figure here as the minimum for an employee under 21. Kitchen hand work is worked by employees under 21 more than most, so this gap matters here.
Penalty rates, overtime and allowances
Evening, weekend, public holiday, overtime, split shift, meal and laundry entitlements are set separately in each award and are not in these tables.
Cook and chef grades
The cook grades sit above the kitchen attendant grades in both awards. The hospitality cook and chef scale is published on this site; the restaurant one is on its award page.
Clubs and other venue awards
A registered or licensed club, a fast food outlet and a hospital or aged care kitchen are each covered by a different award again, with different rates.
Enterprise agreements
Large hotel groups, contract caterers and several restaurant chains run registered agreements that displace the award rate, and those are not published here.
Market or advertised pay
This page publishes the award floor only. It is not an average, a median, or what a given venue actually offers.
Kitchen Hand Pay Rate questions, answered.
How much do kitchen hands get paid in Australia?
$26.44 an hour at kitchen attendant grade 1, which is Level 1 in both the Restaurant Industry Award 2020 and the Hospitality Industry (General) Award 2020, or $1,004.90 a week for 38 ordinary hours. Grade 3, the top kitchen attendant grade, is $27.97 an hour. Someone entering the industry with no relevant experience can lawfully start below grade 1, on the introductory classification, at $25.74 an hour. The two awards currently set the same minimum weekly rate for each of these classifications, so which one covers you does not change the base rate. It does change the penalty rates, overtime, allowances and classification structure that sit around it.
What is the hourly rate for a kitchen hand in NSW?
The same as everywhere else in Australia. Both awards that cover kitchen hand work are national instruments, so $26.44 an hour at kitchen attendant grade 1 applies in New South Wales, Victoria, Queensland, Western Australia, South Australia, Tasmania and both territories alike. There is no state kitchen hand rate. What does change from job to job is which of the two awards covers the venue, whether an enterprise agreement displaces the award, and the penalty rates for the hours actually rostered.
What is the new pay rate for 2026?
From the first full pay period on or after the effective date shown against each table above, kitchen attendant grade 1 is $26.44 an hour, or $1,004.90 a week, and grade 3 is $27.97 an hour. A casual at grade 1 is $33.05 an hour with the 25 per cent loading. Because the increase applies from the first full pay period on or after that date rather than on the date itself, a payslip covering the changeover can lawfully carry the older figure for part of the period, which is the most common reason a payslip disagrees with a published rate in July.
Is kitchen hand a job title?
It is a job title, but it is not the title either award uses, which is why searching for it returns figures that do not line up. Both awards classify the work as a kitchen attendant, in three grades, and it is the grade on your payslip rather than the words "kitchen hand" that sets the rate. Dishwasher, kitchen porter, kitchen assistant and kitchen team member all describe the same classification. If your payslip names a level rather than a grade, read the rate straight off the table for the award that covers your venue.
Which award covers a kitchen hand, the restaurant award or the hospitality award?
It depends on the business, not the job. A kitchen hand in a restaurant or cafe is covered by the Restaurant Industry Award 2020 (MA000119). A kitchen hand in a hotel, pub, motel, resort or catering business is covered by the Hospitality Industry (General) Award 2020 (MA000009). A kitchen hand in a registered or licensed club is covered by a third award again. The two awards currently set the same minimum weekly rate for each of these classifications, so which one covers you does not change the base rate. It does change the penalty rates, overtime, allowances and classification structure that sit around it. Neither award is a safe default, which is why both tables are published on this page rather than one.
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