Hospitality Compliance Checklist: What Cafe and Restaurant Owners Must Get Right in 2026

Estimated read time: 7 minutes · Last updated April 2026

If you run a cafe, restaurant or pub with casual staff, the stakes just went up. Since 1 January 2025, intentional wage underpayment has been a criminal offence in Australia, and civil penalties now reach up to $495,000 per contravention for an individual (or three times the underpayment, whichever is greater). For serious contraventions the ceiling is $4,950,000. Hospitality is one of the most audited industries in the country, and the Fair Work Ombudsman knows exactly where owners usually get it wrong.

The difficulty is not that owners are careless. The difficulty is that hospitality pay is genuinely complicated: three different awards can apply to the same venue, weekend and public holiday loadings stack, split shifts attract allowances, and a high-turnover casual workforce means more payroll runs, more super liabilities, and more chances for a small mistake to compound.

This checklist runs through what you need to get right in 2026, with links to the authoritative Fair Work sources for each item.

Step 1: Confirm which award applies

A single hospitality business can sit under more than one Modern Award, depending on what it sells and how. Get this wrong and every pay rate you calculate after it is also wrong.

• Restaurant Industry Award (MA000119) covers restaurants, cafes, and similar venues where table service is the core offering. See the Restaurant Award summary.
• Hospitality Industry (General) Award (MA000009) covers hotels, pubs, clubs, motels, and most accommodation venues. See the Hospitality Award summary.
• Fast Food Industry Award (MA000003) covers fast food outlets and takeaway-focused businesses where service is counter-based rather than at-table. [VERIFY LINK: Fast Food Award summary page on fairwork.gov.au]

A pub that also runs a bistro may need to manage both the Hospitality Award and the Restaurant Award depending on each employee’s duties. When in doubt, start with the Find my award tool and cross-reference with the Restaurant and cafes industry help page.

Step 2: Pay the correct base rate for the correct classification

Every award sets out classification levels with separate minimum rates. A Level 1 Food and Beverage Attendant is paid differently to a Cook Grade 3. Rates change each 1 July following the Annual Wage Review, so never hardcode a figure in your payroll system and forget about it.

Use the Fair Work pay calculator and the official pay guides to confirm the right rate for each role and update them annually.

Step 3: Apply penalty rates correctly

Penalty rates for evenings, weekends and public holidays are where most hospitality underpayments happen. The Restaurant and Hospitality Awards both set their own specific loadings, and they apply on top of the casual loading for casual staff.

Do not hardcode percentage numbers into your payroll system from memory. Check the penalty rates hub and the public holiday penalty rates page, then verify against the specific award summary.

Common traps:

• Treating a public holiday as an ordinary Sunday.
• Applying the weekday evening loading to weekend shifts instead of the weekend rate.
• Paying a “flat rate” that absorbs penalties without a compliant annualised wage arrangement or individual flexibility agreement.

Step 4: Handle casual staff properly

Casuals in hospitality carry a casual loading on top of the base rate. You cannot absorb it into a flat hourly figure without a signed, compliant arrangement. See the Fair Work casual employees page for the current rules on engagement, conversion and record-keeping.

Since the 2024 Closing Loopholes changes, eligible casuals can request conversion to permanent employment after a qualifying period. You must have a documented response process. See the Closing Loopholes hub.

Step 5: Split shifts, uniforms and meal breaks

Hospitality award entitlements go beyond the hourly rate. Most owners miss at least one of these:

• Split shift allowances apply when an employee works a broken shift with an unpaid gap.
• Uniform or laundry allowances apply if you require specific clothing the employee has to buy or maintain.
• Meal breaks are prescribed minimums based on shift length, and failing to provide them can trigger additional payments.

Each of these is spelled out in the award. Cross-check against the allowances and penalty rates page and the specific award summary.

Step 6: Prepare for Payday Super from 1 July 2026

This one matters more in hospitality than almost any other industry. From 1 July 2026, super must be paid every payday rather than quarterly, and contributions must reach the employee’s fund within seven business days after payday. Venues with weekly or fortnightly pay runs and large casual rosters will be running super many more times per year than they do now.

Start the preparation now:

• Review your ATO Payday Super checklist.
• If you use the Small Business Superannuation Clearing House, note that it closed to new users on 1 October 2025 and will close entirely on 30 June 2026. Choose a commercial clearing house now.
• Check your payroll software is ready for the seven-business-day rule. See the ATO payment deadlines page.

Step 7: Know the criminal risk

Since 1 January 2025, intentional underpayment is a criminal offence. See the Fair Work Ombudsman’s summary of the new laws and the criminal prosecution page.

If you are a small business and have genuinely tried to do the right thing, the Voluntary Small Business Wage Compliance Code can protect you from criminal referral. Compliance with the Code is not automatic — you must be able to show it.

Disclaimer: This is general compliance guidance, not legal advice.