Chef salary in Australia
The median full-time salary for a chef is $74,000 per annum, before tax, up $15,600 since 2018.
- Your rate comes from the award or enterprise agreement your employer uses, and from where you sit in the kitchen, since a head chef earns well above a chef de partie.
- Evening, weekend and public holiday shifts carry penalty rates that can lift a weekly pay packet noticeably, so ask whether extra hours are paid separately or already absorbed into the salary figure.
- Venue type matters as well: a large hotel group, a mine site camp or a busy fine dining room usually pays more than a small suburban cafe.
The median salary rose by $15,600 between 2018 and 2024; the dashed line shows a projection to 2028 based on the real ABS Wage Price Index growth rate, not a role-specific forecast.
Roles that pay more than chef
The largest typical pay rise is $11,500 a year, moving into Restaurant Manager.
- Restaurant Manager+$11,500/yr
- Cafe Manager+$11,500/yr
- Cook+$500/yr
How to negotiate a higher chef salary
- Know the market rate before you ask. The median full-time chef salary is $74,000; use that, not a guess, as your anchor, and adjust for your experience and employer.
- Use demand as leverage. Chefs are on the national skills shortage list, so employers are more likely to move on price to keep or attract someone in a role they're struggling to fill.
- Lead with what's scarce, not just tenure. Skills like Food preparation and cooking and Food safety and hygiene tend to command a premium over general chef experience, name them specifically when you ask.
- Bring a real alternative to the table. Restaurant Manager pays a typical $11,500 a year more and draws on similar skills, even mentioning you're weighing it up is a legitimate data point in a pay conversation.
- Time it deliberately. Reviews, the end of a project you delivered, or taking on responsibility beyond your job description are stronger moments to ask than an arbitrary date on the calendar.
- Ask for a number, not a raise. "Based on the market rate and [specific contribution], I'd like to move to X" gets a clearer answer than "I think I deserve more."
Chef salary questions
How much do chefs earn in Australia?
The median full-time salary for a chef is $74,000 a year before tax. Seniority, specialisation, sector and the award or agreement you're employed under all move it.
Is chef pay rising or falling?
The median chef salary is up $15,600 since 2018. Figures from 2025 onward on this page are a projection, not a measured result.
What pays more than chef?
Restaurant Manager pays a typical $11,500 a year more and draws on similar skills to chef.
Related salaries
- Restaurant Manager salary
- Cafe Manager salary
- Cook salary
- Pastry Chef salary
- Kitchen Hand salary
- Sous Chef salary
Pay advice
- Overtime pay, time in lieu and what your award saysOvertime rates come from your award or agreement, not one national rule. How rates work, what happens on a salary, and how time off in lieu works.
- How to ask for a pay rise, and back it up with real numbersWhat national wage growth looks like right now, how to work out a figure for your own role, wording you can adapt for the conversation, and what to do if the answer is no.
- The average salary in Australia (2026)Full-time adults in Australia averaged $2,083.70 a week in May 2026. Several measures get called the average salary, and this explains which one fits your situation.