Cook salary in Australia
The median full-time salary for a cook is $74,500 per annum, before tax, up $15,300 since 2018.
- What a cook takes home depends heavily on the employer.
- Hospitals, aged care providers and large caterers usually pay under enterprise agreements with set classifications, while small cafes and restaurants often pay award rates plus penalty rates for nights, weekends and public holidays.
- A Certificate III in Commercial Cookery and experience running a section are what move you into a higher classification.
The median salary rose by $15,300 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 cook
The largest typical pay rise is $11,000 a year, moving into Cafe Manager.
- Cafe Manager+$11,000/yr
- Restaurant Manager+$11,000/yr
How to negotiate a higher cook salary
- Know the market rate before you ask. The median full-time cook salary is $74,500; use that, not a guess, as your anchor, and adjust for your experience and employer.
- Use demand as leverage. Cooks 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 cook experience, name them specifically when you ask.
- Bring a real alternative to the table. Cafe Manager pays a typical $11,000 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."
Cook salary questions
How much do cooks earn in Australia?
The median full-time salary for a cook is $74,500 a year before tax. Seniority, specialisation, sector and the award or agreement you're employed under all move it.
Is cook pay rising or falling?
The median cook salary is up $15,300 since 2018. Figures from 2025 onward on this page are a projection, not a measured result.
What pays more than cook?
Cafe Manager pays a typical $11,000 a year more and draws on similar skills to cook.
Related salaries
- Chef salary
- Cafe Manager salary
- Restaurant Manager salary
- Pastry Chef salary
- Kitchen Hand salary
- Fast Food Cook salary
Pay advice
- 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.
- 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.