Kitchen Hand
A kitchen hand keeps a commercial kitchen running by prepping ingredients, washing equipment and resetting the space so the cooks can stay on the pans.
- Median salary
- $67,200
4.2%vs last year, before tax
- People employed
- 149,500
1.0%vs last year
- Projected growth
- +8.8%
to 2035
- AI exposure*
- Low
- automation risk
- Average hours
- 42/wk
+2h vs all jobs
- Shortage status*
- Not in shortage
national
Kitchen hands work in restaurant, café, pub, hotel, hospital and aged care kitchens, handling the cleaning, prep and stock work that keeps service moving. The job is often confused with a cook's, but a kitchen hand does not build the dishes on the menu, even though the two roles work side by side and plenty of kitchen hands use the position as a way into cooking. Most kitchens run with a small team, so someone who learns the layout and the pace of service quickly becomes a person the cooks rely on.
How much do kitchen hands earn?
The median full-time salary for a kitchen hand is $67,200 per annum, before tax, up $14,100 since 2018.
Kitchen hand pay usually follows the hospitality industry award, so what you take home depends on when you work: evenings, weekends and public holidays attract penalty rates, and casual shifts carry a loading instead of paid leave. Venue type matters too, with hotel, hospital and aged care kitchens often paying above a small café, and the classification steps up once you take on more cooking or supervisory duties. Because so many kitchen hand jobs are part time or casual, two people on the same hourly rate can earn quite different weekly amounts.
What does a kitchen hand do day to day?
The list below is what fills most weeks; the exact mix shifts with seniority and whatever stage the current work is at.
- Working through a dish pit that keeps refilling all through service, at a pace much faster than washing up at home
- Knowing where every pot, pan and container lives so cooks never have to stop and search mid-service
- Receiving and checking deliveries against invoices, then rotating stock before it clutters the coolroom
- Prepping and portioning ahead of service so the line is not scrambling once the first orders come through
- Resetting benches, floors and bins between rushes so the kitchen is service-ready for the next order
What skills do kitchen hands need?
Employers look for food preparation and cooking, food safety and hygiene, cleaning and grounds maintenance, backed by Commercial dishwashing machine fluency and strong attention to detail.
Specialist skills
- Food preparation and cooking
- Food safety and hygiene
- Cleaning and grounds maintenance
Software and tools
- Commercial dishwashing machine
- Food preparation knives
- Cutting boards and prep tables
- Food storage containers
- Commercial cleaning chemicals and equipment
General skills
- Attention to detail
- Customer service
- Safety and compliance awareness
- Physical stamina and dexterity
- Written communication
Is the job growing?
About 149,500 people work as kitchen hands in Australia, and employment is projected to grow 8.8% over the decade to 2035. That's modest growth: demand is steady rather than booming.
How do you become a kitchen hand?
Here's the path most kitchen hands take, step by step.
- 1Get a food handler certificate
A short nationally recognised food safety course covers hygiene, temperature control and safe storage, and it is the qualification most kitchens ask about before you start. It takes a day or two and usually costs under a hundred dollars.
- 2Apply for entry level kitchen roles
No formal qualification is required, and most kitchen hands learn on the job in cafés, pubs, clubs, hotels, hospitals and aged care kitchens. Casual and part time shifts are common at the start, which is also how you find out whether the pace and the hours suit you.
- 3Learn the kitchen you work in
Knowing where stock lives, how the dish pit flows during service and what the cooks need before they ask is what turns a new starter into someone the team keeps on. Asking to help with basic prep is the usual way to build skills beyond cleaning.
- 4Train towards cook or barista work
A Certificate III in Commercial Cookery (SIT30821), usually through an apprenticeship, opens cook and chef roles, while a short barista course covers coffee service. Both build directly on the food safety and prep skills you already use.
Ready to apply as a kitchen hand?
Whether you're working toward becoming a kitchen hand or already are one and want a hand with the next step (sharpening your resume for ATS screening, tightening your cover letter, or knowing what you'll actually be asked at interview), here are examples grounded in this specific role, not generic templates.
What jobs can a kitchen hand move to?
Moving into Barista typically comes with the biggest pay rise, worth $10,800 a year more on average.
| Move to | Typical pay change | Overlap | Retraining |
|---|---|---|---|
| Barista Kitchen hands can become baristas, bringing food prep and hygiene to coffee service, with a short barista course.Known move | +$10,800 | 50% | short course |
| Cook Kitchen hands bring food prep, hygiene and kitchen workflow to cook roles, needing formal cookery training to step up.Known move | +$7,300 | 56% | reskill |
| Chef Kitchen hands bring basic prep and kitchen awareness to chef roles, but an apprenticeship is required to qualify.Known move | +$6,800 | 36% | requalify |
| Fast Food Cook Kitchen hands can move into fast food cook roles, using food prep and hygiene skills with little extra training.Known move | −$16,400 | 61% | minimal |
Moves are chosen from Jobs and Skills Australia's Data on Occupation Mobility, which follows income tax records between 2011-12 and 2020-21, together with entry requirements and skill overlap. A known move is one people were seen making in that data. Pay change compares median full-time pay for the two roles.
Who works as a kitchen hand?
The typical kitchen hand is 22 years old; 50% are women, 21% work full-time, and full-timers average 42 hours a week.
- 22
- Median age
- 50%
- Female share
- 21%
- Full-time
- +2h
- vs all-jobs avg
What's it like being a kitchen hand?
The work has a clear rhythm: quiet prep before service, a rush where the dish pit and the pass both demand attention, and a cleanup that resets the kitchen for the next sitting. Much of the job is physical and repetitive, and the pace is set by other people's orders rather than your own. It suits someone who likes a busy team environment, does not mind being on their feet, and prefers work that finishes when the shift finishes.
What people like
- You can start without qualifications. Most kitchen hands learn on the job, so the role is open to school leavers, people new to Australia and anyone who needs work quickly.
- Good work gets noticed. A kitchen hand who keeps up during a rush becomes someone the cooks ask for by name, and that reputation travels between venues.
- It is a known way into cooking. Working alongside cooks makes the next step visible, and the skills you build in prep and hygiene carry straight into a cookery apprenticeship.
- Every kitchen is a different workplace. Pubs, cafés, hotels, hospitals and aged care homes all run kitchens with their own rhythms, so the same job can look quite different depending on where you take it.
What people find hard
- The dish pit does not stop during service. Racks arrive faster than you can clear them, and staying on top of the pile is most of the job in a busy venue.
- Hot, wet and on your feet. Shifts are spent standing, bending and lifting near steam and hot water, and a full week of it is tiring in a way desk work is not.
- Split shifts and irregular rosters. Evenings, weekends and public holidays are normal, and many kitchen hand jobs are part time with shifts that break in the middle of the day.
- The least appealing jobs come to you first. Peeling, scrubbing and bin runs fall to the kitchen hand before anyone else, and slow periods can fill up with repetitive prep.
Based on our synthesis of professional-body surveys and public accounts of the role, not first-person verified reviews.
Which industries employ kitchen hands?
Accommodation and Food Services employs the largest share of kitchen hands, followed by Health Care and Social Assistance.
Top employing industries
- 1Accommodation and Food Services
- 2Health Care and Social Assistance
Ranked by employment share; the source doesn't publish an exact percentage per industry.
| Year 12 or below | 67.7% | |
|---|---|---|
| Certificate III/IV | 10.6% | |
| Bachelor degree | 8.2% | |
| Diploma / Advanced Diploma | 6.3% | |
| Postgraduate | 2.9% |
Will AI replace kitchen hands?
Kitchen hand work rates as low exposure to AI and automation, because almost all of it happens with your hands in a live kitchen. Commercial dishwashers, kitchen display screens and stock systems have changed how the work is organised, and self ordering kiosks have reduced some front of house paperwork, but none of it loads the racks, scrubs the pots or resets the benches.
Share of typical working time by exposure level
- Dishwashing and cleaning down the kitchenCommercial machines speed up the racks, but pots, pans, benches and floors still need a person working through them during and after service.35%low
- Basic food preparation and portioningPeeling, chopping and portioning ingredients for the cooks depends on hands, eyes and a feel for consistency that a fixed blade does not match.30%low
- Receiving deliveries and rotating stockStock systems and invoice scanning flag what has arrived and what is running low, but someone still checks the delivery, dates the containers and moves stock into the coolroom.20%moderate
- Keeping temperature and cleaning recordsDigital checklists and fridge sensors now log temperatures and cleaning schedules automatically, so this part of the job is shrinking to confirming and signing off what the system recorded.15%high
Common questions about becoming a kitchen hand
Straight answers to the questions people ask most.
How much does a kitchen hand earn?
Kitchen hands earn a median of $67,200 per year before tax when working full time, which works out at around $1,292 a week. Award penalty rates for nights, weekends and public holidays, casual loadings and the type of venue all change what you actually take home. Treat the figure as a guide, since part time and casual work is common in this job.
How do you become a kitchen hand?
Apply directly to cafés, pubs, clubs, hotels and aged care kitchens, since no formal qualification is needed and most training happens on the job. A short food handler certificate helps your application, because it shows you know the hygiene rules before you set foot in a commercial kitchen. From there, the work itself teaches you the pace, the layout and the prep skills that lead to better shifts.
Do you need a certificate to work as a kitchen hand?
You do not need a certificate to start, but a short food safety course is what most employers ask for. It covers hygiene, temperature control and safe food storage and can be finished in a day or two. Some venues, particularly hospitals and aged care kitchens, will expect it before your first shift.
Are kitchen hands in demand in Australia?
Kitchen hands are currently not in shortage, and employment across the occupation is projected to grow 8.8% over the decade to 2035. For someone looking for work, the practical point is that entry level kitchen shifts are advertised year round, often part time or casual and often in hospitality venues close to where you live.
Will AI or automation replace kitchen hands?
Kitchen hand work rates as low exposure to AI and automation, because almost all of it happens with your hands in a live kitchen. Commercial dishwashers, kitchen display screens and stock systems have changed how the work is organised, and self ordering kiosks have cut some front of house paperwork, but nothing automated loads the racks, scrubs the pots or resets the benches.
What can a kitchen hand move into next?
The usual next step is a cook role, which needs formal cookery training through a Certificate III and pays $7,300 more. Barista work needs only a short course and pays $10,800 more, while fast food cook roles use much the same skills and pay $16,400 less. Kitchen hands rarely run their own business, so progression tends to come through moving into cooking rather than self employment.
Related roles
Not sure this is you? Take the career quiz and get a ranked shortlist of roles that fit how you like to work.