Restaurant Manager
A restaurant manager runs the day-to-day business of a dining venue, from service on the floor to the rosters, stock and budgets behind it.
- Median salary
- $85,500
3.5%vs last year, before tax
- People employed
- 63,700
0.2%vs last year
- Projected growth
- +7.2%
to 2035
- AI exposure*
- Moderate
- automation risk
- Average hours
- 46/wk
+6h vs all jobs
- Shortage status
- Not in shortage
national
Restaurant managers split their time between the floor during service and the office work behind it: rosters, ordering, budgets and compliance. Unlike a head chef, who owns the food, the manager owns the business around it, setting staffing levels, watching food and labour costs, and making sure the venue meets health and safety rules. Most work in independent restaurants, hotel dining rooms or multi-site groups, usually reporting to an owner or an area manager.
How much do restaurant managers earn?
The median full-time salary for a restaurant manager is $85,500 per annum, before tax, up $18,200 since 2018.
Pay varies with the venue and the agreement it sits under, so an award-based cafe and a large licensed restaurant with functions can sit at different points on the range. Weekend, public holiday and late-night penalty rates lift the total where the award applies, and some employers pay an annualised salary that folds those loadings into one figure. Experience, the size of the team you run and any performance bonus move pay more than years on the job alone.
What does a restaurant manager 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 the floor during service, watching the kitchen pass and covering gaps when someone calls in sick
- Handling a customer complaint on the spot, including deciding whether a dish comes off the bill
- Checking deliveries, counting stock and adjusting portion sizes or menu prices when food costs climb
- Building rosters that fit a tight labour budget around weekends, public holidays and seasonal peaks
- Training and supervising a young, often casual front-of-house and kitchen team, and stepping in when a shift falls apart
What skills do restaurant managers need?
Employers look for budgeting and forecasting, financial analysis and modelling, operations management, backed by Point of Sale (POS) systems fluency and strong people leadership.
Specialist skills
- Budgeting and forecasting
- Financial analysis and modelling
- Operations management
Software and tools
- Point of Sale (POS) systems
- Restaurant management software (Toast, Square, TouchBistro)
- Microsoft Excel
- Scheduling software (Deputy, Toast)
- Inventory management systems
General skills
- People leadership
- Customer service
- Problem solving
- Attention to detail
Is the job growing?
About 63,700 people work as restaurant managers in Australia, and employment is projected to grow 7.2% over the decade to 2035. That's modest growth: demand is steady rather than booming.
How do you become a restaurant manager?
Here's the path most restaurant managers take, step by step.
- 1Get a paid start on the floor
Waiting, bar or kitchen work teaches service flow, point of sale systems and how a busy shift fits together, and it is the usual way in. Most managers spent time in these jobs before moving up.
- 2Take on supervisory shifts and the required certificates
A responsible service of alcohol certificate and a food safety supervisor certificate are needed to manage a licensed venue. Duty manager shifts, cash-up and ordering build the record an employer looks for.
- 3Study hospitality management
A Certificate III or IV or a diploma in hospitality management covers rostering, budgets, stock control and licensing law, and it is a common route into a salaried role. Plenty of managers reach the job through experience alone.
- 4Move through assistant manager to manager
Most people step up to assistant or duty manager first, running shifts on their own and taking responsibility for labour cost and compliance. A manager role at a larger venue or within a group opens up more pay and multi-site options.
- 5Add a degree if you are aiming higher
A bachelor degree in business, commerce or hospitality management helps for area manager, operations or head office roles, and for anyone planning to open a venue of their own.
Ready to apply as a restaurant manager?
Whether you're working toward becoming a restaurant manager 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 restaurant manager move to?
Moving into Hotel Manager typically comes with the biggest pay rise, worth $9,500 a year more on average.
| Move to | Typical pay change | Overlap | Retraining |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hotel Manager Runs the whole property's food, rooms and staff, so restaurant management experience carries across with little formal retraining.Known move | +$9,500 | 80% | minimal |
| Store Manager Management of staff, stock and budgets transfers to retail, with a short course covering retail operations and compliance.Known move | −$1,300 | 47% | short course |
| Chef Kitchen and menu knowledge carries into the pass, though a full cookery apprenticeship is needed to work as a qualified chef.Known move | −$11,500 | 32% | requalify |
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 restaurant manager?
The typical restaurant manager is 38 years old; 50% are women, 77% work full-time, and full-timers average 46 hours a week.
- 38
- Median age
- 50%
- Female share
- 77%
- Full-time
- +6h
- vs all-jobs avg
What's it like being a restaurant manager?
The job runs on the rhythm of service: quiet prep, then a rush where every decision lands immediately. Managers carry the venue's numbers and its people at the same time, so a night that goes well and a night that costs too much in labour can be the same night. It suits someone who likes being in the middle of things and can stay steady while three problems arrive together.
What people like
- You see the result the same day. When a full room runs well, the feedback is immediate, from the kitchen timing to the last table leaving happy.
- The numbers respond to your decisions. Food and labour costs move with the rosters you write and the way dishes are portioned, so small changes show up in the profit line.
- You build a team. Training casual staff and watching them get good at the job is a large part of the satisfaction, especially when they move up behind you.
- No two shifts run the same. A broken fridge, a call-out or a large walk-in booking can reshape the day, which keeps the work varied for people who like solving problems on their feet.
What people find hard
- The hours land in the evenings. Full-time managers average 46 hours a week, and the busiest of those fall on nights, weekends and public holidays.
- You cop complaints that are not your fault. A long wait for a main, or a dish that is not what the customer expected, lands with you, and apologising while fixing it is part of the shift.
- Training is a constant loop. Casual hospitality staff move on often, so recruiting and training can take up more of the week than you expect.
- The margin is thin. Food and wage costs move with suppliers and award rates, so one quiet week can undo a good one.
Based on our synthesis of professional-body surveys and public accounts of the role, not first-person verified reviews.
Which industries employ restaurant managers?
Accommodation and Food Services employs the largest share of restaurant managers.
Top employing industries
- 1Accommodation and Food Services
Ranked by employment share; the source doesn't publish an exact percentage per industry.
| Year 12 or below | 34.1% | |
|---|---|---|
| Bachelor degree | 20.6% | |
| Certificate III/IV | 16.8% | |
| Diploma / Advanced Diploma | 16.3% | |
| Postgraduate | 7.2% |
Will AI replace restaurant managers?
Restaurant management is exposed to AI mainly in the administrative half of the job rather than on the floor. Rostering, inventory and sales reporting software now handles much of what managers once did on paper, and booking and point of sale platforms supply the data behind pricing and staffing decisions. Leading a team through a Friday night rush, settling a difficult customer and judging food quality still depend on a person being in the room.
Share of typical working time by exposure level
- Running service and leading the teamReading a full room, moving staff to where they are needed and settling a complaint at the table happen in person, on the night.35%low
- Rostering and labour cost planningTools such as Deputy draft schedules from sales forecasts, but managers still weigh up who can actually work, award conditions and the labour budget.25%moderate
- Stock control and supplier orderingInventory systems flag reorder points and track waste, which removes most of the counting, though someone still checks quality on delivery and negotiates with suppliers.20%moderate
- Sales reporting, pricing and adminPoint of sale platforms produce daily sales, margin and menu-mix reports automatically, so the time goes on reading them rather than building them.20%high
Moves least exposed to AI
These career moves from restaurant manager work are rated low for AI exposure:
- Chef
Some skill overlap (32%), requalify to get there, and a low automation-risk profile.
Common questions about becoming a restaurant manager
Straight answers to the questions people ask most.
How much does a restaurant manager earn in Australia?
Restaurant managers earn a median of $85,500 per year before tax, based on full-time figures for the role. Pay varies with the size of the venue and the agreement it sits under, and with whether the package includes penalty rates and a bonus.
How do you become a restaurant manager?
Most people start in waiting, bar or kitchen work and step up through supervisor and assistant manager roles, learning rosters, ordering and budgets along the way. A responsible service of alcohol certificate and a food safety supervisor certificate are needed to run a licensed venue, and a Certificate IV or diploma in hospitality management is common but not essential.
Are restaurant managers in demand in Australia?
Restaurant managers are currently not in shortage, and employment is projected to grow 7.2% over the decade to 2035 over the decade to 2035. About 63,700 people work in the role, and because hospitality staff change jobs often, openings appear regularly as people move on or new venues open.
Will AI replace restaurant managers?
Parts of the job are already automated: rostering software drafts schedules, inventory systems flag stock to reorder, and point of sale platforms produce the sales reports a manager once compiled by hand. The floor is harder to hand over, because reading a room, calming a customer and judging whether a new hire will cope on a Friday night are human calls. The tools tend to take over the paperwork rather than the managing, which pushes the job further towards people and decisions.
What can a restaurant manager move into?
Hotel management is one route, where food, rooms and staff come under a single role and pay is typically $9,500 more than restaurant manager pay, with little formal retraining needed. Retail store management draws on the same staffing and stock skills and pays $1,300 less, with a short course covering retail operations and compliance. Moving the other way into the kitchen means a full cookery apprenticeship to work as a qualified chef.
Can a restaurant manager end up owning a venue?
Yes, and it is a common progression: managers often go on to run or buy a restaurant of their own after a few years in charge. Ownership is usually where earnings grow, though the capital and the risk sit with you rather than an employer.
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