Hospitality salaries · MA000009
Kitchen Hand Salary in Australia
Pay for kitchen hand roles in Australia depends on the venue, your experience, and the hours and shifts you work — for shift-based roles, nights, weekends and public holidays often carry penalty rates, and casual work a loading in place of paid leave. On Tavro the pay is shown on every kitchen hand listing, so you can see what a role actually pays before you apply.
Fair Work award base rate
Award base — full-time
$26.44/hr
Award base — casual
$33.05/hr
Full-time (annual)
$52,245/yr
MA000009 base rate (classification L1), effective 1 July 2026. Excludes evening, weekend, public-holiday and overtime penalties — verify your classification at fairwork.gov.au.
What kitchen hands actually earn on Tavro
$28.50/hr
Median advertised rate across 6 live kitchen hand listings on Tavro.
Kitchen Hand pay — frequently asked questions
What is the award rate for a kitchen hand in Australia?
Under the Fair Work Hospitality Industry (General) Award (MA000009), the base rate for a kitchen hand is about $26.44/hr full-time, or $33.05/hr casual (which includes the 25% casual loading), as at 1 July 2026. These are base weekday rates — evening, weekend, public-holiday and overtime penalties are paid on top.
How much does a kitchen hand earn per year?
A full-time kitchen hand on the award base rate earns roughly $52,245 per year before penalties, superannuation and overtime. Actual pay varies by venue, experience and hours — on Tavro every listing shows the salary upfront.
Do kitchen hands get penalty rates?
Yes. The figures above are base rates only. Under MA000009, hospitality staff are generally entitled to higher rates for evenings, weekends, public holidays and overtime. Check your exact entitlements at fairwork.gov.au.
Looking for kitchen hand work?
Every listing shows the salary upfront — no guessing.