Chef
Chefs plan the menu, cost the dishes and run the kitchen that turns raw ingredients into the food a restaurant, hotel or catering business serves.
- Median salary
- $74,000
4.4%vs last year, before tax
- People employed
- 133,400
1.4%vs last year
- Projected growth
- +12.5%
to 2035
- AI exposure*
- Low
- automation risk
- Average hours
- 43/wk
+3h vs all jobs
- Shortage status
- Not in shortage
national
Chefs run a professional kitchen, from planning and costing the menu to supervising the cooks and kitchen hands who prepare it. The role differs from a cook, who works to someone else's recipes and instructions, because a chef sets the standard, orders the stock and carries responsibility for what leaves the kitchen. Most work in restaurants, hotels or catering businesses, usually moving up through sections before running a kitchen of their own.
How much do chefs earn?
The median full-time salary for a chef is $74,000 per annum, before tax, up $15,600 since 2018.
What a chef takes home depends on the venue and the award or enterprise agreement it uses, with penalty rates for nights, weekends and public holidays lifting the base rate. Hatted restaurants, hotels and large catering operations generally pay above the award, and moving up to sous chef or head chef brings more responsibility and more money. Smaller owner-operated venues often pay closer to the award rate.
What does a chef 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.
- Running the pass through a dinner service, checking every order as it leaves so the plates are right, timed and consistent
- Building menus around what is in season and available, then costing each dish so it still makes money at the price it sells for
- Keeping the kitchen team moving when orders pile up faster than the sections can keep pace
- Training junior cooks on technique and speed while still getting your own section out on time
- Managing suppliers, stock and waste so the kitchen doesn't run short mid-service or blow the food budget
What skills do chefs need?
Employers look for food preparation and cooking, food safety and hygiene, budgeting and forecasting, backed by Commercial cooking equipment fluency and strong people leadership.
Specialist skills
- Food preparation and cooking
- Food safety and hygiene
- Budgeting and forecasting
- Regulatory compliance
Software and tools
- Commercial cooking equipment
- Knives and food prep utensils
- Recipe management software
- POS and inventory systems
- Thermometers and food safety equipment
General skills
- People leadership
- Customer service
- Problem solving
- Attention to detail
Is the job growing?
About 133,400 people work as chefs in Australia, and employment is projected to grow 12.5% over the decade to 2035. That's healthy, above-average growth, and the role should stay in solid demand.
How do you become a chef?
Here's the path most chefs take, step by step.
- 1Start in a kitchen
Most chefs begin as an apprentice or a kitchen hand, doing prep, cleaning and basic cooking while they learn how a service actually runs. Apprenticeships are paid, so you earn while you train.
- 2Complete a Certificate III in Commercial Cookery
This is the trade qualification most employers ask for, usually finished through an apprenticeship over about three years. It covers food safety, cookery techniques and kitchen operations, and it sits underneath everything that follows.
- 3Work across the sections
Moving through commis chef, chef de partie and sous chef roles builds the speed and range senior kitchens look for. Experience on different sections, from grill to pastry, counts for more than years spent in one spot.
- 4Add management training to run a kitchen
A Certificate IV in Kitchen Management (SIT40521) or a Diploma of Hospitality Management (SIT50422) covers rosters, budgets, stock and staff, which is what head chef and kitchen management roles ask for.
- 5Specialise or branch out
Pastry, butchery, catering and food safety auditing are all options from a cookery base, and some chefs use the management qualification to move into venue or operations roles.
Ready to apply as a chef?
Whether you're working toward becoming a chef 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 chef move to?
Moving into Restaurant Manager typically comes with the biggest pay rise, worth $11,500 a year more on average.
| Move to | Typical pay change | Overlap | Retraining |
|---|---|---|---|
| Restaurant Manager Chefs bring kitchen leadership, menu costing and team supervision to restaurant management, with additional business operations study.Known move | +$11,500 | 32% | reskill |
| Cafe Manager Chefs bring kitchen leadership, stock control and menu costing to cafe management, though business operations training is needed.Known move | +$11,500 | 39% | reskill |
| Cook Chefs bring advanced menu planning and kitchen skills to cook roles, with a short cookery qualification bridging the move.Known move | +$500 | 50% | short course |
| Pastry Chef Chefs bring broad savoury and kitchen management skills to pastry work, but patisserie training is needed for desserts and baking.Known move | −$300 | 33% | reskill |
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 chef?
The typical chef is 34 years old; 70% are men, 78% work full-time, and full-timers average 43 hours a week.
- 34
- Median age
- 30%
- Female share
- 78%
- Full-time
- +3h
- vs all-jobs avg
What's it like being a chef?
A chef's week is shaped by service: prep in the morning, a rush at lunch or dinner, then cleaning down and starting again. Full-time chefs average 43 hours a week, and the work rarely fits a nine-to-five, so nights, weekends and public holidays are the busiest times. It suits people who like working with their hands, want to see the result of their work leave the pass, and enjoy the rhythm of a small team under pressure.
What people like
- You see the result straight away. A dish goes out and comes back empty, or it comes back untouched, and you know within minutes whether it worked.
- The kitchen is a close team. Service only runs if the sections work together, which builds a particular kind of working relationship between people who spend long shifts side by side.
- Room to make the menu your own. Once you are senior enough, deciding what goes on the menu and how it is cooked is a genuine creative outlet, whether that is a seasonal change or a signature dish.
- Skills that travel. Cookery and food safety training is recognised across Australia and overseas, so the work moves with you if you change cities or countries.
What people find hard
- The hours land on nights, weekends and public holidays. Those are the busiest service times, so the job regularly clashes with family occasions and social plans.
- Heat, noise and time on your feet. A commercial kitchen is hot and loud, and most of a shift is spent standing, lifting and moving between stations.
- Service leaves no room to slow down. When the dining room is full, a mistake at one section backs up every other section, and there is no pause to fix it in.
- Thin margins keep food cost in mind. Ingredient prices move, so a dish that stops making money has to be reworked or taken off the menu, even when it sells well.
Based on our synthesis of professional-body surveys and public accounts of the role, not first-person verified reviews.
Which industries employ chefs?
Accommodation and Food Services employs the largest share of chefs.
Top employing industries
- 1Accommodation and Food Services
Ranked by employment share; the source doesn't publish an exact percentage per industry.
| Certificate III/IV | 37.3% | |
|---|---|---|
| Diploma / Advanced Diploma | 22.3% | |
| Year 12 or below | 17.6% | |
| Bachelor degree | 14.4% | |
| Postgraduate | 3.6% |
Will AI replace chefs?
Chef work has low exposure to automation because the core of it happens with your hands in a hot kitchen, where timing, seasoning and consistency are judged on the spot. Kitchen management software and recipe costing tools already handle ordering, stocktakes and pricing, and rostering systems fill shifts, but none of that cooks or plates a dish. Technology mostly takes admin out of the week rather than replacing the work.
Share of typical working time by exposure level
- Cooking and plating during serviceDoneness, seasoning and timing are judged by sight, smell and touch as each order comes in, and no system tastes the sauce for you.40%low
- Training and supervising the kitchen teamShowing an apprentice how to break down a fish or run a section happens in person, on the job, over months rather than in a session.25%low
- Stock control and orderingInventory systems flag low stock and forecast usage from past sales, which saves paperwork, while a chef still checks quality and decides what the kitchen will actually use.20%moderate
- Menu planning and costingCosting software tracks food cost and can suggest a price, but the dish still has to be created, tested and adjusted for the kitchen it is cooked in.15%moderate
Common questions about becoming a chef
Straight answers to the questions people ask most.
How much do chefs earn in Australia?
Chefs earn a median of $74,000 per year before tax. What you take home depends on the venue, your level in the kitchen and whether you are covered by an award or an enterprise agreement, with penalty rates for nights, weekends and public holidays on top of the base rate.
How do you become a chef in Australia?
The usual route is a Certificate III in Commercial Cookery (SIT30821), completed through a paid apprenticeship that takes about three years. You can also start as a kitchen hand and move into an apprenticeship once you have shown you are reliable. After that, working across different sections and adding a Certificate IV or diploma is what opens up senior positions.
Are chefs in demand in Australia?
Chefs are currently not in shortage, and employment is projected to grow 12.5% over the decade to 2035. The trade is spread across restaurants, hotels, cafes and catering businesses rather than concentrated in one kind of venue, so the work is available in most sizeable towns and cities.
Will AI replace chefs?
Very little of the cooking can be automated, because seasoning, timing and plating are judged by sight, smell and touch as each order comes in. Kitchen software already handles stocktakes, ordering and recipe costing, which removes admin rather than the work itself. The most exposed parts of the job are the back-office tasks: inventory forecasting, rostering and costing spreadsheets.
What can a chef move into?
Chefs commonly move into restaurant or cafe management, where kitchen leadership and menu costing carry over and pay is about $11,500 more, though you take on rosters, budgets and front-of-house. Specialising as a pastry chef needs patisserie training and pays about $300 less. Many chefs eventually open their own restaurant, cafe or catering business, which is often where earnings grow.
Is being a chef stressful?
Service is genuinely pressured, particularly when the dining room fills faster than the kitchen can clear it, and the hours themselves are tiring. The pressure is at least predictable: it follows the same lunch and dinner peaks, and experience means fewer surprises in the middle of them.
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