Chef

A Chef plans menus, prepares and cooks food to specification in commercial kitchens, and manages kitchen operations and staff. They work in restaurants, hotels, catering establishments, and institutional settings, ensuring food quality, safety, and consistency while controlling food costs and kitchen efficiency.

Plan menus based on ingredient availability, dietary requirements, seasonal produce, and customer preferences. Prepare mise en place by washing, peeling, chopping, and portioning ingredients prior to service. Cook food using various methods including grilling, frying, baking, steaming, and sauce preparation to specification. Supervise and direct kitchen staff including commis chefs and kitchen assistants during food preparation and service. Monitor and maintain food safety standards including temperature control, cross-contamination prevention, and hygiene practices in accordance with Food Standards Australia and New Zealand (FSANZ) requirements. Manage kitchen inventory by monitoring stock levels, placing orders with suppliers, and rotating ingredients to minimise waste. Cost recipes and analyse food costs to maintain profit margins and control expenditure. Train and mentor kitchen staff on cooking techniques, food handling procedures, and kitchen safety protocols.

The standard entry pathway requires a diploma, advanced diploma or associate degree (ABS skill level 2). Specific qualification requirements vary by employer and state. Some employers may accept equivalent experience. Check yourcareer.gov.au for available courses and dewr.gov.au/skills-reform/free-tafe for subsidised training options.

The pay ceiling is real and low compared to other skilled trades. You'll also face long, physical days on your feet, weekend and evening work as standard, and the stress of getting orders out during service. Kitchen work is intense and unforgiving: mistakes cost money and damage reputation.

Hospitality is heavily metro-based. Some work exists in country towns and mining regions, but options are limited. Remote work doesn't apply to this role.

Published for ANZSCO unit group 3513, the wider group this job sits in, not for this job on its own.

This is the median for full-time employees who are not managers and are paid at the adult rate, before tax and salary sacrifice. It is a guide to what the work pays, not a wage rate.

Source: ABS Survey of Employee Earnings and Hours, May 2025, customised report.

• Adaptability and Flexibilitycore
• Attention to Detailcore
• Cultural Awareness and Sensitivitycore
• Inventory Trackingcore
• Multitaskingcore
• Policy and Procedure Adherencecore
• Problem Solvingcore
• Quality Assurance and Checkingcore
• Risk Identificationcore
• Team Collaborationcore
• Time Management and Prioritisationcore
• Verbal Communicationcore
• Workflow Prioritisationcore
• Workload Self-Managementcore
• Basic Arithmetic and Numerical Accuracy
• Check deliveries on receipt
• Continuous Learning and Upskilling
• Goal Setting and Planning
• Incident Reporting
• Process Improvement Identification
• Rostering and Scheduling Support
• Stock Counting and Stocktake
• Supplier Communication

• ABS OSCA 2024, occupation definition and task statements
• ABS Survey of Employee Earnings and Hours, May 2025, customised report.
• ABS, 2021 Census of Population and Housing based on usual place of residence (Custom Report). OSCA Experimental Estimates.

Role data is drawn from official Australian Government sources, and each figure names where it comes from. Where a role is not in the ABS classification, the page shows no government figures for it. Data may not reflect every local variation.

Where our numbers come from.

What Chef workers move into, from ten years of tax records.

Last updated: 30 October 2026