Australia's hospitality and tourism sector is in sustained revival. ABS data (May 2026) shows hospitality and tourism account for approximately 6.4% of total national employment — roughly 943,000 workers. The return of international students and working holiday makers has restored some labour supply, but demand remains high, particularly for experienced front-of-house staff, sous chefs, and hotel management. Hays Australia's FY26/27 Salary Guide identifies hospitality management as among the hardest roles to fill in the service sector.
Format and length
| Element | Standard |
|---|---|
| Length | 1 page for FOH and kitchen hand roles. 2 pages for chefs, managers, and functions coordinators. |
| Layout | Single column — clean and readable |
| Photo | Do not include |
Essential AU hospitality certifications
- RSA (Responsible Service of Alcohol): Mandatory for any role serving or supervising alcohol. State-specific. Include card number, state, and expiry.
- Food Safety Supervisor Certificate: Mandatory for supervisors in food service. Required in NSW, QLD, VIC, SA, and WA. Include RTO and expiry.
- First Aid Certificate: Required for supervisory and management roles.
- Barista certification: Note your machine experience (La Marzocca, Synesso) and milk technique — highly valued in Australia's specialty coffee culture.
Kitchen and chef resumes
For culinary roles, AU kitchen employers want to see: cuisine specialisation, commercial kitchen scale (covers per service, brigade size), your TAFE qualifications (Certificate III in Commercial Cookery SIT30821 or Certificate IV in Kitchen Management SIT40521), dietary specialism, and food costing experience.
Achievement bullet examples
- Led FOH team of 14 across 3 floors of a 200-cover Sydney CBD restaurant, maintaining 4.7/5 Google rating across 1,200+ reviews
- Reduced food waste by 23% over 8 months through improved prep scheduling and portion control training for kitchen brigade of 11
- Coordinated 47 corporate events in 12 months (average 80 covers) with 100% on-time delivery and zero critical incident reports
Sources: ABS Labour Force Australia May 2026; Hays Australia Salary Guide FY26/27; SEEK AU hospitality vacancy data (July 2026); Food Standards Australia New Zealand (FSANZ) food safety requirements (2026)
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