The Fair Work Ombudsman (FWO) is inspecting restaurants and cafes in Melbourne’s north-east this week to ensure workers are being paid correctly. It comes after anonymous reports and prior history of alleged non-compliance in the area.
Inspectors are targeting 27 food businesses in the Manningham City Council suburbs of Doncaster, Doncaster East, Bulleen, Templestowe, Park Orchards, and Warrandyte.
The investigation is part of FWO’s Food Precincts Program, which it developed to monitor venues in the food and beverage industry in areas of concern – primarily in ‘cheap eat’ destinations.
The program was because of FWO concerns about environments that could lead to systemic non-compliance. Contributing factors include high rates of labour turnover, readily accessible workforces, and menu prices that appear ‘too good to be true’.
The program has already seen investigators recover hundreds of thousands of dollars from businesses on behalf of workers across the country, in regions including Brisbane’s West End, Sydney’s Glebe Point Road, Darwin City, and Melbourne’s South East.
According to the ANZSCO 2024 Labour Force Survey, the median age of café workers is 23, and 78 per cent of the workforce is female. Additionally, 2021 census data showed that the most common industry of employment is food and beverage services for temporary visa holders in Australia. About a fifth of Australia’s chefs, waiters, café staff, and bar staff are on some form of temporary visa.
Fair Work Ombudsman Anna Booth says the agency is prioritising the assistance of ‘at risk’ workers, specifically these young people and temporary visa holders who make up a large share of the workforce.
“The fast food, restaurants and cafés sector employs many young workers and visa holders who can be unaware of their workplace rights or unwilling to speak up. Unfortunately, we’ve found a high rate of non-compliance through our Food Precincts Program inspections nationwide; it seems that employees often pay the price of low-cost dining,” says Booth.
“We urge workers with concerns about their wages and entitlements to reach out to us – including anonymously if preferred. Employers should access our free tools and resources to ensure they’re meeting their obligations, or contact the FWO directly for free advice,” says Booth.
The FWO also has resources for visa holder workers – who have the same workplace rights as other workers – and young workers.
Employers and employees can visit www.fairwork.gov.au or call the Fair Work Infoline on 13 13 94 for free advice and assistance. An interpreter service is available on 13 14 50.
Laura Box
