After months of research, venue visits and direct conversations with hundreds of hospitality workers across Victoria, we are publishing our new report "Our passion, our profession and our livelihood". It’s an unflinching account of the conditions facing people who work in Victoria's cafes, bars, restaurants and event venues.  

Victoria takes pride in its food and bar culture. More than 30,000 cafes, restaurants and other venues punctuate our days and our lives. These places are the beating heart of our cities and regional centres. They hold our quiet mornings, our celebrations, our farewells and our last rounds. Hospo workers are the ones who keep them running, who show up when we clock off, who serve, cook, clean and close long after we've gone home.  

But at what cost? 

For the workers on the other side of the counter, the reality is one of stolen wages, normalised violence and a culture where customers and profits are put first. 

Those costs are not shared equally. Women in hospitality earn less than in any other industry in Australia. The women and gender diverse workers who shared their experiences with us paint a picture of an industry with three main systemic failures: hospitality work is insecure, unsafe, and unequal.

Read the report: Our Passion, our profession and our livelihood: Building secure, safe and equal hospitality

How insecure work keeps hospo workers trapped 

The hospitality industry has the highest share of casual workers of any sector in Australia. For workers, casual employment means no guaranteed income, no leave and no leverage. The insecurity is structural and it is deliberate. 

Last-minute rosters, cancelled shifts by text  

59% of survey respondents said their shifts were unpredictable or unreliable. More than one in three had no fixed pattern at all. Rosters arrive the night before. Shifts are cancelled by text on the way in. 

"I think the biggest issue is casualisation. All the other issues are so hard to report because of fear of losing shifts or losing your job. If we had more stability I think we would feel more empowered to demand change." 

Bar Staff, woman 

Without guaranteed hours, without sick leave and without a fixed pattern of shifts, workers are structurally dependent on the goodwill of their employer. And when speaking up means losing next week's roster or even your job, most choose silence. 

When stealing from workers becomes standard practice 

On top of the insecurity, wage theft is widespread and largely normalised. Some employers deliberately take advantage of workers who are new to the workforce, unfamiliar with their rights, or in vulnerable situations, exploiting them with little fear of consequences. Two in three hospitality workers in our survey have had their wages or super stolen, through unpaid overtime, missed penalty rates, cash payments with no payslip, or outright falsification of timesheets. Three in four of those affected had their pay stolen in more than one way, and half had experienced it across multiple employers. 

Read more: After paying its staff less than minimum wage for years, Grill’d buckles under union pressure 

Despite voicing concerns to the boss about being paid under minimum wage, I was told that they “could not afford to pay minimum wage” and that I “ask for too much”. 

- Waitress woman 

Working alone, exposed: the safety crisis behind the bar 

Walk into most hospitality venues late on a week night and you will likely find one person managing the floor, the bar and the door by themselves. 3 in 4 workers in our survey have been required to work alone, with no security, no backup, no breaks and no procedure if something goes wrong. In this context, more than half of hospitality workers have felt unsafe at work, with women and gender-diverse workers disproportionately affected. 

The risks are sharper in venues that serve alcohol 

Workers there are significantly more likely to feel unsafe than those in non-licensed venues, 56% compared to 44%. Some workers were underage when they were asked to serve alcohol. Others worked alongside supervisors who were drinking on shift. Many raised concerns with management and were ignored. 

"There were no safety procedures in place for working alone late at night in a place that served alcohol. My manager even said we have good regular customers so I shouldn't be worried. Hardly a proper procedure."

- Bar Staff, woman 

The physical and psychological toll is real. 68% of hospo workers have been hurt at work. Yet most never reported it because many simply did not know they had the right to do so. 

Harassment has become part of the job 

Sexual harassment is everywhere in hospitality. More than 1 in 2 workers we surveyed experienced sexual harassment at work.  Women and gender diverse workers are disproportionately targeted. For many, it happens regularly, for some, daily. From customers, from owners, from managers and co-workers. 

"Having to smile and be nice to people after inappropriate comments, unwanted touching or full-on sexual assault because it's just accepted and normalised. Especially in drug- and alcohol-filled venues, it's normal, and if you speak up, you're being dramatic." - Front of House Manager, woman 

Yet these experiences remain largely invisible. Most workers never report what happens to them. Faced with the sheer number of incidents, they stop trying. With co-workers, managers and owners making up a substantial number of those who perpetrated harassment, there is no safe place to report. Many stay silent, scared of losing their jobs or shifts if they speak up. 

The inequalities hospo workers face every day 

Precarious contracts and unsafe conditions do not affect all workers equally. On top of everything documented above, many workers carry an additional burden; exploited and targeted because of their gender, their visa status, their sexuality or their background.  

In hospitality, exploitation compounds. 

Gender discrimination: a toxic culture deeply ingrained   

Women in hospitality are paid less than workers in any other industry in Australia. They make up more than half the workforce, yet men dominate management positions. 

"Just the regular 'women can't do that, women shouldn't do that' type of stuff, and talking over women, interrupting us, ignoring what we have just said, giving us the shitty jobs… the list goes on." - Restaurant Help, woman  

- Restaurant Help, woman 

Sexist remarks, blocked progression and a workplace culture that treats women as second-tier workers are the most commonly reported forms of discrimination and they are far from isolated incidents. Half of women and gender diverse workers in our survey said they had experienced gender discrimination at work. 

Migrants, LGBTIQA+ workers and workers of colour: some workers likely to be targeted 

This is the case for workers on temporary visas, LGBTIQA+ workers and workers of colour, who experience the same systemic failures as everyone else and are then subjected to further discrimination. 

For workers on temporary visas, visa dependency creates a particular vulnerability: when your right to remain in the country is tied to your job, speaking up is not just professionally risky, it can have life-altering consequences. 

"I’ve had my manager tell me not to hire certain people based on their race even though they are overqualified for the job.”

- Barista, woman  

The circumstances documented in this report are not just the fault of a few bad employers.  These are systemic failures, reproduced across the industry through structural insecurity, weak enforcement and a culture that has long treated worker silence as acceptable. To build hospitality into a safe, attractive and professional industry, workers’ rights must be protected in law and enforced in practice. The people who spoke to us are skilled, committed and proud of what they do. The industry that relies on them has not returned the favour. 

It’s not up to these workers to survive a broken system. 
It’s up to us to change it, together. 

We call on the Victorian Government to introduce a penalty system for licence holders and employers who fail to prevent or address safety incidents, including suspension and revocation of their licences. A liquor licence should come with enforceable obligations to protect the people working under it. 

If you can't protect your workers, you shouldn't have workers. 

Safe staff. Safe venues. 

Read the full report