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Kitchen hand recruitment

Hiring a kitchen hand in Melbourne

AusLabourBank helps Melbourne restaurants, cafes and hotels hire kitchen hands. We confirm the shifts and duties with you, screen candidates for availability and kitchen experience, and arrange interviews. You make the hiring decision. Placement fees are quoted by role and charged only upon a successful placement.

Looking for hospitality work instead? Apply free. Applying costs nothing.

What we check before you interview

  • Availability across the shifts you actually run, including weekends and late closes.
  • Kitchen experience: dishwashing, basic prep, cleaning down and keeping up during a busy service.
  • Food safety basics, and a food handling certificate if you require one.
  • Previous roles, and references where the candidate provides them.
  • Language: we recruit in English and Chinese, which helps if your kitchen works in both.

What to pay a kitchen hand

Kitchen hands are usually covered by a Modern Award, often the Restaurant Industry Award 2020 or the Hospitality Industry (General) Award 2020, depending on your business. Minimum rates change each year, so check the current Fair Work pay guides before you set the rate in your brief. This is general information only, not payroll or industrial relations advice.

What it costs

Quoted by role, charged only upon a successful placement

What counts as a successful placement, and any replacement arrangement, is set out in your written service agreement before we begin. External HR support (A$750 per quarter + GST) is a separate, optional service. We can't guarantee that every role will be filled.

How it works

1

Send a hiring brief

Tell us the role, hours, location and pay range. It takes a few minutes.

2

We reply within 3 business days

We discuss the role and confirm scope and fees in writing. No cost until you agree.

3

Meet screened candidates

We source and screen candidates and arrange interviews. You make the hiring decision.

4

Pay only on placement

The fee is payable on a successful placement, as defined in your written agreement.

Recent hiring support, 2025–26

We helped three Melbourne employers fill kitchen hand, chef and front-of-house manager roles: a dumpling chain with outlets in Melbourne shopping centres, a well-known Sichuan restaurant and a long-established Cantonese restaurant. Two of them have since asked us to help staff their new venues. Business names are not published for confidentiality.

“Thank you, ALB, for your help. We had just opened, we were short-handed and lacked experienced staff. Luckily you recommended people to us, and that solved a big problem for me!”

— Restaurant owner, new venue, Melbourne (translated from Chinese)

See all hospitality roles we recruit

Questions employers ask

How much does hospitality recruitment cost in Melbourne?

Fees vary between recruiters. AusLabourBank quotes placement fees by role and charges them only upon a successful placement. Fees, payment triggers and any replacement arrangement are agreed in writing before recruitment begins. External HR support is a separate service at A$750 per quarter + GST.

How quickly will you respond?

We reply to every hiring brief within 3 business days to discuss the role and confirm scope and fees in writing.

Can you fill casual or weekend-only shifts?

Yes. Tell us the pattern in your hiring brief. We recruit for full-time, part-time and casual roles, and we'll tell you honestly if the shifts will be hard to fill.

Do you check candidates' right to work?

We collect the work-rights information candidates provide and pass it on with their details. Confirming a candidate's right to work, for example through VEVO, remains the employer's responsibility.

Can you guarantee we will fill the role?

No. We screen candidates against your requirements and refer those we consider suitable, but we do not guarantee that a role will be filled, that a candidate will accept an offer, or that a candidate will pass probation. The hiring decision is always yours.

Can you help with visa sponsorship for a candidate?

No. AusLabourBank is not a registered migration agency and does not provide immigration assistance. Our services do not include, and do not guarantee, employer sponsorship, nomination or any visa outcome. Please direct sponsorship and visa questions to a MARA-registered migration agent or an Australian legal practitioner. Employers remain responsible for their own employment and immigration obligations.

AusLabourBank is a hospitality recruitment and external HR company. We are not a registered migration agency and do not provide immigration assistance. Our services do not include, and do not guarantee, employer sponsorship, nomination or any visa outcome. Sponsorship and visa questions should go to a MARA-registered migration agent or Australian legal practitioner. We don't give legal, payroll or industrial relations advice.

Ready to discuss your hiring needs?

Send a hiring brief and we'll reply within 3 business days.

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