Bar & hospitality work in Australia

Before you head out

• Put your phone number, suburb, availability and relevant experience near the top of your CV.
• Check the RSA requirements for the state where you want to serve alcohol.
• Choose venues you can actually reach for opening or closing shifts. Check the journey home, too.
• Know when you can start and how long you expect to stay. Give an honest answer.

Prepare your CV and introduction · Check RSA in your state

No hospitality experience yet?

You can still explain what you bring. Retail work may show you can handle payments and talk to customers. Cleaning, warehouse or other busy shifts may show you can follow routines, keep working when it gets hectic and turn up reliably.

If you’re new to hospitality, ask about glass collecting, food running or kitchen support with training on the job.

Already worked in a bar or café?

Name the things you can do without someone standing beside you: carrying a tray, using a till, opening or closing, pouring beer, making espresso or handling a section of tables. Say what kind of venue you worked in and how busy it was. Those details are more useful than “excellent team player”.

You will still need to learn the new venue’s menu, equipment and routines. Overseas experience is worth describing, but overseas alcohol training is not automatically an Australian RSA.

Make the roster fit your trip

Ask about likely hours, weekend availability and how far ahead the roster comes out. Compare the cost of getting home late with what you expect to earn. If you need consistent hours to cover accommodation, find that out before accepting a vague promise of “plenty of shifts”.

If the reason for moving is a second-year visa, check that first. A great venue can still be in the wrong postcode for specified hospitality work.

Check where hospitality can count

What should go on a hospitality CV?

A clear one-page CV is a useful starting point. Make your name, Australian contact number, email and current suburb easy to spot. Add when you can start, the shifts you can work and how long you expect to stay. State your actual visa/work rights and RSA status accurately; do not put passport numbers or your TFN on a CV you are handing around.

For each recent job, use two or three specific examples. Mention customer contact, payments, cleaning, food handling or equipment you really used. Include a referee who has agreed to be contacted, or say references are available. A short relevant CV beats several pages of unrelated detail.

What if my experience is from another industry?

Keep the original job title and connect the useful parts. For example, someone with retail experience could write the following, if it is true:

Served customers and handled card payments during busy weekend shifts. Restocked the shop floor, kept the counter clean and helped close the store.

That tells a manager something concrete. Do not turn “helped at a family party” into paid bar experience. If you have completed a coffee course, list it under training and explain that you are looking for supervised practice.

When should I take my CV in?

Look for a quiet gap in that particular venue’s day. Avoid the coffee queue, lunch rush and Friday-night bar service. There is no magic hour that works everywhere: a café may be packing up when a pub is just opening. If staff are clearly busy, ask when would suit and come back.

Dress neatly, put your phone away and bring a clean copy. You do not need to buy something just to ask about work. Keep the first conversation brief and give the person space to say the manager is unavailable.

What do I actually say?

Hi, I’m Alex. I’m staying nearby and looking for hospitality work. I’ve worked in customer service, I can do evenings and weekends, and I’m available from Monday. Is the person who handles hiring around, or is there a better time to come back?

Adapt this to your real experience and availability. If you have the required RSA, mention it. If you have only booked the course, say that. If they ask what work you want, explain what you can already do and what you would need to learn.

What if they say to apply online?

Ask for the correct careers page or email address, then follow through that day. Use a clear subject such as “Hospitality application — Alex — available evenings and weekends”. Mention the conversation briefly and attach a readable PDF. Walking in and applying online can be parts of the same application.

How should I follow up?

Keep a note of the venue, who you spoke with and what they said. If they gave you a day to check back, use that. Otherwise, try one polite follow-up after a few days, unless they have asked you to wait longer. Do not repeatedly call during service.

If invited back, confirm the time, who to ask for, clothing and whether you are coming for a chat, a skills demonstration or paid work. Clear up pay before agreeing to a trial.

Read about trial shifts

New South Wales

People selling, serving or supplying alcohol need approved RSA training and the appropriate NSW competency evidence. Follow the interim-certificate and competency-card steps. If you already trained interstate, check the NSW bridging pathway and eligibility before buying the full course again.

Victoria

Use an approved Victorian course and complete the steps for the RSA Certificate of Completion, including the additional learning module described by Liquor Control Victoria. Refresher training is required every three years. Eligible interstate holders can apply for the bridging course; check the conditions and allow processing time.

Queensland

Most staff serving or supplying alcohol need RSA. Queensland requires the nationally recognised course through an RTO and a Statement of Attainment; a statement of attendance is not equivalent. The current unit is SITHFAB021. The regulator allows 30 days from starting employment to complete training, but a venue may want it sorted before hiring.

Western Australia

Check the mandatory training requirements for employees involved in alcohol service. The regulator distinguishes ordinary staff training from approved-manager requirements. Use its recognised training guidance rather than assuming you need a manager qualification to work behind a bar.

South Australia

Check the RSA requirements and accepted training through Consumer and Business Services. Ordinary alcohol-service duties and being the venue’s approved responsible person are different responsibilities. Ask which applies to the position before paying for extra training.

Tasmania

Check the Commissioner-approved RSA training guidance, including Tasmanian content and the treatment of existing interstate qualifications. Match the course to Tasmania before enrolling; an online provider’s marketing headline is not the approval check.

Northern Territory

Staff selling, serving or supplying alcohol need valid RSA evidence. The NT has a three-year currency requirement, which can catch people moving from a state without the same rule. Check the refresher and interstate requirements before your first alcohol-service shift.

Australian Capital Territory

The ACT has a recognition pathway for valid interstate RSA certificates. Check the current conditions rather than assuming you must repeat training or that every older certificate is accepted. Use ACT-approved training when obtaining the local qualification.

Do I need a food safety supervisor certificate?

Not every food handler needs to become the food safety supervisor. Food businesses must ensure handlers have the appropriate skills and knowledge; additional training requirements apply under Standard 3.2.2A. Ask what training the venue provides and what your duties require before buying a supervisor course.

How much English do I need?

You need to understand the instructions and customer interactions for your duties. Practise repeating an order, asking someone to slow down and getting a supervisor. Never guess about an allergy, a safety instruction or whether someone can be served alcohol. A useful phrase is: “Let me check that with my manager before I confirm.”

Which visa are you on?

Check the subclass on your visa grant notice. A Working Holiday visa is 417; a Work and Holiday visa is 462. The similar names are easy to mix up.

The UK exception depends on using an eligible UK passport for the application, not on living in the UK. Do not assume it applies because you hold a different passport but worked or studied there. For other visa types, this is not an extension pathway for that visa.

What kind of hospitality work counts?

Qualifying food and beverage work includes cafés, restaurants, takeaways, catering, pubs, bars and hospitality clubs. Accommodation work can include hotels, hostels, caravan parks and commercial housekeeping. Tourism services can include guiding, activity instruction and tourist transport. The workplace must be in an eligible area.

A restaurant shift in Cairns 4870 can meet the industry and location checks. The same shift in Byron Bay 2481 does not meet the hospitality location rule. Cleaning guest rooms at a qualifying accommodation business is different from assuming any cleaning job in a tourist town counts.

Home Affairs currently says support work for an eligible industry, including some administrative and cleaning services, may be accepted under temporary flexibility. That is not blanket approval of every support job. Keep a clear account of the business and what you actually do.

Does a farm-work postcode also cover bar work?

No. The broader regional lists cover other industries. For example, hospitality in Hobart 7000 or Adelaide 5000 does not qualify through the ordinary hospitality pathway just because Tasmania and South Australia appear on regional lists for other work. Likewise, a disaster-affected postcode does not turn ordinary bar shifts into disaster-recovery work.

Is it three months or 88 shifts?

The second-year requirement is at least three months of qualifying work, based on a minimum period of 88 calendar days at the normal full-time work pattern for the role. It is not a requirement to work 88 consecutive shifts. Eligible rest days can form part of a continuous full-time pattern.

Part-time work normally takes proportionately longer. Two shifts a week for three months is not automatically three months of specified work. Multiple employers and separate periods can be combined. Working a double shift does not create two days, and extra hours cannot compress the minimum period.

Normally the work for a second year is done while holding your first WHM visa. Specific bridging-visa and historical exceptions exist; work done on a student visa does not become eligible just because you later get a WHM visa.

What about a third-year visa?

Normally you need six months of qualifying work during your second WHM visa, with a minimum period of 179 calendar days at the relevant full-time pattern. Do not reuse first-year work. Eligible UK-passport 417 applicants are exempt from this specified-work requirement too. The hospitality location list stays the same.

Do unpaid hostel shifts count?

Ordinary hospitality specified work must be paid according to Australian employment law. Do not rely on a bed-for-work arrangement or volunteer bar shifts. The volunteer exceptions for disaster recovery are separate from normal hospitality work.

What should I keep as evidence?

Keep payslips, matching bank payments, your contract or offer, rosters and a record of dates and hours. Record the employer’s legal name, ABN, contact details, workplace address and actual duties. Keep accommodation deductions clear too. A manager’s promise to “sign your days off” does not decide your visa eligibility.

Before moving, get the job duties, expected roster and workplace address in writing. Eligibility also depends on your duties, payment, work history and visa.

Alcohol service

Use your state’s RSA learning material to prepare for real decisions about service. Memorising drink recipes is not enough when you need to ask for ID, refuse service or get help from a supervisor.

Food safety learning

FSANZ has explanations and animations covering food-handler training and food safety responsibilities. Use these to understand the basics, then follow the venue’s procedures and ask about anything you have not been shown.

Before moving for visa work

When something about work feels unclear

Keep the roster, messages and your record of hours. Start by asking the employer to explain the arrangement. Fair Work’s guidance can help you check the award and whether a proposed trial should be paid.