Prefer a call back? Request a call back
Need staff without sponsorship? Hire people already in Australia
CrossNation is a hospitality recruitment agency, one of the hospitality recruitment agencies in Australia that recruit chefs, cooks, hotel and venue managers, and food and beverage and front of house staff for employers in every state and territory, from candidates based in Australia and from overseas. Our fee is 12% for roles under $50k, 15% for $50k–$90k, 18% above $90k, 20% executive, charged on first-year remuneration (salary plus super), plus GST, and only when a placement succeeds, with a 90-day replacement guarantee (replacement, not refund), subject to our agreement.
Updated . See our terms
12% for roles under $50k, 15% for $50k–$90k, 18% above $90k, 20% executive.
Fees are charged on first-year remuneration (salary plus super), plus GST. Charged only when a placement succeeds. No placement, no fee.
Christmas offer: sign our agreement by 11:59pm AEDT, Friday 27 November 2026 and pay 12% on every role. See offer terms.
90-day replacement guarantee (replacement, not refund), subject to our agreement
See our terms.
For hotels, restaurants, cafes, pubs, resorts and venues that need chefs, cooks, managers, and food and beverage or front of house staff.
Structured steps from brief to onboarding support.
Compliance and fit checks before employer time is spent.
Jobs open on CrossNation now. Listings are not job offers.
Brief: you tell us the role, venue, location, start date and whether you want onshore, overseas or either.
Search: we look at candidates based in Australia first when the start date is soon, then at overseas candidates for roles you can plan ahead for.
Screen: we talk through each candidate's experience against your brief and record their qualifications and references so you can check them.
Interview: you meet the shortlist and choose who to offer.
Offer and start: we coordinate the offer; overseas candidates need any visa steps completed before they start.
Cooking qualifications and kitchen references for chefs and cooks.
Responsible service of alcohol (RSA) certification for roles that serve alcohol; requirements are set by each state.
Work rights for onshore candidates, shown by the candidate's VEVO result.
Award coverage: the Hospitality Industry (General) Award [MA000009] or the Restaurant Industry Award [MA000119] sets minimum pay where no agreement applies.
At the 2021 Census cafes and restaurants employed 2.6% of employed residents of Greater Melbourne against 2.2% across Australia, 2.4% in Greater Perth and 2.3% in Greater Adelaide, while takeaway food services employed 2.3% of Greater Brisbane against 1.9% nationally. These are ABS counts of where people live and work, not CrossNation placements. For hospitality staffing solutions they mean that a venue in Melbourne, Perth or Adelaide hires in a market where other venues hire too, so the brief, the roster and the award carry weight.
Chefs and cooks in hotels, motels, resorts and caterers are usually covered by the Hospitality Industry (General) Award [MA000009], stand-alone restaurants and cafes are often covered by the Restaurant Industry Award [MA000119], and registered and licensed clubs by the Registered and Licensed Clubs Award. Venues trade through public holidays, and the days differ by state. Queensland has the Royal Queensland Show holiday in the Brisbane area only and a part-day holiday on Christmas Eve from 6pm to midnight. Victoria has the Friday before the AFL Grand Final and Melbourne Cup Day. NSW lists a Bank Holiday that is not a declared public holiday. Put the holiday and weekend roster in the brief so candidates see it.
You send the role, venue, location and start date. We search, record each candidate's qualifications and work rights, and send a shortlist. You interview and decide, and we coordinate the offer. The fee is 12% for roles under $50k, 15% for $50k–$90k, 18% above $90k, 20% executive, charged on first-year remuneration (salary plus super), plus GST, with a 90-day replacement guarantee (replacement, not refund), subject to our agreement, and wages follow the award or agreement that covers the venue.
Hospitality pay without an enterprise agreement follows a modern award. Hotels, motels, resorts and caterers are usually covered by the Hospitality Industry (General) Award 2020 [MA000009], and stand-alone restaurants and cafes are often covered by the Restaurant Industry Award 2020 [MA000119]. Confirm which instrument covers your venue before you set a salary. The figures below were re-read on the Fair Work award pages on 27 October 2026. These are award minimums for full-time employees, the same in every state. An enterprise agreement can apply instead of the award, and employers can pay more. Superannuation is paid on top at 12%. Check the Fair Work pay guide in force on the start date before you set a salary.
Hiring demand in this industry group: 33.7 thousand vacancies were advertised in August 2026, and 37.7 thousand a year earlier. Across the six quarters to August 2026 the count ranged between 33.7 thousand (Aug 2026) and 40.6 thousand (Feb 2026), so expect competition for staff to move with the season.
Source: ABS: Job Vacancies, Australia, August 2026 (job vacancies by industry, original series) (retrieved 4 October 2026)
Hospitality Industry (General) Award, level 4: $1,119.10 a week ($29.45 an hour) (Hospitality Industry (General) Award 2020, clause 18.1, pay period commencing 1 July 2026). This is the award minimum, not an average or a going rate. Check Fair Work for the latest rates.
Source: Fair Work Ombudsman: Hospitality Industry (General) Award 2020 [MA000009] (retrieved 4 October 2026)
These checks work for any agency. Each one is something you can ask for or verify before you send a brief.
Ask for the percentage, what it is charged on and the event that makes the fee payable, in writing, before you send a brief.
CrossNation: CrossNation's fee is 12% for roles under $50k, 15% for $50k–$90k, 18% above $90k, 20% executive, charged on first-year remuneration (salary plus super), plus GST, and only when a placement succeeds.
Ask for the guarantee period and how it applies in the agreement you sign, not only on the agency's website.
CrossNation: CrossNation placements carry a 90-day replacement guarantee (replacement, not refund), subject to our agreement. See our terms.
Ask what the agency checks before it shortlists a candidate, and what record it keeps, such as qualifications, registration or licence status and work rights, so you can verify each one yourself.
CrossNation: CrossNation records each candidate's qualifications, registration or licence status and work rights so employers can verify them.
If you are considering an overseas hire, ask who gives visa advice. Only a registered migration agent can give migration advice, and the register of migration agents is public (https://www.mara.gov.au/). This is general information, not migration advice. Speak to a registered migration agent.
CrossNation: CrossNation is a recruitment agency, not a registered migration agent. The employer holds or obtains its own approval.
Ask for referee details for a candidate you are shortlisting, call the referees yourself, and ask the agency how it checks references and what it passes on to you.
For bar and floor roles that serve alcohol, ask how the agency records each candidate's responsible service of alcohol (RSA) certificate and check it with the issuing training provider or your state regulator, because requirements are set by each state.
CrossNation: CrossNation records the licences and certificates each candidate tells us they hold.
For chefs and cooks, ask for the cooking qualification and at least one kitchen referee, then call the referee yourself and ask which section or station the person ran.
CrossNation: CrossNation records qualifications and kitchen references so you can check them.
Chefs and cooks, hotel and venue managers, food and beverage attendants, bar and front of house staff, and kitchen attendants, for employers across Australia.
Yes. Food and beverage attendants, bar staff and front of house staff are among the hospitality roles we recruit, alongside chefs, cooks, kitchen attendants and hotel, venue and restaurant managers. Tell us the role and venue in the enquiry form.
CrossNation recruits for your open roles. You send the role, venue, location and start date, we search, screen and shortlist candidates, you interview and choose, and we coordinate the offer. The fee is 12% for roles under $50k, 15% for $50k–$90k, 18% above $90k, 20% executive, charged on first-year remuneration (salary plus super), plus GST, and only when a placement succeeds, with a 90-day replacement guarantee (replacement, not refund), subject to our agreement.
Under the Hospitality Industry (General) Award 2020 [MA000009], a level 1 employee such as a kitchen attendant grade 1 must be paid at least $1,004.90 a week ($26.44 an hour) and a level 4 cook (tradesperson) grade 3 at least $1,119.10 a week ($29.45 an hour) for full-time employees from 1 July 2026. The Restaurant Industry Award 2020 [MA000119] sets the same minimums at those levels. These are minimums, an enterprise agreement can apply instead, and employers can pay more. Our chef and hospitality salary guide prints every level with its clause and effective date.
CrossNation is a hospitality recruitment agency registered in Mildura, Victoria (VIC 3500) that serves hotels, restaurants, cafes, pubs and venues in every state and territory. Hotel staffing agencies and hospitality recruitment agencies range from shift suppliers to recruiters of permanent and contract staff, so ask each one how its fee works. We do not run a city office.
Employers who want overseas hospitality staff can brief CrossNation, which can source sponsorship-ready overseas chefs and cooks as well as candidates who already live in Australia. CrossNation does not publish where its candidates live. The employer holds or obtains its own approval, and a candidate needs work rights before a start date. CrossNation is a recruitment agency, not a registered migration agent, and cannot promise a visa, an approval or a job. This is general information, not migration advice. Speak to a registered migration agent.
CrossNation's fee for hospitality recruitment is 12% for roles under $50k, 15% for $50k–$90k, 18% above $90k, 20% executive, charged on first-year remuneration (salary plus super), plus GST, and only when a placement succeeds. If no placement is made, there is no fee. Placements carry a 90-day replacement guarantee (replacement, not refund), subject to our agreement. Wages, superannuation and other employment costs stay with the employer.
It depends on the candidate and on bodies CrossNation does not control, such as registration boards, licensing regulators and the Department of Home Affairs, so CrossNation does not give a timeline. Many employers ask for both onshore and overseas candidates so an urgent vacancy is not held up.
The Department of Home Affairs says a standard business sponsor has obligations to meet while it sponsors someone. They include telling the department in writing when certain events occur, such as the sponsored person ceasing employment or a change in their duties, making sure the person works only in the occupation nominated, giving terms and conditions of employment that are not less favourable than those of an equivalent Australian worker, keeping records, and cooperating with inspectors. The sponsor must also pay the costs of the recruitment process itself, including recruitment agent fees, and must not charge them to the sponsored worker. A sponsor that does not meet its obligations can face sanctions. The employer is the sponsor. CrossNation is a recruitment agency, does not sponsor and cannot promise a visa or an approval. This is general information, not migration advice. Speak to a registered migration agent.
Placements carry a 90-day replacement guarantee (replacement, not refund), subject to our agreement. How it applies is set out in the agreement between CrossNation and the employer, so ask for the guarantee terms in writing before you sign. See our terms at https://crossnation.com.au/terms. The guarantee is not a promise of any offer, visa or migration outcome.
Send a hiring brief, get a shortlist plan within the fee terms.
Send a hiring briefPrefer a call back? Request a call back
Our fee is 12% for roles under $50k, 15% for $50k–$90k, 18% above $90k, 20% executive, charged on first-year remuneration (salary plus super), plus GST, with a 90-day replacement guarantee (replacement, not refund), subject to our agreement.
