Picture a busy Saturday. A cafe working through a queue out the door, a restaurant turning over every table for lunch, a catering crew quietly setting up a two-hundred-guest wedding across town, all happening at once without a single guest or client seeing what it actually takes to make it look easy. What they never see is everything sitting behind that ease: rising costs, tighter margins and a set of rules that keep shifting under the businesses trying to deliver it.
That gap between what hospitality looks like and what it actually takes to run in 2026 has never been wider. Wages, energy, insurance and rent are all moving at once, customers are being more deliberate with their spending, and the platforms and regulations operators work within keep changing shape. None of that changes what this industry is built on: genuine skill, long hours and real care for the people who make it happen, in the kitchen, behind the counter, on the floor and coordinating every detail of an event. It does mean the businesses pulling ahead this year are the ones meeting these pressures with a clear plan, not absorbing them one at a time and hoping it evens out.
The minimum award wage rose 4.75 per cent from 1 July 2026. Electricity costs are up more than 25 per cent year on year since rebates rolled off. Food costs remain around 7.5 per cent higher than usual. Diners are still going out, but they are choosing more carefully where and how often. Taken together, these forces are reshaping what a well run venue looks like this year. Here are the ten points shaping 2026, and where the opportunity sits in each.
The Fair Work Commission's 2026 Annual Wage Review lifted award wages by 4.75 per cent from 1 July, taking the national minimum wage to $1,004.90 a week. It is a genuine cost increase that also reflects the value of skilled hospitality work.
The opportunity: venues with confident, well-structured pricing are absorbing this far more comfortably than those still pricing off habit. R&CA continues to make the case to the government for practical, workable implementation timelines, and our benchmarking data gives members a clear read on where their labour costs sit against the sector, not just a guess.
Food service is seeing a higher rate of business closures than most other sectors right now, largely among venues without the property or capital buffer that pubs and larger groups have. It is a real market shift, and it is also sharpening the difference between businesses running on solid fundamentals and those running on hope.
The opportunity: the operators weathering this well are treating financial visibility as a weekly discipline rather than an annual event. R&CA's member advisory line and industry benchmarking exist precisely so no operator has to make that call in isolation.
Electricity prices have risen more than 25 per cent in the past year as rebates ended, a direct hit for any venue running a commercial kitchen around the clock.
The opportunity: this is a cost the industry can address collectively as well as individually, through group purchasing power and by pushing for energy policies that reflect the realities of commercial kitchens. It is an active part of our advocacy agenda, because no single independent venue should have to negotiate this alone. (We also partner with Choice Energy who will audit your energy bills and provide a way to save your business $$ - email Alycia McCarthy Partnerships Specialist, Choice Energy. Alycia has assisted our members to save thousands in electricity costs)
Premiums have risen sharply across the sector as claims activity and risk loading increase, adding real weight to fixed costs for venues already managing thin margins.
The opportunity: sector wide data changes the negotiating position. When premiums are benchmarked across thousands of comparable venues rather than assessed one policy at a time, operators are in a far stronger position, and that collective view is something we are building for members. Check out our Major Partner, Gallagher. The team are happy to review and advise on insurance needs to suit you and your business. Email our friendly membership team for an introduction to the insurance specialist.
Australians have not stopped going out. Around a third say they are being more careful with discretionary spending, and deal-led dining is growing as a share of total visits. That is a shift in how people choose to spend, not a loss of appetite for the experience only hospitality can offer.
The opportunity: value does not mean cheap, it means confidence that a guest is getting something worth their money. The venues doing well are leaning into what a kitchen at home cannot replicate: genuine service, atmosphere and connection. That is the industry's strongest card, and it is one worth playing with confidence rather than discounting away. Another partner whom we recommend for ways to attract customers is Entertainment.Again our friendly and helpful membership team can provide a personal introduction.
Commission rates of 25 to 30 per cent are now standard, and the real cost per order often runs higher once additional fees are included. With one major platform having exited the market, the remaining players hold even more sway over how orders reach your kitchen.
The opportunity: platforms are marketing channels, not business models. Operators building direct ordering relationships and their own loyalty base are steadily reducing the share of their margin that sits in someone else's hands. It is also an area where R&CA continues to advocate for fairer terms on behalf of the sector as a whole.
Chefs remain one of the most consistently listed occupations in the national skills shortage, and visa settings have shifted the economics of sponsorship for smaller venues.
The opportunity: this is a chance to invest in the pipeline coming up through the industry rather than compete purely on wages for the same small pool. Apprenticeships, clear progression and genuine career pathways are what build loyalty long term, and showcasing hospitality as a serious, skilled career is core to our work with members and training partners.
Annual reviews and market adjustments are pushing lease costs up ahead of sales growth in a lot of locations, particularly in metro areas.
The opportunity: the strongest negotiating position comes from data, knowing what comparable venues are actually paying, rather than accepting a landlord's opening figure. It is exactly the kind of information sharing that member networks and industry bodies are available to provide.
Single-use plastic restrictions have expanded again in 2026, with new items added in Victoria, South Australia and Western Australia. For operators running venues across state lines, keeping pace with the differences can be a real effort.
The opportunity: getting ahead of these changes lets operators tell a genuine sustainability story to increasingly conscious diners, rather than treating it as paperwork. Keeping members briefed as each state moves is one of the more practical ways we support venues through this.
Close to half of restaurants are now using some form of AI or automation, from booking and phone systems to kitchen display tools, freeing up staff time that used to go into admin.
The opportunity: the venues getting the most from this are using technology to give their team more time for the parts machines cannot do, looking after guests. Used well, it strengthens the service experience rather than replacing it.
This industry runs on people who show up, work hard and genuinely care about the experience they create for others. 2026 has added real cost and complexity to that job, but it has not changed what makes hospitality work. The operators getting ahead this year are those meeting these pressures with a clear plan, good data, and the right support behind them.
As the association representing more than 57,000 restaurant, cafe and catering businesses across Australia, that is exactly why R&CA exists, so that in an industry dedicated to looking after others, no operator has to face these ten pressures on their own.