Lucas Restaurants Pay Rates 2026: Crew, Kitchen & Junior Pay
What Lucas Restaurants workers should be paid in 2026 — the Restaurant Industry Award floor by classification and age, casual loading, penalties, and where the Lucas Restaurants enterprise agreements sit.
Prepared with AI assistance and checked against primary sources. How we work
FairWork Mate is independent and is not affiliated with or endorsed by Lucas Restaurants. This guide sets out award minimums and is general information, not a statement about the pay practices of Lucas Restaurants.
Who covers Lucas Restaurants (Chin Chin, Kisumé) workers — award or agreement?
Lucas Restaurants is the group behind some of Melbourne's best-known dining venues, including Chin Chin and Kisumé, with a workforce of chefs, kitchen hands, floor and bar staff typical of a busy restaurant operation.
The pay floor for restaurant roles is the Restaurant Industry Award 2020. Our corpus holds a registered enterprise agreement for the group (listed below); it has to leave staff better off overall than the award tables that follow.
The federal awards relevant to Lucas Restaurants (Chin Chin, Kisumé) roles:
- Restaurant Industry Award 2020 (MA000119)
Workforce snapshot. In its 2024-25 report to the Workplace Gender Equality Agency, THE LUCAS GROUP SERVICES PTY LTD declared 2,214 employees — 69.5% casual and 49.4% women. Source: WGEA 2025 Public Data File, data.gov.au (CC-BY 3.0 AU).
Restaurant award floor — adults (21 and over)
From 1 July 2026 the Restaurant Industry Award 2020 (MA000119) adult minimums are:
| Classification | Permanent | Casual (incl. 25%) |
|---|---|---|
| Introductory level (first 3 months, no experience) | $25.74/hr | $32.17/hr |
| Level 1 (food and beverage attendant grade 1, kitchen hand) | $26.44/hr | $33.05/hr |
| Level 2 (attendant grade 2, cook grade 1) | $27.08/hr | $33.85/hr |
| Level 3 (attendant grade 3, cook grade 2) | $27.97/hr | $34.96/hr |
| Level 4 (attendant grade 4, cook grade 3 — trade qualified) | $29.45/hr | $36.81/hr |
| Level 5 (supervisor, cook grade 4) | $31.30/hr | $39.13/hr |
| Level 6 (cook grade 5 — tradesperson) | $32.13/hr | $40.16/hr |
Weekend, late-night and public holiday penalties apply on top of these — check a specific shift with the penalty rates calculator.
Source: Fair Work Commission modern awards pay database, current-operative rates (1 July 2026 annual wage review). Casual figures add the 25% casual loading.
Junior rates (under 21)
The Restaurant Industry Award pays juniors a percentage of the Level 1 adult rate. From 1 July 2026 the junior minimums are:
- Under 17: $13.22/hr
- 17 years: $15.87/hr
- 18 years: $18.51/hr
- 19 years: $22.48/hr
- 20 years: $26.44/hr
Your rate must step up from the first full pay period after each birthday. Casual juniors add the 25% loading on top of these figures. An enterprise agreement's junior scale must leave you better off than this ladder overall.
The Lucas Restaurants (Chin Chin, Kisumé) enterprise agreements
Enterprise agreements set rates above the award, with their own classification structures and allowances. Current Lucas Restaurants (Chin Chin, Kisumé) agreements in our corpus (2 in total):
- Chris Lucas Pty. Ltd. and CFMEU Union Collective Agreement 2023–2027 — approved October 2023, nominal expiry 2 July 2027.
- Chris Lucas Pty. Ltd. (Queens Wharf Project) Union Collective Agreement 2022 — approved June 2024, nominal expiry 1 November 2026.
We don't reproduce agreement dollar figures here — the agreement covering your site, state and stream is the document to read. Find your agreement, then your classification, then your pay point, and compare it with your payslip. The award tables on this page are the floor every one of these agreements must beat.
Restaurant pay issues worth checking on any payslip
General award-compliance issues that come up across the restaurant sector. This is a checklist for your own payslip, not a finding about Lucas Restaurants (Chin Chin, Kisumé):
- Flat rates that don't beat the penalties — an 'all-in' hourly rate must leave you better off than the award's weekend, late-night and public holiday loadings for your actual roster.
- Unpaid set-up and pack-down before opening and after close.
- Introductory level for too long — it is a three-month, no-experience rate, not a permanent grade.
- Split and broken shifts without the award's allowances, and casual shifts under the minimum engagement.
What to do if your pay looks wrong
Match your payslip to your classification in the agreement (or the award tables above), and price any gap with our back-pay calculator. Raise it in writing with payroll or your manager first — most underpayments are fixed at that step. Unresolved, the Fair Work Ombudsman (13 13 94) recovers underpayments at no cost, up to six years back, and your union can run the claim for you. Not sure which instrument covers you? Ask our AI advisor with your role and location.
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Official resources
General information and estimates only — not legal, financial or tax advice. Always check your specific award, agreement or contract, or a qualified professional, before you rely on the result.
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FairWork Mate is an independent Australian publisher of workplace-rights information. Our content is prepared with AI assistance and draws on primary sources — the Fair Work Act, modern awards, and Fair Work Commission and Fair Work Ombudsman material. It is general information, not legal advice.