Australian restaurants and cafés recorded a 2.5% increase in total turnover for the financial year ending June 2025, reaching $66.273 billion–but industry leaders are cautioning that improved figures don’t signal a genuine recovery.
The latest Australian Bureau of Statistics retail trade data shows continued consumer support for dining out, with cafés, restaurants and takeaway maintaining steady demand despite cost-of-living pressures.
However, Restaurant & Catering Australia’s National President John Hart OAM stressed that operators remain under significant strain.
“This growth shouldn’t be mistaken for recovery,” Hart said. “The sector remains fragile. Operators are doing what they can to absorb cost increases, but margins are tight, and staffing remains a challenge.”
The warning comes as many hospitality businesses struggle to pass rising input costs onto customers through menu pricing, which isn’t keeping pace with inflation. Operators are instead absorbing these increases to maintain customer loyalty in a competitive market.
“The year-on-year turnover is the clearest and most reliable reflection of sector performance. It confirms that Australians are still supporting local hospitality — and that matters. This is a sector made up of hardworking small business owners who support local jobs and create real community connections. They deserve policy that reflects the reality they’re operating in,” Hart added.
Restaurant & Catering Australia, which represents more than 57,000 hospitality businesses nationwide, continues to advocate for workforce policy reform, red tape reduction, and targeted cost relief to help operators maintain competitiveness.
The mixed picture of growth coupled with persistent operational challenges reflects the broader struggles facing hospitality sectors globally as they navigate post-pandemic recovery whilst contending with ongoing inflationary pressures.
