Working as a Chef in Australia & New Zealand (2026 Guide): Visas, Ski Season Pay & Where the Jobs Are

Australia and New Zealand sit on almost every chef's shortlist — the lifestyle, the produce, the beaches and ski fields within a few hours of each other. What's less well understood is how the hiring actually works: which visa gets you there, what the job really pays once you strip out the recruiter hype, and where the demand genuinely is right now. Here's the real breakdown for 2026.

Why chefs are in demand in both countries

Both countries have persistent, structural chef shortages, not a temporary blip. Chef and cook occupations sit on Australia's Core Skills Occupation List for exactly this reason, and chefs made up more than 8% of all Australian Skills in Demand (subclass 482) visa grants in 2024–25 — over 3,900 visas, up 160% on the year before. New Zealand moved in the same direction in March 2026, splitting its old broad "chef" category into more precise, skill-level-specific occupations and adding 47 new roles to its National Occupation List, chef sub-classifications included.

Translation: this isn't a market where you're competing against a shrinking number of visas. Both governments are actively expanding the pathway because they can't fill the roles locally.

What chefs actually earn in Australia (2026)

Salary guides vary depending on the source, so it's worth triangulating a few:

• National average: Sources put the average chef salary in Australia anywhere from $62,500 to $85,000 a year, with SEEK's April 2026 data landing at $75,000–$80,000 for chef roles broadly.

• By city: Sydney runs highest at roughly $66,000–$71,500 average, followed by Canberra around $70,000, with Melbourne close behind at $61,000–$66,000.

• Head chef roles: Industry guides cite $85,000–$100,000 as the average, though on-the-ground reporting from working chefs across Sydney, Melbourne, and Brisbane suggests base offers around $85,000 are increasingly viewed as under-market and a driver of chefs leaving venues — strong candidates are pushing for $95,000–$105,000+ once accommodation, vehicle, and super top-ups are factored in.

• Entry-level: Typically starts around $40,000–$45,000, rising quickly with a Certificate III in Commercial Cookery and a couple of years' experience.

What chefs actually earn in New Zealand (2026)

New Zealand's system works differently — most work visas are pegged to an hourly "market rate" rather than a fixed salary band. As of March 2026, the immigration median wage benchmark sits at NZ$35.00/hour, though the actual AEWV pay requirement is simply the going market rate for the role and region, with the median wage figure now mainly relevant to Green List and residence-pathway calculations. Chef roles across restaurants, hotels, and resorts routinely meet or exceed this, though entry-level positions sometimes sit lower and require negotiation.

Visa pathways: how foreign chefs actually get hired

Australia

Subclass 482 (Skills in Demand visa) — the main employer-sponsored route. Chef (ANZSCO 351311) is listed on the Core Skills Occupation List. An Australian employer with Standard Business Sponsorship approval nominates you; you'll generally need at least two years of relevant experience and a positive skills assessment unless you qualify for an exemption (Australian qualifications, an Australian licence, a prior Trades Recognition Australia assessment, or earning above AUD $180,000 through an Accredited Sponsor). The visa runs up to four years and, after two years with an approved sponsor, opens the Temporary Residence Transition stream toward permanent residency via the Subclass 186 visa.

Working Holiday visa (Subclass 417/462) — the fastest way in if you qualify by age. Open to most applicants aged 18–30, extended to 35 for passport holders from Canada, the UK, Ireland, Germany, France, Italy, South Korea, and several others. No employer sponsorship needed, up to 12 months of work and travel, with second- and third-year extensions available for those who complete specified regional work — ski resort and camp kitchen roles often qualify. Application fees rose to AUD $840 (first application) from 1 July 2026.

State and regional nomination (subclass 190/491). Many states and territories nominate chefs specifically because regional hospitality shortages are more acute outside the major cities — worth investigating if you're open to working somewhere other than Sydney or Melbourne.

New Zealand

Accredited Employer Work Visa (AEWV) — the main pathway. Requires a job offer from an INZ-accredited employer that has passed a Job Check confirming genuine need and market-rate pay. As of March 2026, Chef (now split into more specific sub-classifications including Chef de Cuisine, Sous Chef, and Chef de Partie) sits on the Green List Tier 2, which means eligible chefs can apply for residence after just 24 months on the AEWV — one of the more direct residency pathways available to any hospitality occupation globally right now.

No dedicated NZ working holiday route for chefs specifically, but New Zealand's own Working Holiday Scheme (age and country-dependent, similar structure to Australia's) is worth checking if you're early-career and want a foot in the door before pursuing AEWV sponsorship.

Where the jobs actually are

Cities: Sydney, Melbourne, and Brisbane carry the deepest restaurant and hotel scenes and the highest salaries, but also the most competition. Auckland and Wellington play the equivalent role in New Zealand.

Ski season: Australia's snow season (roughly June–October) runs through Perisher, Thredbo, and Falls Creek, while New Zealand's runs through Queenstown, Wanaka, and the Canterbury club fields. Resort kitchens hire heavily for the season and frequently take working holidaymakers, making this one of the easiest entry points for chefs without an existing employer contact — see our ski season cooking guide for how the resort hiring cycle works generally.

Regional Australia: Because of the state nomination incentives above, regional pubs, wineries, and coastal towns are often more willing to sponsor than metro employers competing for the same shrinking local labour pool.

How to actually land the role

1. Get your qualifications assessed early. A Certificate III/IV in Commercial Cookery (or your home country's equivalent, formally assessed) removes one of the biggest friction points in both the 482 and AEWV processes.

2. Target accredited/sponsoring employers specifically. Not every employer in Australia or New Zealand can sponsor — filter your search to businesses that already hold Standard Business Sponsorship (Australia) or Accreditation (NZ), since a job offer from a non-accredited employer is a dead end for a visa.

3. Use the Working Holiday visa as a foot in the door if you're eligible by age. Plenty of chefs land a WHV role, prove themselves for six to twelve months, then get sponsored onto a 482 or AEWV by the same employer — a far easier sell than applying cold from overseas.

4. Browse current openings filtered to Australia on our job board — every listing links straight to the employer or their ATS, never a third-party aggregator.

Australia & NZ vs. the rest of the world

If you're weighing this against other destinations, our country-by-country savings breakdown and best countries for visa sponsorship guide are worth reading alongside this one — Australia and NZ tend to rank well on take-home pay relative to cost of living, but the sponsorship process is more paperwork-heavy than somewhere like the UAE.

Ready to look at what's actually open right now? Browse every current Australia and New Zealand chef listing on ChefJobs Abroad — real employer links, verified and updated regularly.

Related reading: FIFO & Camp Chef Jobs: The Six-Figure Career Path Most Chefs Never Consider · Ski Season Cooking: Why Winter Resorts Are a Chef's Paradise · Best Countries for Visa Sponsorship: Where Chefs Are Actually Wanted in 2026 · Chef Work Visas Explained: Your Complete 2026 Guide

Sources: RealPay, Glassdoor Australia, SEEK, PayScale, Barcats, SalaryExpert, MigrationPages, Widen Migration, VisaPlan, HTE Law Group, Immigration New Zealand-adjacent migration advisories (Kiwifern, IFMOSA, Trenity Consultants, VisasUpdate), and Australian Department of Home Affairs occupation list guidance (current as of mid-2026).