Aussie shoppers warned shelf prices will rise as nationwide card surcharge ban takes effect
Council of Small Business Organisations Australia director Wes Lambert said many small businesses could not shoulder the cost.
“Most just will not be able to absorb the credit and debit surcharges,” Mr Lambert said.
“They will need to pass those on in the form of higher prices.”
Surcharge ban won’t end scrutiny on payment costs, RBA warns
“We don’t have 8¢ coins, so the $5.08 coffee might become $5.10 or $5.20 or $5.50,” said Wes Lambert, chief executive of the Australian Restaurant & Café Association. “By this weekend, Australians will be paying more.”
Card surcharges are banned from October 1. What’s changing at the checkout?
The Australian Restaurant and Cafe Association has said it “will be one of the largest changes in payments” in Australia’s history – and many small businesses “are unprepared for its arrival”.
Bringing the coffee community together
The Australian Restaurant and Café Association (ARCA) has also come on board as an official Association Partner, adding another connection between the expo and Australia’s café and restaurant operators.
“MICE has always been the place where the coffee industry does business, and this partnership sharpens that,” said ARCA CEO Wes Lambert. “It’s a stronger, more direct link between the expo and the people actually making purchasing decisions in cafés across the country, and that’s great for everyone on the show floor.”
Backpacker visa ballot, student crackdown could “tear through” hospo sector
Hospitality sector left fuming
Wes Lambert, CEO of the Australian Restaurant & Cafe Association, said the changes will rattle a hospitality sector largely reliant on WHV holders and international students.
“This is a workforce stoppage,” Lambert told SmartCompany after Burke’s address.
Businesses scramble for staff as migration cuts loom
Wes Lambert, chief executive of the Australian Restaurant and Cafe Association, said hospitality companies were already hurting after the government’s move in July to freeze working-holiday-maker visas, which are especially relied on by regional employers.
Australian Restaurant and Café Association partners with MICE
The Australian Restaurant and Café Association (ARCA) has been named an official association partner of the 2027 Melbourne International Coffee Expo (MICE).
ARCA represents the interests of more than 56,000 restaurants and cafés around Australia, advocating on workforce, taxation, training, and productivity issues on behalf of the hospitality sector.
CEO of ARCA Wes Lambert says that, with café owners being the central audience of MICE, the collaboration will give the event a stronger, more direct line to decision makers.
The Industry’s Night returns, marking the start of Fine Food 2026
The Industry’s Night – the annual Hostplus ARCA and AFAB industry gala – returns for its second year on 31 August 2026.
Held at the Lakeside Pavilion in Albert Park, Melbourne, the event marks the opening night of Fine Food 2026.
It will bring together restaurant, café, and hospitality venue owners, operators, suppliers, and industry leaders from across Australia for a night of connection, recognition and celebration.
ARCA Chief Executive Officer Wes Lambert said the evening gives the industry a chance to pause, come together and celebrate the wins.
Ben Carroll plots to cut small business work-from-home slack in major shift
Open letter signatory and Australian Restaurant and Cafe Association chief Wes Lambert said the proposed laws would also be a “nail in the coffin” for many small businesses due to a reduction in CBD foot traffic.
“Passing this legislation would truly show that the current government is totally out of touch with businesses in their state, and it is time for a change,” he said.
Eighty Queensland food businesses collapse as crippling costs hit hospitality industry
Australian Restaurant and Cafe Association chief executive Wes Lambert said the slowdown in revenue and increase in closure rate was nationwide, primarily tourist areas followed by the central business districts.
“The proof is in the numbers. It is a well-known fact that the hospitality industry is suffering under the weight of inflation and the current government’s policies that are not set to help the hospitality industry,” he said.