The decision will lift labour costs for hospitality venues to 75 and 100% of sales, Australian Restaurant & Cafe Association chief executive Wes Lambert warned. “So we’ll be encouraging cafes and restaurants not to open,” Lambert told ABC TV. “Hospitality businesses are on some of the lowest profit margins in history, below 3%, and they just cannot wear another public holiday in NSW.”

Australian Restaurant and Cafe Association chief executive Wes Lambert cautioned small businesses against opening, saying, “Hospitality businesses are on some of the lowest profit margins in history, below 3%, and they just cannot wear another public holiday in NSW” (SBS).

The numbers paint a grim picture. According to the Australian Restaurant & Cafe Association (ARCA), one in nine hospitality businesses went insolvent in 2025. Profit margins have shrunk to razor-thin levels: 2.8 per cent for restaurants and 2.6 per cent for cafes. Wes Lambert, chief executive officer of ARCA, puts it bluntly: ‘Ultimately, when you have inflation at such a high level, consumers have to make a choice. They have to choose paying their mortgages and their bills or dining out.’