New data highlighted by the Australian Restaurant & Cafe Association (ARCA) shows 10.4 per cent of cafés and restaurants shut their doors in the past 12 months. By comparison, pubs, clubs and bars recorded failure rates of about eight per cent. ARCA chief executive Wes Lambert said the sector was facing structural – not temporary – pressures. “This is not cyclical. This is policy-driven pressure layered on top of weak consumer confidence,” Mr Lambert said.

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).