$24.6 million surcharge problem questioned as Aussies fork out big time over Easter, Anzac Day

Yahoo

27-04-2025

Anthony Albanese has questioned why some pubs, cafes, and restaurants are charging Australians up to 25 per cent more on Sundays and public holidays. The additional charge has been in the spotlight recently due to the back-to-back Easter and Anzac Day long weekends.
Venue owners have told Yahoo Finance that adding a few dollars to each bill is essential in keeping the lights on amid the rising cost of goods, staff wages, and utilities. But the Prime Minister isn't too sure about that.
"The market is choosing to do that," he told the Australian Financial Review.
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Albanese stressed not every venue is hitting Aussies with an extra surcharge, and he hit back at the idea that the increasing minimum wage in the past few years was to blame.
"If you have an underclass of working people not being paid properly, without proper wages and conditions, you will see social division," he said.
The Prime Minister added that he was able to earn penalty rate wages four decades ago at a restaurant and customers didn't have to pay an arm and a leg to support that.
Sundays usually attract a surcharge of between 10 to 15 per cent.If you're getting two $6 coffees and two $15 bacon and egg rolls, that would set you back $42.
A 15 per cent surcharge will add an extra $6.30 to your bill, which isn't a small chunk of change.
Public holidays surcharges are typically around 10 to 15 per cent, but it's not unheard of to get as high as 20-25 per cent.
That same breakfast would cost you an extra $8.40 if you grabbed it on Easter Sunday recently.
Money.com revealed that out of the $98.4 million that Aussies were tipped to spend over the back-to-back long weekends at cafes, restaurants and pubs, $24.6 million of that would go towards surcharges.
Ahmed Wassel, owner of Melbourne juice bar Drp Bar, said staff penalty rates are the key driver in him adding a 15 per cent surcharge to his menu over Easter.
He told Yahoo Finance it cost him $5,000 extra to open over the four-day long weekend because his workers were earning so much more every hour.
Drp Bar shared a video recently to highlight the huge jump in the staff hourly rate during a public holiday, where the business joked workers were "earning CEO wages".
The amounts ranged from $30.13 to $62.45 per hour, with part-time and full-time staff entitled to double their usual rate and casual staff paid double and a half.
Wassel said the 15 per cent surcharge didn't even come close to covering this additional cost.
'That's not even factoring in everything else, so the cost of goods, rent, electricity, it does take a big toll,' he told Yahoo Finance.
'Energy just keeps going up. Rent is the same until the yearly review. Operating costs have increased, especially since wages went up and super went up as well.'
Dan Dick, who owns several cafes across Melbourne, told Yahoo Finance that surcharges are a necessity these days.
"I think everyone's just got to understand that it's the necessary cost of being able to visit your favourite venues on days that they're essentially running at a loss," he said.
A poll of more than 9,300 Yahoo Finance readers found the majority (63 per cent) believe it's fair for a venue to slap on a surcharge on public holidays.
Businesses are required to have clear information that outlines the surcharges that will be involved.
The consumer watchdog states this information needs to be "clear" and "accurate" that appears "prior" to customers booking, ordering or paying.
"Consumers should be made aware of any weekend and public holiday surcharges that may apply before they decide to order or purchase products from restaurants and cafes," the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission states.
"If the menu does not list prices, information about these surcharges must be displayed in some other prominent way."
There is technically no limit to the amount that venues can charge consumers.