Restaurateur urges skilled visa change to keep chefs

A TORQUAY and Jan Juc restaurateur is on the verge of losing two full-time chefs to interstate restaurants because their profession is not on the Victorian Government’s skilled visa list.

Anthony Gist, who owns and operates Alisitos, Roku Den and Bird Rock, said the two foreign workers had been on state-sponsored visas for a couple of years and had the aim of eventually obtaining full residency, but chefs, venue managers and cooks were now no longer on the Skilled Nominated (subclass 190) list of target sectors.

“Now these two have been trying to scramble to find a pathway to get residency,” he said.

“What’s happened is that South Australia and New South Wales in particular have opened up their 190 visas and basically said ‘if you come to New South Wales, for example, and you get a job in hospitality, you can apply to a register of interest in a 190 visa – if you’re eligible, you’ll get a 12-month visa with residency at the end’.

“On Thursday, one of my full-time chefs said ‘Hey Anthony, I’ve been trying to get residency for three years, they keep changing the line on me, and I’m going to go to New South Wales’.”

Mr Gist said he had repeatedly advertised locally for chefs without success.

“Literally, I’m running my restaurants with 16-year-old kids and a few of these internationals overseeing my kitchen.

“I can’t afford to lose these people right now, because there’s no-one coming into the country – there’s no students, there’s no backpackers.”

Mr Gist said one of the two chefs was set to leave within 10 days, and the other would try to wait it out as long as possible as her son was in high school “but is very scared”.

He did not know when the Victorian Government had changed the 190 visa conditions to exclude chefs, venue managers and cooks, but staffing for hospitality businesses during the COVID-19 pandemic was a serious issue both in Victoria and across Australia.

“It’s a state crisis, it’s a national crisis. Internationals is what keeps Lorne running year-round,” he said.

“To actually lose two of my staff, I don’t know if I can take my hours down to doing four days a week.

“Not only is it valuable to my business to have these people, they’re good people, trying to make an honest life for themselves.”

Mr Gist said he had tried contacting his state representatives for help but had made no headway.

“I know when they go for residency, it’s a federal issue, but the Victorian Goverment 190 visa and occupation list is a state sponsorship.”

South Barwon Labor MP Darren Cheeseman had not responded to questions from this newspaper by deadline.