WA’s hospitality industry about to be restriction free

Western Australia is set to remove its remaining COVID-19 restrictions.

WA Premier, Mark McGowan announcing the state would move to phase 5 of eased restrictions on Wednesday morning which would effectively remove current restrictions for restaurants, bars and hotels.

This means the 2-square-metre rule and 75 per cent capacity limit will be lifted.

"What that will mean is that for many venues around the state — hospitality venues in particular — they'll be able to go back to normal, as we were pre-COVID," Mr McGowan said.

"We're confident in doing this because we know people do the right thing when necessary."

According to Mr McGowan, lifting these final restrictions would make it easier for hospitality venues to operate.

"I'm sure for the many thousands of employees in restaurants, bars, cafes, pubs and the like around the state, this will be welcome news and make life easier," he said.

The Australian Hotels Association (AHA) said hospitality venues will find it easier to recover from the financial impact caused by the pandemic once these restrictions are lifted.

AHA’s chief executive Bradley Woods said the number one priority for the industry is to deal with staff shortages. Allowing skilled international workers to quickly return is key as there are approximately 8,000 hospitality positions that need to be filled.

"It's a huge number to fill," Mr Woods said.

The AHA and the with Commonwealth and state governments are currently discussing the need for skilled hospitality workers from low-risk countries to come to Australia.

Irit Jackson, 21st June 2021