Albanese questions $24.6M holiday surcharge
Australians were expected to pay close to A$24.6 million in surcharges during the Easter and Anzac Day long weekends, drawing renewed scrutiny over the practice of public holiday price hikes.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has questioned why some pubs, cafes and restaurants are charging up to 25% extra on Sundays and public holidays. The additional charges have attracted attention amid the two consecutive long weekends.
Venue owners told Yahoo Finance the surcharges were necessary to offset rising costs of goods, staff wages and utilities. However, Albanese expressed scepticism about the justification.
"The market is choosing to do that," he told the Australian Financial Review.
Albanese emphasised that not all venues impose surcharges and rejected suggestions that increases to the minimum wage were to blame for the higher costs.
"If you have an underclass of working people not being paid properly, without proper wages and conditions, you will see social division," he said.
Reflecting on his own experience working in hospitality four decades ago, Albanese noted that he was able to earn penalty rates without businesses passing on significant extra costs to customers.
Traditionally, Sunday surcharges range between 10% and 15%.
Jonathan Jackson, 28th April 2025
