5 reasons seasonal hospitality workers are building a business that doesn't end when the season does

The season ends every year. This doesn't.

If that's you, here it is straight: what the work actually involves, what it pays, what it costs to set up, and how to start — from someone running the same business, part-time, in regional Tasmania.

1. The season ends. A client list doesn't

Every summer the work comes back, and every autumn it stops. Support clients are year-round — same people, same week, same income in July.

2. You already have the hardest skills

Hospitality teaches you to read a room, deal with the public, stay civil with someone who's had a bad night, and be on your feet for a full shift without complaining — and that's most of what this work asks for.

The difference is who you're supporting. They're not a difficult customer. They're someone you see every week, who knows you by name and is pleased you've turned up.

3. Same effort, better rate

Hospitality runs on casual award rates — the award pays a level 1 worker $26.44 an hour, or $33.05 casual once the 25% loading is on. Funded everyday support bills at $60.10–$73.58 an hour — that's gross billing, before insurance, tax and your own costs.

4. Your local knowledge is an asset

You know half the town and every back street from behind a bar or a counter. That's exactly how local support work gets found.

5. It can sit alongside the season

Work support hours through the quiet months and scale back when the summer rush hits — or keep both going.

Where to go next

Being straight with you. The hourly figures on this page are the billing rates from the official NDIS Pricing Schedule — the most that can be charged for that support. They're gross revenue, not take-home. Insurance, tax, super, travel and your own time all come out of it. And the income examples are Cathy's real numbers, not a promise about yours.

The free training is below — the honest version of how this works, in plain language. It's free, and it stays free.