The Melbourne restaurant using robots to combat staff shortages

A Melbourne restaurant has turned to using robots in place of waitstaff to deal with the state's shortage of hospitality workers.

Robot waiters, called Bellabots, are being used to serve food at Dodee Paidang Thai restaurant in Melbourne CBD.

The machines take meals straight from the kitchen to diners.

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Restaurant owner Boon Low said using the robots was as simple as "pressing a button, telling them which tray and which table number".

Each robot costs $24,000 to buy, however Mr Low rents them for $48 per robot per day as part of a leasing agreement — which is about the equivalent of paying someone to work for two hours.

Mr Low said he decided to bring the robots into his business after struggling to find enough waitstaff once the COVID-19 lockdown ended.

However, the robots also help him to keep costs down after difficult times.

"We've decided to keep our prices as low as possible with everything that's happened," he said.

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They also allow him to keep up with demand when the restaurant experiences an unexpected busy period.

"Days we're not predicting a busy lunch shift we can actually use the robots to assist,
he said.

Paul Guerra from the Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry said staff shortages were likely to continue until Australia's international borders opened next month.

"Staff shortages are unfortunately a reality for us right now," he said.

"It's not just the CBD, it's across the state."

Data from Seek in October showed hospitality job ads surged by 204 per cent in the last month, while there were fewer people browsing job ads than almost ever before.

The issue was raised in Victorian Parliament today.

"The unemployment rate is currently lower than it was this time last year as we were coming out of last winter's lockdown," Minister for Employment Jaala Pulford said.

"The biggest issue facing Victorian business is a workforce and skill shortage."

Opposition Minister David Davis said 113,000 fewer Victorians were in work or actively seeking a job than they were six months ago.

Mr Guerra told Victorians now is the time to get into the workforce.

"The jobs are there."