Perth AFL Grand Final: How you can help fill one of the 600 Optus Stadium shift vacancies on grand final day

The last 10,250 tickets to the AFL grand final go on sale Thursday but there’s one way to guarantee entry to the premiership decider — by filling one of 600 Optus Stadium shift vacancies. The stadium is looking for chefs, cooks, food and bar attendants and wait staff for what will be the biggest single event held at the venue. With nine days to go until the grand final, 50 per cent of shifts have been filled and the challenge for the stadium is competition for casual workers with hospitality venues across Perth. The majority of shifts will be at least six hours, with the average being between seven and eight hours. Eighty per cent of roles will be a “grade two” and for an adult that will be $37.08 per hour. To sweeten the deal, the stadium is paying Sunday rates and all staff will go into a draw to go to next year’s AFL grand final, likely to be back at the MCG, with flights and accommodation included. All grand final workers will also receive a commemorative pin, competitive rates and a complimentary meal. “We will require the largest number of staff Optus Stadium has ever needed to work a single event,” Optus Stadium chief executive Mike McKenna said. “The preliminary final was a great success with Optus Stadium delivering a terrific experience for fans, thanks to necessary hospitality roles being filled, and the wonderful staff who filled them. “For the grand final, we need to cover an additional 600 shifts additional to our staffing on preliminary final day. This is reflective of the nature of the event — gates will be open longer and there will be more pre-and post-match entertainment and activations to be involved in. “Age is no barrier, our youngest employee is 15-years-old and our eldest is two months shy of celebrating their 80th birthday.” Australian Hotels Association WA chief executive Bradley Woods said the grand final day staffing challenge reflected the shortage of hospitality workers across WA. “Without working holidaymakers, without more international students coming to the country, without the interstate borders being open and freedom of travel for hospitality workers, there is no doubt pressure in the market,” he said. “But there’s not much we can do now, what we need to see is the vaccination rate get to the highest level possible so that we can reconsider the border restrictions and the opening up of free movement within Australia. “The key to all of the problems we have right now is vaccination and with Western Australia having the lowest rates of vaccination in the country, we need to step that up. Now is the time for all West Australians to put their arm forward and to get vaccinated.”

Perth AFL Grand Final: How you can help fill one of the 600 Optus Stadium shift vacancies on grand final day

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