⛽NEW: Gold Coast Cheap Fuel Finder
Volume 158: Fair Work raids Gold Coast eateries | Microplastics water filter made by high school student | GC developer expands into Toowoomba | The Star secures global megastar and heaps more!
G’day GC, and welcome back to another big weekly newsletter - it’s March 26.
With these fuel prices climbing so fast, every day feels like we’re getting closer to luxury-priced second-hand pushbikes on marketplace.. A Covid caravan boom 2.0?
The silver lining, at least we’re heading into winter, not summer 🚴
In today's newsletter
One Big Thing: ATO, Fair Work raid Gold Coast eateries
Check out this live Gold Coast: Cheap Fuel Finder
The Star has secured: A global star for a spectacle
Around The Web: Meta/YouTube both found negligent in landmark social media addiction case, high school student invents filter that stops 96% of microplastics in drinking water, GC runners turn out for T100 10km, and heaps more
Trending: The GC streets as storage for caravans?
Upcoming Events
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Weekend Weather and Surf
Live Housing Price Index
1. One Big Thing: ATO, Fair Work raid Gold Coast eateries
By Marshall Hall
What’s Happening: If higher petrol prices, interest rates, electricity rates, food and wages costs were not enough, the Gold Coast’s hospitality sector this week had the privilege of being raided by the Fair Work Ombudsman and the Australian Taxation Office.
Why It Matters: Back in 2020, the Ombudsman audited 50+ Gold Coast eateries around Southport and Broadbeach from which it clawed back hundreds of thousands of dollars for hundreds of underpaid workers.
The hospitality sector, already under cost pressures, now faces intensified scrutiny, particularly around underpayment and exploitation of vulnerable workers.
This time, the raids were to check that they have been paying employees correctly, and complying with record-keeping, tax and super laws.
By the Numbers
25 venues inspected across the Gold Coast this week for compliance-related matters
$215,700 was recovered for nearly 450 underpaid workers in the 2020 audit
88% of the 50+ audited eateries were found to be non-compliant in 2020
Local Impact: For Gold Coast operators, it’s a clear signal: compliance isn’t optional.
For workers, especially young staff and visa holders, it reinforces that protections are being actively enforced and that if you think you might have an issue, there are bodies in place to protect you.
What The People Say: Fair Work Ombudsman Anna Booth said ensuring food sector employers are paying workers all they are owed and meeting their record-keeping obligations was a priority for Fair Work.
“Improving compliance with workplace laws in the fast food, restaurants and cafés industry is a priority for us, as the sector employs many workers who can be vulnerable to exploitation, such as visa holders and young people,” Ms Booth said.
ATO Assistant Commissioner Tony Goding said cooking the books by ripping off your workers or dodging tax and super obligations did not pass the pub test.
“Fast food outlets, cafés and restaurants operating in the shadow economy deliberately disadvantage honest businesses, short-change the community and steal from their employees’ futures,” Mr Goding said.
“That’s why we’ve been out and about on the Gold Coast this week with the Fair Work Ombudsman to investigate.”
We need your help to keep the Gold Coast Minute going.
If you can, please sign up for our free weekly newsletter, or upgrade to paid for just a few dollars a month - it’s as cheap as chips 🍟
2. Find the cheapest fuel on the Gold Coast
What’s Happening: Fuel prices have been on a rocket-like trajectory over the past few weeks, so the team at the GC Minute has spent much of this week building a free, live, local fuel price finder to help Gold Coast locals compare prices and identify the best deal.
Why It Matters: With global tensions pushing prices higher and talk of diesel potentially hitting $4 a litre (as of today, diesel is already at $4.25 a litre on Fraser Island), the Gold Coast Cheap Fuel Finder gives locals a handy way to spot the lower-priced servos across the city before heading out.
Zoom in: The tool covers every service station across the Gold Coast local government area and lets users search by suburb or station, sort by the cheapest fuel, and view nearby prices on a map.
Where can I find the Gold Coast Cheap Fuel Finder? For the next little while, we’ll be popping the Fuel Finder link right at the top of every newsletter, so it’s a pretty good time to get people signed up.
And if you don’t feel like waiting for the next send, you can jump in anytime on mobile or desktop by heading to our website and tapping the fuel icon. We’ve highlighted it for you below.
What to look for next: Hopefully, some cheaper fuel prices soon..
3.
🔓 Unlocking extras
We love sending you our snackable reads, and if you’re loving them too, we have an upgraded version with a few extra perks just for you.
For just a few dollars, upgraded subscribers get:
The full back catalogue + open access to all website articles
Subscriber-only content
Ability to interact with the GC Minute community
Occasional bonus newsletters and offers
4. Trending
5. Around The Web
A high school student has invented a filter that eliminates: 96 per cent of microplastics from drinking water.
Planes that scrap business class could: Halve aviation emissions, according to a new study.
From Black Hawk cockpit to Qantas A380
·
What’s happening?
When Lieutenant Colonel Clinton Shiell joined the Royal Australian Artillery, flying a Qantas A380 was not part of the plan.
Born in Bendigo and raised on the Gold Coast, Lieutenant Colonel Shiell said his..In a landmark trial about social media addiction against Meta’s Instagram and Google’s YouTube, it was: Determined that the two companies failed to warn users about the risks of using their products a substantial factor in harms like mental health issues
Gold Coast’s Tino Fa'asuamaleaui has taken full responsibility for: The Titans’ winless start to the 2026 NRL season.
Tesla’s humanoid robot, Optimus, is getting scarily close to: Fully moving like a human 👇
Recent newsletters
Last week’s top-clicked link was 👇
Weekly Dream Gig
This week - Imperial Hotel Gold Coast is chasing a Director of Sales & Marketing to lead its luxury repositioning ahead of a Hilton LXR takeover.
If you’re the kind of operator who can turn a solid resort into a true luxury player, this one’s for you.
You’ll own the full commercial engine, pricing, positioning, distribution and marketing, setting the strategy before the 2027 relaunch.
With packages around $120,000.00–$150,000.00 + bonus, this is one where you’re not just managing… you’re building something big.
6. Upcoming Events
🎪 La Clique – Thu 26 Mar, 7 pm; the gloriously unhinged circus-cabaret returns to HOTA for a big, adults-night-out opener to the weekend. Tickets.
🎸 Bernard Fanning — Tea & Sympathy 20th Anniversary Tour – Sat 28 Mar; Powderfinger royalty rolls into HOTA to run the album front to back with a couple of very handy special guests. Tickets.
🏉 Gold Coast Titans v Dragons – Sun 29 Mar, 6:15 pm; home-opener footy under lights at Cbus with plenty of game-day energy around Robina. Tickets.
🎭 Dracula’s: Lucid – this week, evening sessions; if you want dinner, drinks, blacklight chaos and a very weirdly good night out, this is still one of the Coast’s best-value big nights. Show.
🍔 Dreamworld Night Market – Fri 27 Mar and Sat 28 Mar, 5–9 pm; food trucks, live entertainment and a few rides after dark makes this an easy family or group play. Market.
🎨 Inside Pompeii: Origins of a European Way of Life – on now; wander through Luigi Spina’s striking Pompeii photography if you’re chasing a smarter, slower Gold Coast outing. Exhibition.
🎧 Koi Sunset Sessions – Thu 26 Mar to Sat 28 Mar, afternoon sessions; Broadbeach cocktails, grazing plates and golden-hour vibes if you want something low-stakes but still feels like going out. Sessions.
🎤 Improv Comedy FriYAY – Fri 27 Mar; quick-fire comedy, crowd interaction and a loose little Friday-night laugh without the mega-ticket price tag. Tickets.
🛍️ Surfers Paradise Beachfront Markets – Wed, Fri and Sat, 4–9 pm; easy beachfront browse with stalls, snacks and a built-in post-dinner wander. Markets.
🌌 Astra Lumina – Wed, Fri and Sat from sunset; Currumbin’s after-dark light trail is a strong pick if you want a date-night option that feels a bit more magical than the usual dinner run. Tickets.
