The Australian restaurant industry says the government's visa program should be expanded to include non-skilled overseas workers.



The peak industry group, Restaurant and Catering Australia, has made a submission to a parliamentary inquiry into the skilled migration program.



The group's chief executive officer, John Hart, says curently there is a chronic shortage of chefs, cooks and waiters across Australia.



"The skills and labour shortage is so acute that we are now finding, in a number of circumstances, that businesses are shutting down parts of their business because they simply cannot staff that business."