Australia subclass 186 visa sponsorship became the immigration issue behind a Brisbane restaurant dispute involving an Italian chef and pineapple pizza.
An Italian chef in Brisbane lost the employer sponsorship linked to his Australia subclass 186 visa application after a workplace dispute that included repeated refusals to make pineapple pizza.
Pizza dispute became an immigration setback
A disagreement over Hawaiian pizza at a Brisbane restaurant ended up creating a serious problem for Italian chef Davide Tamburella’s hopes of securing permanent residency in Australia.
Tamburella had been working at La Costa in Fortitude Valley, Queensland, when tensions with management escalated during a private function. The case, reported by The Guardian on November 5, 2026, centred partly on a customer request for pizza topped with ham and pineapple.
The function was a significant booking for the restaurant, valued at more than A$15,000. The customer paying for the event wanted Hawaiian pizza available to guests, but Tamburella objected to preparing it.
Elliot Ingram, La Costa’s managing director, told The Guardian that the event was:
spending in excess of $15,000,
Elliot Ingram, La Costa’s managing director, also said the client had specifically asked for:
ham and pineapple pizza.
Fair Work evidence cited repeated refusals
Evidence before Australia’s Fair Work Commission, which deals with workplace disputes, showed that Tamburella regarded pineapple on pizza as unacceptable from an Italian cultural perspective. The commission recorded that he considered it “an insult to his culture.”
The disagreement was not described as a one-off. Over four years, Tamburella had declined to make pineapple pizzas on three separate occasions. The commission also found that he had asked his employer to “check how important it is for Italians not to put pineapple on a pizza.”
Restaurant management took the position that fulfilling customer requests was part of the role. Ingram told The Guardian he was not especially fond of Hawaiian pizza himself, but that years in hospitality had shaped his approach to disputes over customer preferences.
Elliot Ingram, La Costa’s managing director, told The Guardian:
It’s probably not my absolute favourite,
Tamburella was dismissed on May 20, 2026. The restaurant did not rely solely on the pineapple pizza dispute when raising issues about his employment. Management also pointed to concerns including inappropriate language, communication difficulties and service-related tensions.
Subclass 186 application had depended on the job
The dismissal carried consequences beyond employment. Tamburella had spent more than three years pursuing a subclass 186 visa, formally known as the Employer Nomination Scheme visa.
According to Australia’s Department of Home Affairs, the subclass 186 route can allow eligible skilled overseas workers nominated by an Australian employer to live and work in Australia permanently. Because Tamburella’s application was tied to employer sponsorship, losing the job also meant losing La Costa’s support for the visa process.
Ingram told The Guardian he delayed informing immigration authorities about the end of the employment relationship for as long as he legally could. He said he had hoped the visa might be granted before he was required to withdraw sponsorship. That approval did not come in time.
The result is that Tamburella must begin the permanent residency process again, despite having already spent more than three years working toward that outcome.
Tribunal rejected claim on timing, not pizza merits
After losing his job, Tamburella took the matter to the Fair Work Commission. In a decision released on November 3, 2026, the commission dismissed his application because it had been lodged after the legal deadline and no exceptional circumstances justified extending the time limit.
The commission therefore did not decide whether the dismissal itself was fair or whether refusing to make pineapple pizza could justify termination.
Ingram later emphasised to Australian media that the workplace dispute involved broader disciplinary concerns, not only a disagreement about toppings. Elliot Ingram, La Costa’s former managing director, told the Daily Mail there was:
more to this story than a pizza topping,
Restaurant closed, chef found new role
La Costa has since shut down. The Brisbane restaurant closed in July 2026 after its lease expired, against a backdrop of rising operating costs in the Fortitude Valley area.
Tamburella has moved on to another kitchen. The Courier-Mail reported that he is now working at Don Gino, an Italian restaurant in Brisbane’s West End. Unlike his former workplace, the new restaurant does not list any pineapple pizza on its menu.
For sponsored skilled workers, the case underlines how closely employment and immigration status can be connected in Australia. A workplace breakdown can quickly become a visa problem when permanent residency depends on an employer nomination remaining in place.
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