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Money & paymentsBy Clever Tourists · Published
Australia is the clearest case in this series: tipping is not expected, staff are paid a proper hourly wage, and the menu price is the price. The confusion comes from card machines that prompt for 10, 15 or 20 percent — a default in imported payment software rather than an Australian custom — and from holiday surcharges that look like a service charge but are not one.
Free toolWork out the exact tip on any bill →Pick the country, enter the bill and get the tip in local currency — including the places where service is already on the bill.Restaurants and cafés: nothing is expected. Ten percent is fine for genuinely excellent service at a nicer restaurant.
Card machine prompts: press no or skip. Locals do this routinely and nobody is offended.
Bars and pubs: no tip. Order at the bar, pay, done.
Taxis and rideshare: round up if you like. Not expected.
Public holiday surcharge: this is not a tip — see below.
Australian hospitality staff are paid award wages set by law, and there is no sub-minimum tipped wage as there is in the United States. The tip is not making up a wage shortfall, so there is no social obligation behind it.
The listed menu price includes service and GST. What you see is what you pay.
This also means service does not degrade when you fail to tip. It is not contingent on it.
On public holidays, and sometimes weekends, many venues add a surcharge of around 10–15%. This is legal and it exists to cover the higher penalty rates the business must pay staff on those days.
It is not discretionary, not a tip, and not negotiable. Menus usually state it, and good venues state it clearly.
Because it is already covering the staff's higher pay, it is another reason no tip is needed on those days.
Many terminals in Australia are built on North American payment software, where a tip prompt is the default. The prompt appears regardless of local custom.
Press no, skip, or zero. Staff see this hundreds of times a day.
If you do want to tip, the practical way is to tell them the amount rather than fight the terminal interface.
Not usually. Staff earn a full wage and the menu price includes service. Rounding up or 10% for excellent service is optional and appreciated.
The payment software is often imported and defaults to prompting. It is not an Australian custom, and pressing no or skip is normal.
Around 10-15% added on public holidays to cover legally required higher staff pay. It is not a tip and it is not discretionary.
Not expected. Rounding up is a common courtesy but nothing more is required.
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