Tipping Australia and New Zealand

Is tipping expected in either/both countries for taxis, restaurants, tours, etc?

If so what is the going rate?

Tipping is only expected if you are an American :)

Hank

Tipping is only expected if you are an American :)

I've met some cabbies who expect a tip.

Some restaurants push it too. It'll usually be apparent if that's the case though.

Taxis we usually round up to the nearest $5, ie keep the change, unless they've been rude, cab is smelly, etc. Then exact fare only.

Restaurants we tip for service above and beyond expectations - again we usually just round up to make it approx 10-15%.

In a taxi, I might round up, unless things aren't great.

Restaurants are starting to expect it, especially the upper level restaurants, but you really wont be abused if you don't [remember you can get some really good meals here in Pubs and Clubs, RSL Leagues Club etc too where tps wont be expected.]

Tours likewise, if you want to give them $5 or $10 they'll take it but if you don't they really won't care.

Tipping is becoming more common here, but it is nothing like the tipping culture in the USA. It's just a gesture IF you feel like it, and is not expected at all. The wages here are much higher so tips aren't required to make minimum wage, they're just a bonus if you've done an awesome, above expected job.

So cabs if I'm paying cash I round up to the next note, or $5 extra if I'm right near an even note amount. If they aren't helpful, go the wrong way or don't offer to help with bags I don't.

Restaurant if I'm paying cash I leave the loose change, card I don't usually tip as there often isn't the option on the docket.

Tours I've never done one here so can't comment but I'd probably give $5-$10 seeing as they would probably be expecting it a bit more being tourist operators.

Tours I've never done one here so can't comment but I'd probably give $5-$10 seeing as they would probably be expecting it a bit more being tourist operators.

I've done a few tours here over the years, if it's a bus [40-50 people] I generally don't tip, if it's a smaller tour, say 8 or 10, I'll probably give him a $5 or $10 and tell him to get himself a cold one when he's done for the day.

Australia doesn't have a tipping culture like America does, but there are some instances where tips are appreciated.

Working out how much and when can be a puzzle however. Here's my guidelines for what they're worth: :D

Taxi fares - for smaller fares just round it up to the nearest dollar (or just over), for example if it's $16.50 then give the cabbie $17. If it's $18.90 then make it $20. For larger fares round it up to the nearest 5 or 0 (ie if it's $47.50 then make it $50). If they sit in the cab & won't help with luggage, or as AKAmum said are smelly & rude then don't tip anything.

Cafes & informal eateries - generally no tip required for just getting coffee & cake. If you order a lunch meal then leave any coins you receive in change. No tips are expected if you get take-away drinks or food.

Restaurants for dinner - roughly 10-15%, or round it up to the nearest 0, so if you're meal comes to $42 then give them $50 (unless it was mediocre of course).

Really posh five star restaurants - I have no idea but I'd guess between 15 & 20%.

Pubs & bars - don't leave a tip. If you buy four beers and you get 20c change then put it in the tip jar on the counter, but you don't need to leave a tip every time you buy a drink.

Hope that helps :)

Cafes & informal eateries - generally no tip required for just getting coffee & cake. If you order a lunch meal then leave any coins you receive in change. No tips are expected if you get take-away drinks or food.

 

Restaurants for dinner - roughly 10-15%, or round it up to the nearest 0, so if you're meal comes to $42 then give them $50 (unless it was mediocre of course).

 

Really posh five star restaurants - I have no idea but I'd guess between 15 & 20%.

 

Pubs & bars - don't leave a tip. If you buy four beers and you get 20c change then put it in the tip jar on the counter, but you don't need to leave a tip every time you buy a drink.

 

Hope that helps :)

The smallest note is a $5 note, so leaving the coins you receive can mean you're leaving close to $5 as a tip for a counter service lunch. That's insane, even for US tipping standards.

I grew up in the US and moved to Australia as an adult within the past 5 years. I have never tipped anywhere in Australia. A few places have tip jars on the counters, but it was never expected the way it is in the US. Tipping may be more common in Sydney, though. I've really never seen it done in the places I've been/live.

I have rounded up for cab fares, but that was to save both the driver and me the problems of dealing with small change, and not because service was exceptional, or even adequate for that matter. My luck with cabs is bad. I will invariably get the driver who does not know where he is or how to get to the place I want to be.

There are no hard and fast rules.

Wait staff are not taxed as though they earn tips so there is no set formula. I rarely tip in cafes and certainly not anywhere where I order at the counter.

Tipping is even less common now with the pin required for CC transactions and pay wave (tap n go)

I will round up for the taxi driver if, and only if, he lifts my bags for me. If he sits in the cab and I DIY, I might round up to the nearest $ if it's close but more often than not I make sure I have a range of coins (and I usually have a pretty good idea what the fare will be). If I don't have luggage I expect him to know where he is going….. if he doesn't no round up.

Ellie, I too seem to get lots of drivers who do not know where they are going, especially of you are in the fringe suburbs such as Newtown or Paddington. They all seem to know how to get to the airport.

I pretty much agree with MrsWaldo.

I also suspect that some taxi drivers try to pretend they don't know the way so they can add to the fare while they look it up or enter it into the GPS with the meter running.

I had one try to say he didn't know how to get to the Opera House from York Street, I'm not sure what shower of rain he thought I'd come down in.

Tipping is never required in Australia or New Zealand. I work for a large Australian company and the expense guidelines go so far as prohibiting paying a tip in either country.

Tourist trap restaurants will claim on the menu that a tip is required but this statement is aimed as tricking American tourists into paying a tip when they shouldn't. No person from NZ or Australia would pay a tip in response to such a request.

While you don't have to pay a tip you can and it will certainly be appreciated since tips are rare. I tend to leave a tip at places I frequent often or if service is truly fantastic (which is rare in NZ - possibly because nobody expects to get a tip).

The minimum wage is $14.25 per hour and no service worker is earning less than that. Tax rate are very low (negative in terms of government transfers) for people at that level of income. Service staff do not need tips to survive.

Just don't.

I've never tipped in NZ and I have lived here 40 years. We really don't want that kind of thing becoming the norm here.

We do not tip housekeepers in hotels. We do not tip hairdressers etc. I have never seen tipping happening on boat trips and the like here though I haven't done tours with a private guide. I do tip in restaurants but usually around 5-10%. $45, make it $50 but only for decent service. Never for bad service and no explanation needed.

No, don't - there isn't a tipping culture here, thank goodness. After a European trip of several months I paid my hairdresser as usual by credit card and put a $20 dollar bill on the desk. She pushed it back to me and said 'You've been away too long - you've forgotten we don't tip here'

:)

I don't plan on tipping in Australia and New Zealand, but I do plan on tipping the workers on the ship since I know they aren't paid much in the first place.

Does anyone know what currency would be most useful to them? I'm coming from Canada, and I don't know whether to bring US dollars (what I did when I went to the Bahamas and the Caribbean), Australian dollars, or New Zealand dollars...

In order: USD is most useful by far, and then AUD and NZD has some local use, but not much.

In order: USD is most useful by far, and then AUD and NZD has some local use, but not much.

Thank you, I'll make sure to bring some USD along.

There are no hard and fast rules.

 

Wait staff are not taxed as though they earn tips so there is no set formula.

Incorrect. Staff are required to put the total tips for the year in their tax return as "income not taxed at source". They are then taxed accordingly - it can result in them having a tax bill instead of a refund.

https://www.ato.gov.au/Individuals/Tax-return/2014/Tax-return/Income-questions-1-12/2---Allowances,-earnings,-tips,-directors-fees-etc/

You did not read/understand the reply correctly.

They are not taxed as though they earned it regardless of whether they did or not…

this is what happens in some US states. There is an assumption of at least 10% tip earning when the return is lodged regardless of how much was received.

The smallest note is a $5 note, so leaving the coins you receive can mean you're leaving close to $5 as a tip for a counter service lunch. That's insane, even for US tipping standards.

 

I grew up in the US and moved to Australia as an adult within the past 5 years. I have never tipped anywhere in Australia. A few places have tip jars on the counters, but it was never expected the way it is in the US. Tipping may be more common in Sydney, though. I've really never seen it done in the places I've been/live.

 

I have rounded up for cab fares, but that was to save both the driver and me the problems of dealing with small change, and not because service was exceptional, or even adequate for that matter. My luck with cabs is bad. I will invariably get the driver who does not know where he is or how to get to the place I want to be.

ellieanne:

Did you live in Perth?

ellieanne:

 

Did you live in Perth?

southeast of Melbourne.