Tipping

Tipping is optional in Australia. In restaurants, a tip is only left if above average service has been delivered. Taxi drivers are usually only tipped if they initiate a good conversation and don’t rip off their customers. (When getting into a taxi, sitting in the front seat is the etiquette. The back seat feels too much like one is being chauffeured and it is difficult to have a conversation.) Bar staff are not usually tipped unless a customer has thoughts of seducing them. Even if the staff are not tipped, they will continue to serve you on your subsequent visits. No grudge is held against those who don’t tip.

Bringing booze¹⁵ to a barbecue

There is an Australian adage¹⁶ that when hosting a barbecue, a knock on the door should never be answered as it means the guest isn’t carrying the required case of beer. (One should only answer a kick on the door.)

If invited to someone’s home for a barbecue, etiquette stipulates¹⁷ that you make a contribution to the alcohol that will be drunk. If bringing beer, a six-pack is ok but a case is more ideal.

Depending upon the nature of the barbecue, sometimes etiquette allows un-drunk beers to be taken home. But if the host has provided a large banquet, it is usually safer to leave un-drunk beers for the host as a gesture of thanks.

Sometimes people get away with just bringing a potatoe salad or pavlova¹⁸. Generally this is ok but a few traditionalists frown upon the absence of grog.

Honesty

It may seem strange for a society that came from Convicts, but Australians value honesty. It is acceptable to be dishonest to pull someone’s leg or play a joke, but on serious issues, honesty is the best policy. This is reflected in the creation of sayings such as: “poor but honest”, “fair dinkum” ¹⁹, “honest toiler”²⁰, “honesty of substance”, “having an honest crack.”

Australians vilify²¹ the fallen millionaire (or politician) like no other nationality around the world. They become a bit like a pack of dogs tearing apart a carcass²².

Many Australians are quite cynical and almost seem to presume strangers to be guilty until they prove themselves otherwise. Perhaps this is why buying your round at the pub is such an important thing to do. It shows that you are not out for all you can get.

Aside from being distrustful of individuals, Australians may be distrustful of spin doctoring²³. As the myriad of failed media, political and marketing campaigns show, Australians are quite sensitive to any cues that indicate everything is not above board. If they are suspicious, they tend to reject it. In 2004, a Quantum/AustraliaSCAN survey found that only four per cent had much confidence in consumer information from major companies. Such figures indicate that a lot of companies are wasting money on the public relations, as Australians simply do not believe them.

Wine for the dinner party

At a dinner party, wine is the appropriate alcoholic contribution made by guests. At the end of the night, it is not usually etiquette to take home any undrunk wine. Instead, it should be left as a gift for the hosts.

Depending upon who is on the guest list, the choice of wine is very important. If the guests are knowledgeable about wine, anyone who brings a cheap wine will be frowned upon and the wine will just be left unopened.

No wine is too expensive at a dinner party. The better the wine that a guest brings, the more they will be appreciated. By bringing a good wine, the guest is saying that it is an honour to drink with other guests and the host.

Those who share the wine should be appreciative of the honour, without expressly saying so. Although the wine can be praised, the bringer of the wine can not. In such situations, a very important rule is that the cost of the wine should not be asked, and never volunteered.

If the host takes it upon themselves to open all the wine for the evening, it is generally good form to acknowledge who brought the wine that is being opened. If it is an unique wine, this gives the guest the opportunity to talk about where the wine came from and why he/she thinks it is interesting.

It is very poor form for the host not to open a bottle of good wine that has been brought. I.e. for the host to open the cheap plonk²⁴ with the hope he/she can drink the good wine by themselves at a later date.

If the wine is not opened, then the host should suggest that the guest take it home with them. In such circumstances, the guest can accept. Alternatively, the host should say the wine will be saved for the next time the guest comes over.