Bottom line: tipping in Australia is not necessary.

However as a university student in the 1980's I was fortunate to work in several upmarket restaurants in the south of Sydney that featured fine service. At the end of the night I could always count on tips of between twenty and one hundred dollars. This worked out at between 5 and 15% per table.

So what does this tell the traveller? If you find yourself in an establishment where quality service is obviously the norm, a tip is a courtesy that should be considered.

Further, in international hotels, it would also be good form to tip the porter.

In other areas, tipping is much less common, including taxis. And it is absolutely unheard of at the barber or hair salon.