How much should a Secret Santa gift cost?
Short answerAlways match the stated limit exactly. $20–$30 is the standard Australian workplace range.
Match the stated limit. That's the entire rule. Going over makes everyone else look stingy and creates exactly the awkwardness Secret Santa is meant to prevent. Going significantly under signals you didn't try.
Most Australian workplace Secret Santas land in the $20–30 range. Some industries (retail, hospitality, smaller teams) sit at $15–20. Corporate or professional offices sometimes set $40–50.
In the $20–30 bracket, the strongest categories are consumables and small upgrades. Specialty hot sauce, a great chocolate bar, a quality candle, a single nice cocktail mixer, a small plant, or a useful desk object all land well.
What to avoid at this price: anything novelty (mugs with slogans, joke socks, branded merch), anything that needs assembly, anything alcoholic if you don't know the team's culture, and anything political or remotely risqué.
If your office runs a Bad Santa or White Elephant variant where humour is the point, the rules invert — but the spend cap still holds.