Green’s Dictionary of Slang

(Aus.) an argument; a reprimand.

1897		Worker (Brisbane) 4 Sept. 8/3: And when he gets a reprimand, or gentle kind of ‘tip,’ / He tells you in a whisper that "he got a blooming “chip.”’.
1902		Truth (Sydney) 6 Apr. 5/4: Just at this juncture Ada’s ma DECIDED TO HAVE A CHIP, but she hadn’t got fairly into the argument when the burly Mary ‘passed her left,’ which landed on the jaw with such force as to silence the old dame.
1911		E.S. Sorenson ‘Shearer and Rouseabout’ in Life in the Aus. Backblocks 248: A good captain has no trouble with his men. He may ‘chip’ them often, but while his chips are effective, they leave no bitterness.
1945		Baker Aus. Lang. 63: A chip or wire, a reprimand.
1967		K. Tennant Tell Morning This 392: ‘Stripy hears him having another chip with a couple of cros’.