Australia Public Holidays
Australia has 10 national public holidays on the list below for 2026, but it does not have one calendar: each state and territory sets its own dates. Over the years covered here the calendar draws on 10 recurring holidays. 5 sit on the same calendar date every year, while 5 move (Linked to Easter and Set weekday of the month). On top of that, 15 further public holidays are observed in some states and territories only.
Which public holidays does Australia have?
Every recurring national public holiday, how its date is decided, and the date it lands on in 2025, 2026 and 2027. Dates are computed from the rule, so Easter-linked and moon-linked holidays are correct for each individual year.
| Holiday | How the date is set | 2025 | 2026 | 2027 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| New Year's Day | Fixed date, can shift | |||
| Australia Day | Fixed date, can shift | |||
| Good Friday | Linked to Easter | |||
| Holy SaturdayEaster Saturday | Linked to Easter | |||
| Easter Sunday | Linked to Easter | |||
| Easter Monday | Linked to Easter | |||
| Anzac Day | Same date every year | |||
| Sovereign's Birthday | Set weekday of the month | |||
| Christmas Day | Fixed date, can shift | observed, moved | ||
| Boxing Day | Fixed date, can shift | observed, moved | observed, moved |
Which Australian holidays are national and which are regional?
The Fair Work Act names a national set of public holidays, but the date of several of them is left to each state and territory, and every state adds its own days on top. The Sovereign's Birthday is the clearest case: most of Australia takes it on the second Monday in June, Western Australia in late September and Queensland in early October. Substitute days for holidays falling on a weekend are also set state by state.
The table above is the national calendar. Separately, this dataset tracks 8 states and territories of Australia, and 15 further public holidays are observed in some of them but not nationwide in 2026. If you are planning around a specific place, add the relevant rows below to the national list.
| Regional holiday | Date in 2026 | Observed in |
|---|---|---|
| King's Birthday | Australian Capital Territory, New South Wales and Northern Territory, plus 3 more6 of 8 states and territories | |
| Canberra Day | Australian Capital Territory, South Australia and Tasmania, plus 1 more4 of 8 states and territories | |
| Labour Day | Australian Capital Territory, New South Wales and South Australia | |
| May Day | Northern Territory and Queensland | |
| Christmas Eve | Northern Territory and South Australia | |
| New Year's Eve | Northern Territory and South Australia | |
| Labour Day | Western Australia | |
| Reconciliation Day | Australian Capital Territory | |
| Western Australia Day | Western Australia | |
| Picnic Day | Northern Territory | |
| AFL Grand Final Friday | Victoria | |
| King's Birthday | Western Australia | |
| King's Birthday | Queensland | |
| Melbourne Cup | Victoria | |
| Christmas Eve | Queensland |
Regional coverage is only as complete as the underlying open dataset, so treat this as a strong indication rather than a legal source. Confirm with the relevant local or regional authority in Australia before you rely on a single date.
Which holidays move each year, and why?
5 of the 10 recurring holidays land on a different date each year. Here is the rule behind each group.
Same date every year (1)
The holiday is tied to one calendar date, so it lands on a different weekday each year but never changes date. In Australia this covers Anzac Day.
Fixed date, can shift (4)
The holiday has a fixed calendar date, but an observance rule can move the day off when it falls on a weekend or next to another holiday. In Australia this covers New Year's Day, Australia Day, Christmas Day and Boxing Day.
Set weekday of the month (1)
The rule names a weekday rather than a date, for example the third Monday in January, so the calendar date changes every year while the weekday stays the same. In Australia this covers Sovereign's Birthday.
Linked to Easter (4)
The date is counted from Easter Sunday, which is the Sunday after the first ecclesiastical full moon falling on or after 21 March, so it swings between late March and late April. In Australia this covers Good Friday, Holy Saturday, Easter Sunday and Easter Monday.
Corrections applied to the Australia calendar
These dates start from the open date-holidays dataset, which is a good general source but is wrong or incomplete for a number of countries. Every departure from it is listed here with the law or official publication it was checked against, so you can verify it rather than trust it.
| Change | Holiday | Why | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Added | Sovereign's Birthday | Named in the Fair Work Act as a public holiday, but the dependency carries it only in state calendars, which demotes a national entitlement to a regional one. | Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth), s. 115(1)(a)(vi)Checked 2026-07-27 |
When is the next public holiday in Australia?
The next 2 holidays on the 2026 calendar.
| Holiday | Date | Weekday |
|---|---|---|
| Christmas Day | Friday | |
| Boxing Day | in lieu of | Monday |
Australia public holiday calendars by year
Open a year for the full table with dates, weekdays and long-weekend counts.
Frequently asked questions
How many public holidays does Australia have?
Australia has 10 national public holidays in 2026 and 10 in 2027. The total can differ from year to year because holidays that fall on a weekend sometimes gain a substitute day, and because moon-based and Easter-based dates occasionally shift in or out of a calendar year.
Which Australian public holidays fall on the same date every year?
Five of them: New Year's Day (January 1), Australia Day (January 26), Anzac Day (April 25), Christmas Day (December 25) and Boxing Day (December 28). These are pinned to a calendar date, so only the weekday changes from year to year.
Which public holidays in Australia change date each year?
Five do: Good Friday, Holy Saturday, Easter Sunday, Easter Monday and Sovereign's Birthday. The reasons are linked to easter and set weekday of the month, so the Gregorian date has to be recalculated for every year rather than copied forward.
Are there regional public holidays in Australia?
Yes. Besides the national list, 15 public holidays are observed in some states and territories only, for example King's Birthday in Australian Capital Territory, Canberra Day in Australian Capital Territory and Labour Day in Australian Capital Territory. The year calendars on this site show national holidays only, so add the relevant regional dates on top.
What happens when a public holiday in Australia falls on a weekend?
Australia applies a shift rule to four of its holidays, so a date landing on a Saturday or Sunday is observed on a nearby weekday instead. New Year's Day, Australia Day, Christmas Day and Boxing Day follow that pattern. We list a moved holiday once, on the day actually taken off, with its calendar date beside it, rather than counting the weekend date and its replacement as two separate holidays.
Where do these Australian holiday dates come from?
The dates are computed per year from each holiday's own rule using the open date-holidays dataset. That dataset is wrong or incomplete for Australia, so one correction has been applied on top of it, each checked against the legislation or the official publication and listed further down this page with its source and the date it was checked.
How to use this page
Public holidays shape the working year in Australia, closing many offices, banks and public services and shifting the rhythm of travel and shopping. If you are scheduling a delivery, a launch or a meeting with a Australian team, the table at the top is the quickest check: it shows every recurring holiday side by side across 2025, 2026 and 2027, so you can see at a glance which dates are stable and which need looking up again next year. Where a holiday falls on a weekend and is taken on another day, it appears once, on the day off, with its calendar date beside it, so the totals here match the official ones rather than double counting.
For a single year with weekday counts and long weekends, open the year page for 2025, 2026 or 2027. To compare countries in one year, the 2026 worldwide overview lists every country we cover side by side. Dates come from the open date-holidays dataset and are recalculated per year from each holiday's rule, with 1 correction applied on top of it against the Australian legislation, listed above with sources. Always confirm official dates with a local authority before you commit to travel or contracts.