Australia Public Holidays 2026
Australia has 10 national public holidays in 2026, starting with New Year's Day on 1 January 2026 and ending with Boxing Day on 26 December 2026, observed on Monday 28 December 2026. One holiday moves this year: Boxing Day falls on 26 December 2026 but the day off is taken on Monday 28 December 2026. It is counted once, on the day observed.
| Holiday | Date | Weekday | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| New Year's Day | Thursday | Public holiday | |
| Australia Day | Monday | Public holiday | |
| Good Friday | Friday | Public holiday | |
| Holy SaturdayEaster Saturday | SaturdayWeekend | Public holiday | |
| Easter Sunday | SundayWeekend | Public holiday | |
| Easter Monday | Monday | Public holiday | |
| Anzac Day | SaturdayWeekend | Public holiday | |
| Sovereign's BirthdayThe Act sets the holiday but leaves the date to each state and territory. The second Monday in June applies in most of Australia. Western Australia observes it in late September and Queensland in early October, and the date there is fixed by annual proclamation. | Monday | Public holiday | |
| Christmas Day | Friday | Public holiday | |
| Boxing Day | in lieu of | Monday | Public holidayMoved |
- Status
- Set in lawThe calendar is set in standing law rather than announced year by year, so 2026 needs no separate publication.
- Last verified
- The newest check behind a Australia entry, against the source named in the corrections log.
- Source
- date-holidays open dataset (ISC and CC BY 3.0), with 1 correction applied to Australia. See what we changed.Always confirm official dates with a local authority before booking travel. How these calendars are built. Spotted an error? Tell us and we will check it.
Expect the most closures around April (5 holidays), so schedule deliveries and appointments with that in mind. Three of them fall on a Saturday or Sunday in 2026, which is worth checking if you are counting on days off from work. The table below lists every Australia public holiday for 2026 with its exact date and the weekday it falls on, so you can see the long weekends at a glance. The list is the national one, and Australia also has sub-national calendars that differ from it, so check the note above the table before you rely on a single date.
Frequently asked questions
How many public holidays does Australia have in 2026?
Australia has 10 national public holidays in 2026. The first is New Year's Day on 1 January 2026 and the last is Boxing Day on 26 December 2026, observed on Monday 28 December 2026.
What is the first public holiday of 2026 in Australia?
The first public holiday of 2026 is New Year's Day, which falls on 1 January 2026.
When is New Year celebrated in Australia in 2026?
In 2026, New Year's Day in Australia is on 1 January 2026.
Which 2026 holidays in Australia are moved to another day?
One is: Boxing Day, which falls on 26 December 2026 but is taken on Monday 28 December 2026. A moved holiday is one holiday with a shifted day off, not two holidays, so it is counted once here. Sites that list both the weekend date and its replacement report a higher total than the official calendar does.
Are regional holidays included for Australia?
No. This calendar lists national public holidays only, so it stays consistent across countries. Holidays that apply to just part of Australia are listed separately on the Australia holiday hub, together with the states and territories that observe them.
Do the Australia holiday dates change from 2026 to the next year?
Some of them do. Five of the 10 holidays in 2026 sit on a moving rule (linked to easter and set weekday of the month), so their date has to be recalculated for every year. The rest keep the same calendar date and only change weekday. Moving ones this year include Good Friday on 3 April 2026, Holy Saturday on 4 April 2026 and Easter Sunday on 5 April 2026, plus 2 more.
How far ahead is the Australia calendar actually fixed?
Through 2027. The holidays are set in law rather than announced year by year, so the dates repeat predictably. What can still change is a law amendment, a one-off holiday declared for a national event, and the exact day of any holiday on the Islamic calendar, which is confirmed by moon sighting. This table also applies 1 correction to the underlying open dataset, each checked against the legislation. The full list with sources is on the Australia holiday hub.
Which Australia holidays are regional, and which move?
The table above is the national calendar for 2026. Some holidays keep the same date every year while others are tied to Easter, to a lunar calendar or to a named weekday, and some parts of the country add their own days off. The Australia holiday hub breaks that down: which holidays are fixed, which move and why, and which ones are observed in certain regions only. To compare Australia with other countries in the same year, see the 2026 worldwide overview.
Other years for Australia
Planning further ahead or looking back? Compare the Australia public holiday calendar across years:
Plan around the Australia 2026 calendar
Knowing the dates is half the question. The other half is what they add up to: which of them create a long weekend on their own, and where a single day of leave turns a holiday into a four day break. That is on the Australia long weekends page for 2026, alongside how many working days 2026 actually has once weekends and holidays come out. The same figures are available as JSON, and the dates as a calendar file.