Australia public holidays 2026 and 2027: national overview and state-by-state differences

The 2027 lists of all eight state and territory governments include New Year’s Day, Australia Day, Good Friday, Easter Monday, Anzac Day, Christmas Day and Boxing Day, though the dates differ where one falls on a weekend. South Australia’s Public Holidays Act 2023 names 26 December the Proclamation Day holiday, and SafeWork SA’s 2027 list calls it the “Proclamation Day holiday and Boxing Day”.

In 2027, 25 December is a Saturday and 26 December a Sunday. The eight state and territory government pages all list Monday 27 December 2027 and Tuesday 28 December 2027 as public holidays, so the extra days are the same in every state and territory that year. How each state words its rule is on its own page.

It depends on the state. In 2027, 25 April is a Sunday. The NSW Government, Western Australian Government and ACT Government pages list an additional day on Monday 26 April, and the Queensland Government and NT Government pages list Monday 26 April for Anzac Day. Business Victoria says: “ANZAC Day is commemorated on the day it falls. There is no replacement holiday when ANZAC Day falls on a weekend.” SafeWork SA says: “25 April is a public holiday regardless of what day of the week it falls. There is no substitute or additional public holiday when 25 April falls on a Saturday or Sunday.” WorkSafe Tasmania says: “When Anzac Day falls on Saturday or Sunday, no substitute or additional holiday is observed.”

Business Victoria’s 2027 page lists Tuesday 2 November 2027 and says: “Melbourne Cup Day is a public holiday across all of Victoria unless alternate local holiday has been arranged by a non-metro council.” The Fair Work Ombudsman’s 2027 list says: “Tuesday 2 November: Melbourne Cup (some regional areas in Victoria hold the Melbourne Cup public holiday on a different date)”

Only part of the day, and only in some places. The Queensland Government lists Christmas Eve from 6pm to midnight (the Holidays Act 1983 applies it only for working out entitlements under the laws it lists). SafeWork SA and the NT Government list both Christmas Eve and New Year’s Eve, 7pm to midnight. The NSW Government, Business Victoria, Western Australian Government, WorkSafe Tasmania and ACT Government pages list no Christmas Eve or New Year’s Eve holiday for 2027.

Yes. The Fair Work Ombudsman says: “Some states and territories add or substitute public holidays when one falls on a weekend, while others don’t. Some states and territories have regional public holidays or public holidays that are only for a capital city.” Examples in the state sources are the Royal Queensland Show (Brisbane area only), the Queensland Government’s show holidays by district, the Northern Territory’s regional show days, Tasmania’s regional holidays (part of Tasmania only), local public holidays and local event days in regional and rural NSW, non-metropolitan council holidays in Victoria, and regional King’s Birthday dates in Western Australia.

Business Victoria’s 2027 page, as archived on 26 April 2026, printed “Subject to AFL schedule” for the Friday before the AFL Grand Final (the live page could not be read on 5 November 2026). When we checked on 5 November 2026, the Western Australian Government’s page said the regional King’s Birthday 2027 dates “will be published when known”. Local, show and regional holidays in several states are declared each year and were not all listed for 2027.