Public Holidays Australia 2026: Complete List by State with Pay Rates
Every 2026 Australian public holiday by state, including substitute days. Casual pay rates (2.5x+), your right to refuse work, and part-day public holiday rules explained.
National public holidays 2026: the 8 dates every Australian gets
Australia has 8 national public holidays that apply in every state and territory. For 2026, these dates are: New Year's Day — Thursday 1 January; Australia Day — Monday 26 January; Good Friday — Friday 3 April; Saturday before Easter Sunday — Saturday 4 April (some states observe this as Easter Saturday); Easter Monday — Monday 6 April; Anzac Day — Saturday 25 April (substitute days vary by state); Queen's Birthday — date varies by state (typically second Monday in June, except QLD, WA); Christmas Day — Friday 25 December; and Boxing Day — Saturday 26 December (substitute Monday 28 December in most states). The national public holidays are established under the Fair Work Act 2009 and apply to all employees in the national workplace relations system. When a national public holiday falls on a weekend, a substitute day (usually the following Monday) may apply — but the rules vary by state. All employees are entitled to be absent from work on a public holiday without loss of pay, except casual employees who are only paid if they work. If a public holiday falls on a day you would normally work, you are entitled to your base rate of pay for that day as if you had worked.
State-specific public holidays 2026
Each state and territory has additional public holidays beyond the 8 national days. In NSW, the Bank Holiday (first Monday in August) applies to certain workers, and there is no separate Easter Saturday — only Good Friday and Easter Monday. Victoria observes Melbourne Cup Day (first Tuesday in November) as a public holiday in the Melbourne metropolitan area, plus Easter Saturday and AFL Grand Final Friday (last Friday in September). Queensland has the Royal Queensland Show (Ekka) holiday for the Brisbane area (typically second or third Wednesday in August) and observes Easter Saturday. South Australia has Adelaide Cup Day (second Monday in March) and Proclamation Day (last Monday in December before Christmas). Western Australia has the Royal Hobart Regatta (WA Day, first Monday in June) and does not observe Easter Saturday as a public holiday. Tasmania observes Recreation Day (first Monday in November, northern Tasmania only) and Royal Hobart Regatta Day (second Monday in February, southern Tasmania). The ACT has Canberra Day (second Monday in March), Reconciliation Day (27 May or nearest Monday), and Family & Community Day (last Monday in September). The NT has May Day (first Monday in May), Show Day (various dates by region), and Picnic Day (first Monday in August).
Substitute days: when public holidays fall on weekends
When a national public holiday falls on a Saturday or Sunday, a substitute day is often observed on the following Monday (or Tuesday if Monday is already a public holiday). However, the rules on substitute days are not uniform across Australia — they vary by state and territory legislation. For Anzac Day 2026, which falls on Saturday 25 April, the treatment varies: in some states (such as NSW and ACT), the substitute Monday is observed; in others (such as Victoria and Queensland), Anzac Day is observed on the actual date and there is no substitute. For Christmas Day 2026 (Friday 25 December) and Boxing Day 2026 (Saturday 26 December), most states will observe a substitute day for Boxing Day on Monday 28 December. Some awards and enterprise agreements have specific provisions about substitute days — for example, they may allow an employer and employee to agree to substitute a different day for the public holiday. This is common in industries that operate on public holidays, such as hospitality and retail. If a substitute day applies, the substitute day becomes the public holiday for all purposes — penalty rates, the right to be absent, and public holiday pay all apply on the substitute day rather than the actual date.
Casual public holiday pay: 225% or 250% depending on your award
Casual employees who work on a public holiday are entitled to public holiday penalty rates, which are among the highest penalty rates in the Australian system. The exact rate depends on your modern award. Under many awards, casual employees working on a public holiday receive 250% of the base hourly rate (sometimes expressed as a 150% loading on top of the base rate, plus the 25% casual loading). For example, under the General Retail Industry Award, a casual employee earning a base rate of $25.68 per hour would receive $25.68 x 250% = $64.20 per hour for working on a public holiday. Some awards calculate the public holiday rate differently — for example, the Hospitality Industry (General) Award provides 275% of the base rate for casual employees on public holidays. Under the Restaurant Industry Award, casual employees receive 250% for most public holidays. Always check your specific award, as the rates can vary significantly. Enterprise agreements may provide different rates — some are higher, some are lower (but cannot be below the award minimum). If you are unsure of your applicable rate, look up your award on the Fair Work Ombudsman website and find the public holiday penalty rate for casual employees. Use our Take Home Pay Calculator to model your after-tax earnings when working a public holiday shift.
Refusing to work on a public holiday: your rights
Under the Fair Work Act, an employee can refuse a request to work on a public holiday if the refusal is reasonable. The Act sets out factors for determining reasonableness, which apply to both the employer's request and the employee's refusal. These factors include: the nature of the employer's business and whether it normally operates on public holidays; the employee's personal circumstances including family responsibilities; whether the employee is entitled to penalty rates or other compensation for working on the public holiday; the amount of notice given by the employer; the employee's ordinary hours of work; and the employee's role and responsibilities. An employer must not take adverse action against an employee for refusing an unreasonable request to work on a public holiday. However, if the refusal itself is unreasonable, the employee may be required to work. In practice, employees in industries that commonly operate on public holidays (hospitality, retail, healthcare, emergency services) will generally find it harder to argue that a refusal is reasonable, especially if they accepted the role knowing it involved public holiday work. Employees with strong personal reasons — such as caring responsibilities or religious observance — are more likely to have their refusal deemed reasonable.
Part-day public holidays and other special rules
Some public holidays are observed for only part of the day. The most common example is Christmas Eve and New Year's Eve, where some states or awards provide that the public holiday applies from 6pm or 7pm onwards rather than for the full day. For example, in South Australia, Christmas Eve is a public holiday from 7pm. In the Northern Territory, Christmas Eve from 7pm and New Year's Eve from 7pm are gazetted part-day public holidays. Where a part-day public holiday applies, the public holiday provisions (penalty rates, right to refuse work) only apply during the public holiday portion of the day. For the rest of the day, normal rates and conditions apply. Some awards also have specific provisions for part-day public holidays that affect how pay is calculated — for example, a shift that spans the changeover time may be split for penalty rate purposes. Another special rule applies to employees who are on leave when a public holiday falls. If a public holiday falls on a day when you would have been on annual leave, personal leave, or other paid leave, the public holiday takes priority — the day is treated as a public holiday rather than a leave day, and your leave balance is not reduced for that day. This effectively gives you an extra day of leave. Use our Leave Entitlements Calculator to check your leave balances and plan around public holidays.
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Official resources
General information and estimates only — not legal, financial, or tax advice. Always verify with the Fair Work Ombudsman (13 13 94) or a qualified professional.
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