Public holidays in Australia refer to the holidays recognised in law in Australia. Although they are declared on a state and territory basis, they comprise a mixture of nationally celebrated days and holidays exclusive to the individual jurisdictions.
Public holidays function as non-working days, with workers generally receiving full paid leave independently of annual leave. Those working on public holidays receive additional penalty rates of pay. [1] Where they fall on a weekend, public holidays are generally declared in lieu for the following Monday.
Statutory holidays in Australia are based on varying religious, cultural and civic observations. Christian celebrations, namely Christmas and Easter, are some of the most significant ones observed. A Labour Day is observed in each state and territory, although it is varied in date. There are two significant national days, Australia Day (26 January) and Anzac Day (25 April), which are nationwide public holidays.
When a public holiday occurs on a Friday or Monday, the three-day period is colloquially known as a "long weekend".
Traditionally, Australians in employment (whether in the public or private sector) have had the right to take a public holiday off work with regular pay. In recent years[ when? ] this tradition has changed somewhat. For example, businesses that normally open on a public holiday may request employees to work on that day. Employers can deny employees a holiday only on reasonable business grounds.[ citation needed ]
From 2006, WorkChoices eliminated the entitlement to penalty rates in many workplaces; however since the implementation of the Fair Work Act 2009 and the modern awards in 2010, most public-holiday penalty rates have increased dramatically.[ citation needed ]As of 2018 [update] employees generally receive pay at a penalty rate—usually 2.5 times (known as "double time and a half") the base rate of pay—when they work on a public holiday.[ citation needed ]
Besides designating days as public holidays, Australian authorities also designate some of these days as restricted trading days.
Public holidays are determined by a combination of:
If a standard public holiday falls on a weekend, a substitute public holiday will sometimes be observed on the first non-weekend day (usually Monday) after the weekend, whether by virtue of the public holiday legislation or by ad hoc proclamation. Workers required to work on a public holiday or substituted public holiday will usually be entitled to remuneration at a holiday penalty rate.
All states have their own public holidays in addition to national public holidays, and in some states certain public holidays, such as Melbourne Cup Day, are in force in only part of a state.
Alcohol licences in several states prevent sale of alcohol on certain public holidays, such as Good Friday.
Date | ACT | NSW | NT | QLD | SA [2] | TAS | VIC | WA |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 January | New Year's Day | |||||||
26 January | Australia Day | |||||||
2nd Monday in February | No | No | No | No | No | H Royal Hobart Regatta [3] | No | No |
1st Monday in March | No | No | No | No [4] | No | No | No | Labour Day |
2nd Monday in March | Canberra Day | No | No | No | Adelaide Cup Day | Eight Hours Day | Labour Day | No |
Variable date | Good Friday | |||||||
Easter Saturday [5] [6] [7] | The day after Good Friday [8] | Easter Saturday | No [9] | Saturday before Easter Sunday [10] | No [11] | |||
Easter Sunday [12] | No | Easter Sunday [13] | Easter Sunday | No | Easter Sunday [14] | Easter Sunday [15] | ||
Easter Monday | ||||||||
No | No | No | No | No | C Easter Tuesday | No | No | |
25 April | Anzac Day | |||||||
1st Monday in May | No | No | May Day | Labour Day [4] | No | No | No | No |
1st Monday after or on 27 May | Reconciliation Day | No | No | No | No | No | No | No |
1st Monday in June | No | No | No | No | No | No | No | Western Australia Day |
2nd Monday in June | King's Birthday | No [4] | King's Birthday | No | ||||
1st Monday in August | No | No | Picnic Day | No | No | No | No | No |
1st Wednesday after 9 August | No | No | No | B Royal Queensland Show [4] | No | No | No | No |
As proclaimed by the Governor of Western Australia (September/October) | No | No | No | No | No | No | No | King's Birthday |
Friday before the Australian Football League Grand Final (usually held on the last Saturday in September or first Saturday in October) | No | No | No | No | No | No | Friday before the Australian Football League Grand Final [14] | No |
1st Monday in October | Labour Day | No | King's Birthday [4] | Labour Day | No | No | No | |
1st Monday in November | No | No | No | No | No | NH Recreation Day | No | No |
1st Tuesday in November | No | No | No | No | No | No | Melbourne Cup† | No |
24 December | No | No* | P Christmas Eve | P Christmas Eve [4] | P Christmas Eve | No | No | No |
25 December | Christmas Day | |||||||
26 December | Boxing Day | Proclamation Day | Boxing Day | |||||
31 December | No | No | P New Year's Eve | No | P New Year's Eve | No | No | No |
Total holidays | 13 | 11 | 11 + 2 part days | 11 + 1 part day | 12 + 2 part days | 12 | 13 | 11 |
When a public holiday falls on a weekend, the following work day may be considered a public holiday depending on the state/territory and the holiday in question.
Name | ACT [20] | NSW [21] | NT [22] | QLD [23] | SA [2] | TAS [9] | VIC [24] [25] | WA [11] |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
New Year's Day | Yes | |||||||
Australia Day | Yes | |||||||
Easter Monday | Not applicable (always on a Monday) | Yes (when another public holiday coincides) | ||||||
ANZAC Day | Yes (only if Sunday) [26] | No [27] | Yes | No | Yes | |||
Christmas Eve | Not applicable (not a holiday) | No | Not applicable (not a holiday) | |||||
Christmas Day | Yes | |||||||
Boxing Day / Proclamation Day | Yes | |||||||
New Year's Eve | Not applicable (not a holiday) | No | Not applicable (not a holiday) | No | Not applicable (not a holiday) |
Holidays that always fall on a particular day of the week are not listed in this table. Prior to 2008, Victorian law only specified substitute holidays for New Year and Boxing Day, and only if they fell on a Sunday. [28] From 2008, Victorian law specifies the substitute holidays in the table above. [24]
Since Easter Monday can occur as late as 26 April it is possible for the Easter Monday holiday to coincide with Anzac Day, as occurred in 2011. State Acts do not give a provision to separate the days when this occurs, so no additional public holiday is given by law. However an extra day is usually proclaimed by the minister, so as to have a steady number of public holidays each year. [29] [30] [31] [32] In the year 2038, Anzac Day will coincide with Easter Sunday.
Nationally, Australia Day was originally celebrated on 30 July 1915. [33]
Recorded celebrations of the 26 January date back to 1808 in Australia, and in 1818, Governor Lachlan Macquarie held the first official celebration of Australia Day. [34] 26 January was chosen because it is the day of the establishment of the first British settlement at Port Jackson by Captain Arthur Phillip in 1788. [35] It was made a public holiday in New South Wales in 1836, and Victoria adopted the day as a public holiday in 1931. The 26 January commenced to be recognised by all states and territories as Australia Day in 1935 (pre 150th Anniversary) and all States except SA observed it from the 1888 centenary.
Australia Day has been celebrated as a national public holiday on 26 January since 1994. [36]
Since 1960, the winner of the Australian of the Year award is announced by the Prime Minister on the eve of Australia Day (25 Jan).
Labour Day commemorates the achievements of the Australian labour movement. The celebration of Labour Day has its origins in the eight-hour day movement, which advocated eight hours for work, eight hours for recreation, and eight hours for rest. On 21 April 1856 Stonemasons and building workers on building sites around Melbourne, Australia, stopped work and marched from the University of Melbourne to Parliament House to achieve an eight-hour day. Their direct action protest was a success, and they are noted as the first organised workers in the world to achieve an eight-hour day with no loss of pay, which subsequently inspired the celebration of Labour Day and May Day. In Tasmania the public holiday is called Eight Hours Day and in the Northern Territory it is called May Day.
The Labour Day public holiday varies considerably between the various states and territories. It is the first Monday in October in the Australian Capital Territory, New South Wales and South Australia. In Western Australia, it is the first Monday in March. In both Victoria and Tasmania, it is the second Monday in March. In the Northern Territory, and in Queensland [4] it is the first Monday in May. More than 80 countries celebrate Labor Day. Labor Day is a long weekend.
The days of Easter vary each year depending on the day determined by the Western Christian calendar. Until 1994 Easter Tuesday was a Bank Holiday in Victoria (it retains this status partially in Tasmania). The day after Good Friday and before Easter Sunday is traditionally known as Holy Saturday. However, the states where that day is a public holiday use different terminology – it is officially gazetted as "Easter Saturday" in the ACT, New South Wales, the Northern Territory and South Australia, [5] [6] [7] [2] as "the day after Good Friday" in Queensland, [8] and as "Saturday before Easter Sunday" in Victoria. [10]
ANZAC Day is a day on which the country remembers those citizens who fell fighting or who served the country in wars. ANZAC Day is commemorated on 25 April every year. The tradition began to remember the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps (ANZAC) soldiers who landed at Gallipoli in Turkey during World War I.
ANZAC Day commemoration features marches by veterans and by solemn "Dawn Services", a tradition started in Albany, Western Australia on 25 April 1923 and now held at war memorials around the country, accompanied by thoughts of those lost at war to the ceremonial sounds of The Last Post on the bugle. The fourth stanza of Laurence Binyon's poem For the Fallen (known as the "Ode of Remembrance") is often recited.
In all states and territories except Queensland [4] and Western Australia, the King's Birthday is observed on the second Monday in June. Because Western Australia celebrates Western Australia Day (formerly Foundation Day) on the first Monday in June, the Governor of Western Australia proclaims the day on which the state will observe the King's Birthday, based on school terms and the Perth Royal Show. [37] There is no firm rule to determine this date before it is proclaimed, though it is typically the last Monday of September or the first Monday of October: in 2011 the King's Birthday holiday in Western Australia was moved from Monday, 3 October 2011 to Friday, 28 October 2011 to coincide with the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM), which was held in Perth. [38] In parts of the Pilbara, it is celebrated on a different date from the rest of Western Australia, and it may even be celebrated on different dates in different parts of the Pilbara. [39] In Queensland, it is celebrated on the 1st Monday in October. [4]
The day has been celebrated since 1788, when Governor Arthur Phillip declared a holiday to mark the birthday of King George III. Until 1936 it was held on the actual birthday of the Monarch, but after the death of King George V, it was decided to keep the date at mid-year.
On that day the "King's Birthday honours list" is released naming new members of the Order of Australia and other Australian honours. This occurs on the date observed in the Eastern States, not the date observed in Western Australia.
The King's Birthday weekend and Empire Day, 24 May, were long the traditional times for public fireworks displays in Australia. Although they still occur, the tradition has recently been overshadowed by larger New Year's Eve fireworks, as the sale of fireworks to the public was banned by the states in the 1980s, and in the ACT as of 24 August 2009. [40] In the Northern Territory fireworks remain available to the public on 1 July for the celebration of Territory Day.
Christmas is observed on 25 December each year to commemorate the birth of Jesus. In Australia, it was introduced with British settlement in 1788 as the cultural norms were transferred to the new colonies.
Boxing Day is on the day after Christmas, i.e. 26 December each year, except in South Australia where it is replaced by Proclamation Day. [41]
Boxing Day is noted for the start of the post-Christmas sale season. The day has also become a significant sporting day. Melbourne hosts the Boxing Day Test match; the Sydney to Hobart Yacht Race also starts on this day.
The days are set in the Holidays Act 1983. [44] Most public holidays include a second public holiday on a week-day if they happen to fall on Saturday or Sunday. In which case, both days are public holidays. [45]
If Christmas Day (25 December) is a Saturday or Sunday, then 27 December is also a public holiday. If Boxing day (26 December) is a Saturday or Sunday, then 28 December is also a public holiday.
Because of the variable days of Easter, Anzac day could fall on an Easter holiday. When Anzac day falls on a Saturday, there is no week day public holiday. In such situations it is generally expected that the minister will proclaim extra public holidays on week-days to ensure every year has the same number of public holidays on week-days.
The minister of the state may proclaim and adjustments or additions, such as the date of the Brisbane Ekka Show day holiday. This day has historically always been proclaimed for the second Wednesday in August, except if there are five Wednesdays in August, in which case it is the third Wednesday in August. [45]
Public holidays generally follow the national pattern, but special cases are resolved by the State Government and advised by proclamation. Details of future holidays can be found on the NSW Industrial Relations website. Public holidays are regulated by the New South Wales Public Holidays Act 2010 No 115, which supersedes the Banks and Bank Holidays Act 1912 No 43.
The first Monday in August is a Bank Holiday, during which banks and financial institutions are closed. [46]
Most New South Wales public holidays are public holidays in the Australian Capital Territory, with the addition of Canberra Day and Reconciliation Day, which holiday falls on the Monday closest to 27 May.
Public holidays in South Australia are set out in the Public Holidays Act 2023, while additional holidays may be proclaimed in all or part of the state by the Governor. [2]
This article needs to be updated.(September 2022) |
Public holidays in Victoria are regulated by the Victorian Public Holidays Act 1993.
Victorian employees fall under the Workchoices system either as coming within the Commonwealth constitutional power (called "constitutional corporation employees") or because of Victoria's referral of its legislative powers to the Commonwealth for particular workplace relations matters.
Employee entitlements to public holidays and additional pay depend on whether they are covered by a federal award or agreement.
Employees not covered by a federal award or agreement are entitled to public holidays under the Victorian Public Holidays Act 1993. Also, all permanent employees not covered by a federal award or agreement who would normally work on a public holiday (or a substitute public holiday) are entitled to the holiday without loss of pay. Their employers are not required to provide additional payment if they work on a public holiday, but this does not exclude the possibility of employees and employers negotiating for additional pay.
Employees who are covered by a federal award or agreement are entitled to public holidays as provided by the relevant federal award or agreement and the Public Holidays Act 1993. Many federal awards and agreements also provide for additional penalty rates for work performed on a public holiday.
Restricted shop trading laws apply to Good Friday, Christmas Day and before 1 pm on Anzac Day. On these days only exempted businesses are permitted to open for trading. [47] All public holidays and substitute public holidays are bank holidays. [48]
In August 2015, the day before the AFL Grand Final, as well as Easter Sunday, were gazetted as Public Holidays within Victoria. This date of the holiday is as gazetted by the Victorian Government and cannot be accurately predicted. In 2019, the Victorian Parliament legislated the AFL Grand Final public holiday by amending the Public Holidays Act 1993 (Vic). [49]
The Victorian public holidays are as follows: [50]
Name | Date |
---|---|
New Year's Day | 1 January |
Australia Day | 26 January |
Labour Day | 2nd Monday in March |
Good Friday | Friday before Easter |
Saturday before Easter Sunday | Day before Easter |
Easter Sunday | Day of Easter |
Easter Monday | Day after Easter |
ANZAC Day | 25 April |
King's Birthday | 2nd Monday in June |
Friday before the AFL Grand Final | Variable date (usually late September/early October) |
Melbourne Cup Day | 1st Tuesday of November* |
Christmas Day | 25 December |
Boxing Day | 26 December |
* Melbourne Cup Day is observed in most of the state, but various cup days and show days in the state's west are locally substituted. See the list at Non-Metropolitan Public Holiday Dates (Victoria Online).
Melbourne Show Day used to be observed on the Thursday in the last full week of September as a half-day public holiday—later changing to full day—until 1994 (abolished by the state government). [51] Easter Tuesday was observed as a Bank Holiday in Victoria until 1994 (also abolished by the state government).
Name | Date |
---|---|
New Year's Day | 1 January * |
Australia Day | 26 January * |
Labour Day | 1st Monday in March |
Good Friday | Friday before Easter |
Easter Monday | Day after Easter |
Anzac Day | 25 April * |
Western Australia Day | First Monday in June |
King's Birthday | Last Monday of September # |
Christmas | 25 December * |
Boxing Day | 26 December * |
Penalty rates are the rates of pay which an employee is paid higher than their standard base rate for working at times or on days, such as public holidays, which are outside the normal working week. [53] They were introduced in 1947 for workers working on the Sabbath, [54] [55] as most workers were Christian, while today, these rates of pay are set by the Fair Work Commission.
Boxing Day is a holiday celebrated after Christmas Day, occurring on the second day of Christmastide. Boxing Day was once a day to donate gifts to those in need, but it has evolved to become a part of Christmas festivities, with many people choosing to shop for deals on Boxing Day. It originated in the United Kingdom and is celebrated in several Commonwealth nations. The attached bank holiday or public holiday may take place on 27 or 28 December if necessary to ensure it falls on a weekday. Boxing Day is also concurrent with the Christian festival Saint Stephen's Day.
Easter, also called Pascha or Resurrection Sunday, is a Christian festival and cultural holiday commemorating the resurrection of Jesus from the dead, described in the New Testament as having occurred on the third day of his burial following his crucifixion by the Romans at Calvary c. 30 AD. It is the culmination of the Passion of Jesus, preceded by Lent, a 40-day period of fasting, prayer, and penance.
Labour Day is an annual day of celebration of the achievements of workers. It has its origins in the labour union movement, specifically the eight-hour day movement, which advocated eight hours for work, eight hours for recreation, and eight hours for rest.
These are the public holidays observed in Ireland. Public holidays in Ireland may commemorate a special day or other event, such as Saint Patrick's Day or Christmas Day. On public holidays, most businesses and schools close. Other services, for example, public transport, still operate but often with reduced schedules.
Easter Monday is the second day of Eastertide and a public holiday in some countries. In Western Christianity it marks the second day of the Octave of Easter; in Eastern Christianity it marks the second day of Bright Week.
In the United States, public holidays are set by federal, state, and local governments and are often observed by closing government offices or giving government employees paid time off. The federal government does not require private businesses to close or offer paid time off, as is the case for most state and local governments, so employers determine which holidays to observe.
Public holidays in New Zealand consist of a variety of cultural, national, and religious holidays that are legislated in New Zealand. Workers can get a maximum of 12 public holidays and a minimum of 20 annual leave days a year.
Public holidays and statutory holidays in Hong Kong are holidays designated by the Government of Hong Kong. They allow workers rest from work, usually in conjunction with special occasions. Public holidays in Hong Kong consist of a mix of traditional Chinese and Western holidays, such as Lunar New Year, the Mid-Autumn Festival, and the Dragon Boat Festival, along with Christmas and Easter. Other public holidays include National Day and Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Establishment Day.
The King's Official Birthday is the selected day in most Commonwealth realms on which the birthday of the monarch is officially celebrated in those countries. It does not necessarily correspond to the date of the monarch's actual birth.
Public holidays in Canada, known as statutory holidays, stat holidays, or simply stats, consist of a variety of cultural, nationalistic, and religious holidays that are legislated in Canada at the federal or provincial and territorial levels. While many of these holidays are honoured and acknowledged nationwide, provincial and territorial legislation varies in regard to which are officially recognized.
Public holidays in Malaysia are regulated at both federal and state levels, mainly based on a list of federal holidays observed nationwide plus a few additional holidays observed by each individual state and federal territory. The public holidays are a mix of secular holidays celebrating the nation and its history, and selected traditional holidays of the various ethnic and religious groups that make up the country.
The schedule of 11 public holidays in Singapore which are gazetted and recognized since the establishment of Singapore's 1998 Holidays Act.
The Shop, Distributive and Allied Employees' Association (SDA) is the largest private sector trade union in Australia, representing retail, fast-food and warehousing workers, and has branches in every state and territory. Its membership is predominantly in casual and insecure employment within the retail and fast food sectors. The union also represents a significant membership of workers from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds.
Family Day is a public holiday in the countries of Angola, Israel, Namibia, South Africa, Uruguay, Vanuatu, and Vietnam; in the Canadian provinces of Alberta, British Columbia, New Brunswick, Ontario, and Saskatchewan; in the American states of Arizona and Nevada; and as the second day of Songkran in Thailand. It was formerly observed in the Australian Capital Territory from 2007 to 2017.
The weekdays and weekend are the complementary parts of the week devoted to labour and rest, respectively. The legal weekdays, or workweek, is the part of the seven-day week devoted to working. In most of the world, the workweek is from Monday to Friday and the weekend is Saturday and Sunday. A weekday or workday is any day of the working week. Other institutions often follow this pattern, such as places of education. The constituted weekend has varying definitions, based on determined calendar days, designated period of time, and/or regional definition of the working week. Sometimes the term "weekend" is expanded to include the time after work hours on the last workday of the week. Weekdays and workdays can be further detailed in terms of working time, the period of time that an individual spends at paid occupational labor.
Public holidays in Botswana are largely controlled by government sector employers who are given paid time off. The government holiday schedule mainly benefits employees of government and government regulated businesses. At the discretion of the employer, other non-federal holidays such as Christmas Eve are common additions to the list of paid holidays.
Easter Tuesday is the third day of Eastertide and is a holiday in some areas. Easter Tuesday in the Western Christian liturgical calendar is the third day in the Octave of Easter and analogously, in the Byzantine Rite, is the third day of Bright Week.
The Anzac Day Act in New Zealand is a law which makes Anzac Day a national holiday in New Zealand.
The following is a list of events including expected and scheduled events for the year 2025 in Australia.