Happy New Year! Here's how to get the most out of your leave in 2026 (plus some handy hints about leave entitlements).
What are Australia’s national public holidays?
National public holidays are the same for everybody, no matter what state or territory you live in. They include Christmas Day and New Year’s Day, January 26 (aka Australia/Invasion Day), Easter, and Anzac Day.
2026 National Public Holidays
Thursday, 1 January – New Year’s Day
Monday, 26 January – January 26 Holiday (aka Australia/Invasion Day)
Friday, 3 April – Good Friday
Saturday, 4 April – Easter Saturday (except WA)
Sunday, 5 April – Easter Sunday
Monday, 6 April – Easter Monday
Saturday, 25 April – Anzac Day
Friday, 25 December – Christmas Day
Saturday, 26 December – Boxing Day
Monday, 28 December – Additional public holiday for Boxing Day
Each state or territory also has a Labour Day and King’s Birthday holiday. Remember to check these dates because they’re different across the country.
Each state or territory has their very own quirky holidays too. For example, ACT gets Canberra Day – yes it’s a thing! And NT get a Picnic Day in August. While Victoria loves sports events, such as Melbourne Cup Day, and Grand Final Day. In 2026, West Australia is the only state to get an additional day (on Monday 27 April) for Anzac Day which falls on a Saturday in 2026. If you work weekends, make sure you check your pay for public holiday rates and not just your normal weekend rates.
You can find all the public holidays listed on the Fair Work website, from federal to state-based regional public holidays.
So what's the deal? Do all workers get public holidays?
Kind of. All employees can take public holidays off, but if your employer has a reasonable request for you to work on a public holiday, you need reasonable grounds to say no.
Full-time and part-time workers should receive normal rates of pay on public holidays without having to work. But if you’re part-time, you’ll only get the day off if the holiday is on a day you’d normally be working.
If you’re a casual, you don’t get paid for public holidays (unless you’re working that day, of course).
What if I do have to work on a public holiday?
If you do work on a public holiday, most employees are entitled to penalty rates. Look up your penalty rates here.
And if you’re not entitled to penalties, permanent staff might be entitled to another day off or extra leave accrual instead.
DID YOU KNOW? When you’re already on paid leave (such as Annual or Personal leave), and a public holiday falls during that period, the public holiday will not be subtracted from your leave balance – it’s always an additional day of leave, thanks to union members.
Which dates will make the most of my leave in 2026?
If you’re in a job that doesn’t require you to work on public holidays, we’ve put together some handy tips to help you put in your leave requests early, and get more bang for your buck. Plan early to maximise your leave entitlements. Find out how you can get some decent breaks around public holidays as well as some shorter working weeks that together will protect you from burning out or getting sick from overwork.