{"id":73680,"date":"2026-01-01T06:00:47","date_gmt":"2025-12-31T19:00:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/development.uwu.org.au\/staging\/?p=73680"},"modified":"2026-01-13T14:58:50","modified_gmt":"2026-01-13T03:58:50","slug":"public-holidays-2026","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/development.uwu.org.au\/staging\/articles\/public-holidays-2026\/","title":{"rendered":"Get the most out of your leave in 2026"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t
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Happy New Year! Here's how to get the most out of your leave in 2026 (plus some handy hints about leave entitlements).<\/h4>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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What are Australia\u2019s national public holidays?<\/h5>

National public holidays are the same for everybody, no matter what state or territory you live in. They include Christmas Day<\/b> and New Year’s Day<\/b>, January 26<\/b> (aka Australia\/Invasion Day), Easter<\/b>, and Anzac Day<\/b>.<\/span><\/p>

2026 National Public Holidays<\/h5>

Thursday, 1 January – New Year’s Day<\/strong>
Monday, 26 January \u2013 January 26 Holiday<\/strong> (aka Australia\/Invasion Day)
Friday, 3 April – Good Friday<\/strong>
Saturday, 4 April – Easter Saturday<\/strong> (except WA)
Sunday, 5 April – Easter Sunday<\/strong>
Monday, 6 April – Easter Monday<\/strong>
Saturday, 25 April – Anzac Day<\/strong>
Friday, 25 December – Christmas Day<\/strong>
Saturday, 26 December – Boxing Day<\/strong>
Monday, 28 December – Additional public holiday for Boxing Day<\/strong><\/p>

Each state or territory also has a Labour Day<\/strong> and King\u2019s Birthday<\/strong> holiday. Remember to check these dates because they\u2019re different across the country.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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Each state or territory has their very own quirky holidays too. For example, ACT gets Canberra Day<\/strong> \u2013 yes it\u2019s a thing! And NT get a Picnic Day<\/strong> in August. While Victoria loves sports events, such as Melbourne Cup Day, <\/strong>and Grand Final Day<\/strong>. In 2026, West Australia is the only state to get an additional day (on Monday 27 April) for Anzac Day<\/strong> 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.<\/p>

You can find all the public holidays listed on the Fair Work website<\/a>, from federal to state-based regional public holidays.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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So what's the deal? Do all workers get public holidays?<\/h5>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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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.<\/p>

Full-time<\/b> and part-time<\/b> workers should receive normal rates of pay on public holidays without having to work. But if you\u2019re part-time, you\u2019ll only get the day off if the holiday is on a day you\u2019d normally be working.<\/p>

If you\u2019re a casual<\/b>, you don\u2019t get paid for public holidays (unless you\u2019re working that day, of course).<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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What if I do have to work on a public holiday?<\/h5>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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If you do work on a public holiday, most employees are entitled to penalty rates<\/strong>. Look up your penalty rates here.<\/p>

And if you\u2019re not entitled to penalties, permanent staff might be entitled to another day off or extra leave accrual instead.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t

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DID YOU KNOW?<\/strong> When you\u2019re 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 \u2013 it\u2019s always an additional day of leave, thanks to union members.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t

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Which dates will make the most of my leave in 2026?<\/h5>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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If you\u2019re in a job that doesn\u2019t require you to work on public holidays, we\u2019ve 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.<\/p>


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