Public Holidays in Australia
The first thing to understand is that public holidays can be national, state-wide, or limited to specific regions. While all Australian states and territories share the major public holidays, there are some differences between states and territories in what public holidays are observed and when. In this guide, we list 2024 Public Holidays and how they may impact your business.
Australian Public Holidays
The nationally recognised public holidays are:
- New Year’s Day
- Australia Day
- Good Friday
- Easter Monday
- Anzac Day
- Christmas Day
- Boxing Day
- King’s Birthday (observed at different times by different states)
There are some public holidays, like Easter Sunday, that are observed in many but not all states and only one of the territories. Then there are also public holidays, like Western Australia Day, that are only celebrated by one state (guess which one). Finally, there are public holidays like Recreation Day in Tasmania that are only observed at a regional level.
2024 Public Holidays
It is important to keep on top of what public holidays may affect your staff, and what rates of pay your staff are entitled to if you decide to trade on those days.
States may also have different regulations in regard to public holidays which fall on a weekend. In some states, a public holiday is scheduled on the following Monday, in lieu of, or in addition to, the public holiday that fell on the previous Saturday or a Sunday. An employee is entitled to public holidays depending on where they are based for work not where they are working on the day of the public holiday.
Below are the designated 2024 Public Holidays:
Australian Capital Territory Public Holidays
- Monday 1 January – New Year’s Day
- Friday 26 January – Australia Day
- Monday 11 March – Canberra Day
- Friday 29 March – Good Friday
- Saturday 30 March – Easter Saturday
- Sunday 31 March – Easter Sunday
- Monday 1 April – Easter Monday
- Thursday 25 April – Anzac Day
- Monday 27 May – Reconciliation Day
- Monday 10 June – Sovereign’s Birthday (subject to change)
- Monday 7 October – Labour Day
- Wednesday 25 December – Christmas Day
- Thursday 26 December – Boxing Day
New South Wales Public Holidays
- Monday 1 January – New Year’s Day
- Friday 26 January – Australia Day
- Friday 29 March – Good Friday
- Saturday 30 March – Easter Saturday
- Sunday 31 March – Easter Sunday
- Monday 1 April – Easter Monday
- Thursday 25 April – Anzac Day
- Monday 10 June – King’s Birthday
- Monday 7 October – Labour Day
- Wednesday 25 December – Christmas Day
- Thursday 26 December – Boxing Day
Northern Territory Public Holidays
- Monday 1 January – New Year’s Day
- Friday 26 January – Australia Day
- Friday 29 March – Good Friday
- Saturday 30 March – Easter Saturday
- Sunday 31 March – Easter Sunday
- Monday 1 April- Easter Monday
- Thursday 25 April – Anzac Day
- Monday 6 May – May Day
- Monday 10 June – June public holiday
- Monday 5 August – Picnic Day
- Tuesday 24 December – Christmas Eve (from 7 pm to midnight)
- Wednesday 25 December – Christmas Day
- Thursday 26 December – Boxing Day
- Tuesday 31 December – New Year’s Eve (from 7 pm to midnight)
Queensland Public Holidays
- Monday 1 January – New Year’s Day
- Friday 26 January – Australia Day
- Friday 29 March – Good Friday
- Saturday 30 March – Day after Good Friday
- Sunday 31 March – Easter Sunday
- Monday 1 April – Easter Monday
- Thursday 25 April – Anzac Day
- Monday 6 May – Labour Day
- Wednesday 14 August – Royal Queensland Show (Brisbane area only)
- Monday 7 October -King’s Birthday
- Tuesday 24 December – Christmas Eve (from 6 pm to midnight)
- Wednesday 25 December – Christmas Day
- Thursday 26 December – Boxing Day
South Australia Public Holidays
- Monday 1 January – New Year’s Day
- Friday 26 January – Australia Day
- Monday 11 March- Adelaide Cup Day (subject to proclamation)
- Friday 29 March – Good Friday
- Saturday 30 March – Easter Saturday
- Monday 1 April – Easter Monday
- Thursday 25 April – Anzac Day
- Monday 10 June – King’s Birthday
- Monday 7 October – Labour Day
- Tuesday 24 December – Christmas Eve (from 7 pm to midnight)
- Wednesday 25 December – Christmas Day
- Thursday 26 December – Boxing Day/ Proclamation Day
- Tuesday 31 December- New Year’s Eve (from 7 pm to midnight)
Tasmania Public Holidays
- Monday 1 January- New Year’s Day (substitute day as New Year’s Day falls on a weekend)
- Friday 26 January – Australia Day
- Monday 12 February – Royal Hobart Regatta (only observed in certain areas of the state)
- Monday 11 March – Eight Hours Day
- Friday 29 March – Good Friday
- Monday 1 April – Easter Monday
- Tuesday 2 April – Easter Tuesday (generally Public Service only)
- Thursday 25 April – Anzac Day
- Monday 10 June – King’s Birthday
- Monday 4 November – Recreation Day (all parts of the state which do not observe Royal Hobart Regatta)
- Wednesday 25 December – Christmas Day
- Thursday 26 December – Boxing Day
Victoria Public Holidays
- Monday 1 January – New Year’s Day
- Friday 26 January – Australia Day
- Monday 11 March – Labour Day
- Friday 29 March – Good Friday
- Saturday 30 March – Saturday before Easter Sunday
- Sunday 31 March – Easter Sunday
- Monday 1 April – Easter Monday
- Thursday 25 April – Anzac Day
- Monday 10 June – King’s Birthday
- TBC – Friday before AFL Grand Final (subject to AFL schedule)
- Tuesday 5 November – Melbourne Cup
- Wednesday 25 December – Christmas Day
- Thursday 26 December – Boxing Day
Western Australia Public Holidays
- Monday 1 January – New Year’s Day
- Friday 26 January – Australia Day
- Monday 4 March – Labour Day
- Friday 29 March- Good Friday
- Sunday 31 March- Easter Sunday
- Monday 1 April – Easter Monday
- Thursday 25 April – Anzac Day
- Monday 3 June – Western Australia Day
- Monday 23 September – King’s Birthday (Some regional areas in WA hold the King’s Birthday public holiday on a different date)
- Wednesday 25 December – Christmas Day
- Thursday 26 December – Boxing Day
There is no common pay rate for Australian public holidays. Why? There are a multitude of Modern Awards, enterprise bargaining agreements or other workplace agreements, and individual contracts, that may govern an employee’s payment conditions for such work.
Trading on a Public Holiday
If you decide to trade on a public holiday, you must ensure your business is commercially allowed to trade. State and territory governments have specified that some public holidays are restricted trading days on which only some businesses can operate unless they have an exemption. As workplace relations experts, Employsure cannot advise you on this matter and you should seek clarification from your state or territory government.
Public Holiday Survival Guide
The issue of public holiday pay for employees, including who is entitled to what rate and the impact of any leave, is a complex one for employers.
If you can otherwise trade on public holidays, employees generally don’t have to work on public holidays. Permanent employees, who would have otherwise worked on a day upon which a public holiday falls, have a workplace right to be absent from work on a public holiday, and be paid their base rate of pay for the ordinary hours they would have worked on that day, so you have to ask those employees to work on that day if reasonably required. An employee may refuse your request if it is unreasonable. Further information on requesting employees to work on public holidays is below.
Requesting Employees to Work on Public Holidays
In some industries, employees are needed to work on public holidays. For instance, in the hospitality industry, many restaurants are open during public holidays.
You may request employees to work on a public holiday, provided that this request is reasonable. There needs to be a legitimate reason for them to be working on the public holiday, and employees may refuse your request if it is unreasonable.
Before requesting an employee to work on a public holiday, you may need to consider their personal circumstances (e.g. family responsibilities), the role they fill and the needs of the workplace. It is always a good idea to make clear from when the employee is first employed that they may be required to work public holidays, and to have a policy in place to confirm this expectation and that the business operates on public holidays.
If you are an employer in a sector that requires employees to work during public holidays, you may find that some awards and agreements allow you to agree to substitute the designated public holiday for another day, and/or provide extra entitlements for employees. Some of those entitlements include:
- Extra pay, e.g. public holiday rates
- An extra day off or extra annual leave
- Minimum shift lengths on public holidays
Closing Down Over Public Holiday Periods
You may decide to close your business over a public holiday period, which many businesses do over the Christmas/New Year’s period. If that’s the case, you may be able to direct your employees to take paid or unpaid leave for days they may usually have worked, during the shutdown, ensuring that you are complying with any notice provisions which may be present in a modern award, enterprise agreement or contract (if applicable).
We also have a Christmas party checklist that may help businesses understand their duty of care at Christmas parties.
For more questions about Public Holidays in Australia in 2024, you can call our 24/7 Advice Line.
Frequently Asked Questions
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Is New Year’s Eve a Public Holiday?
New Year’s Eve is not a public holiday in most states in Australia, with the exception of South Australia. And only from 7 pm to midnight.
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Is Easter Monday a Public Holiday?
Easter Monday is a National Public Holiday in Australia.
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Is Easter Sunday a Public Holiday?
Easter Sunday is a public holiday in ACT, NSW, Northern Territory, Queensland, Victoria, and Western Australia. South Australia and Tasmania are the only states where Easter is not a public holiday.
