First published on Wednesday, Sep 13, 2023
Last updated on Friday, Sep 15, 2023
The first thing to understand about public holidays in Australia is the fact that they can be national, state-wide or even additional holidays limited to specific regions.
While all Australian states and territories share the major public holidays, there are some differences between states and territories in which public holidays are observed and when.
You may know exactly what your own public holidays for your state or territory are, but what can be a bit more complex is knowing what your legal obligations are according to this calendar.
An overview of Australian public holidays
Whether it's Christmas Eve or Adelaide Cup Day, public holidays are part of the National Employment Standards (NES).
These are the standards that apply to all employees covered by the national workplace relations system regardless of their award, registered agreement or employment contract. The right for employees to not work on public holidays is protected by law.
The national public holidays across all states and territories in Australia are:
New Year’s Day
Australia Day
Good Friday
Easter Monday
Anzac Day
Christmas Day
Boxing Day
King’s Birthday (the King's Birthday public holiday is observed on a different date 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 (no prizes for guessing, Western Australia).
Finally, there are public holidays like Recreation Day in Tasmania that are only observed at a regional level. Keep reading to the end for a complete overview of national public holidays under all state and territory governments.
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.
What is an exemption?
Just as restricted trading days differ between a state or a territory, the businesses that are exempt from these rules also differ.
For example, in New South Wales Boxing Day and Christmas Day are among the days when trading is restricted in the state. Businesses that are exempt from these restrictions include bookshops, nurseries, and recorded music, video, or DVD shops.
In Victoria, on the other hand, trading is restricted on days including Good Friday and Anzac Day. And service stations, hire shops, and chemists are exempt from these restrictions.
If you can otherwise trade on public holidays, employees generally don’t have to work on a public holiday.
Permanent employees, who would have otherwise worked on a day on 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 to work on public holidays if it is unreasonable.
Requesting employees to work on Australian public holidays
In some industries, employees are needed to work on public holidays. For instance, restaurants in the hospitality industry often remain open during public holidays.
You may also 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, as we mentioned earlier, employees may refuse your request if it is unreasonable. Employees are protected from adverse action if they do refuse to work on a public holiday, as long as they do so on reasonable grounds.
So, it's important that you consider all the relevant factors before requesting an employee to work on a public holiday.
What to consider before requesting an employee works on a public holiday:
The employee's personal circumstances including their familial responsibilities
The role your employee fills in your workplace
The needs of the workplace
The type of employment your employee is engaged in, whether it's full-time, part-time, or casual
How much advance notice you're giving your employee when you make the request
Whether or not the employee is entitled to overtime payments, penalty rates, or any other extra payments
Any other relevant factors
It's always a good idea to make it clear that your employees may be required to work on public holidays as soon as possible.
Having a policy in place to confirm this expectation and the fact that the business operates on public holidays can make your expectations clear from the beginning and make communication more seamless later on down the line.
What is a substitute day for a public holiday?
If you are an employer in a sector that requires employees to work during public holidays, you may find that some modern awards and agreements allow you to agree to a substitute day.
This lets you add a different public holiday day to your calendar in lieu of the designated public holiday, and/or provide extra entitlements for employees.
Some of those extra 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 this is 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).
Staying compliant on public holidays
There's so much to think about as an employer when it comes to public holidays.
Services like BrightHR's end-to-end software and compliance support can make keeping up easier. Whether it's with our 24/7 employment relations helpline or our easy-to-use holiday planner and integrated absence management software—it's an all-in-one solution to transform your people management.
Australian Capital Territory public holidays 2023
Sunday 1 January - New Year's Day
Monday 2 January - Additional public holiday for New Year's Day
Thursday 26 January - Australia Day
Monday 13 March - Canberra Day
Friday 7 April - Good Friday
Saturday 8 April - Easter Saturday
Sunday 9 April - Easter Sunday
Monday 10 April - Easter Monday
Tuesday 25 April - Anzac Day
Monday 29 May - Reconciliation Day
Monday 12 June - Sovereign's Birthday
Monday 2 October - Labour Day
Monday 25 December - Christmas Day
Tuesday 26 December - Boxing Day
New South Wales public holidays 2023
Sunday 1 January - New Year's Day
Monday 2 January - Additional public holiday for New Year's Day
Thursday 26 January - Australia Day
Friday 7 April - Good Friday
Saturday 8 April - Easter Saturday
Sunday 9 April - Easter Sunday
Monday 10 April - Easter Monday
Tuesday 25 April - Anzac Day
Monday 12 June - King's Birthday
Monday 2 October - Labour Day
Monday 25 December - Christmas Day
Tuesday 26 December - Boxing Day
Northern Territory public holidays 2023
Sunday 1 January - New Year's Day
Monday 2 January - Additional public holiday for New Year's Day
Thursday 26 January - Australia Day
Friday 7 April - Good Friday
Saturday 8 April - Easter Saturday
Sunday 9 April - Easter Sunday
Monday 10 April - Easter Monday
Tuesday 25 April - Anzac Day
Monday 1 May - May Day
Monday 12 June - June public holiday (King’s Birthday)
Monday 7 August - Picnic Day
Sunday 24 December - Christmas Eve (from 7 pm to midnight)
Monday 25 December - Christmas Day
Tuesday 26 December - Boxing Day
Sunday 31 December - New Year's Eve (from 7 pm to midnight)
Queensland public holidays 2023
Sunday 1 January - New Year's Day
Monday 2 January - Additional public holiday for New Year's Day
Thursday 26 January - Australia Day
Friday 7 April - Good Friday
Saturday 8 April - The day after Good Friday
Sunday 9 April - Easter Sunday
Monday 10 April - Easter Monday
Tuesday 25 April - Anzac Day
Monday 1 May - Labour Day
Wednesday 16 August - Royal Queensland Show (Brisbane area only)
Monday 2 October - King's Birthday
Sunday 24 December - Christmas Eve (from 6 pm to midnight)
Monday 25 December - Christmas Day
Tuesday 26 December - Boxing Day
South Australia public holidays 2023
Sunday 1 January - New Year's Day
Monday 2 January - Additional public holiday for New Year's Day
Thursday 26 January - Australia Day
Monday 13 March - Adelaide Cup Day (subject to proclamation)
Friday 7 April - Good Friday
Saturday 8 April - Easter Saturday
Monday 10 April - Easter Monday
Tuesday 25 April - Anzac Day
Monday 12 June - King's Birthday
Monday 2 October - Labour Day
Sunday 24 December - Christmas Eve (from 7 pm to midnight)
Monday 25 December - Christmas Day
Tuesday 26 December - Boxing Day/Proclamation Day
Sunday 31 December - New Year's Eve (from 7 pm to midnight)
Tasmania public holidays 2023
Monday 2 January - New Year's Day (substitute day as New Year's Day falls on a weekend)
Thursday 26 January - Australia Day
Monday 13 February - Royal Hobart Regatta (only observed in certain areas of the state)
Monday 13 March - Eight Hours Day
Friday 7 April - Good Friday
Monday 10 April - Easter Monday
Tuesday 11 April - Easter Tuesday (generally Public Service only)
Tuesday 25 April - Anzac Day
Monday 12 June - King's Birthday
Monday 6 November - Recreation Day (all parts of the state which do not observe Royal Hobart Regatta)
Monday 25 December - Christmas Day
Tuesday 26 December - Boxing Day
Victoria public holidays 2023
Sunday 1 January - New Year's Day
Monday 2 January - Additional public holiday for New Year's Day
Thursday 26 January - Australia Day
Monday 13 March - Labour Day
Friday 7 April - Good Friday
Saturday 8 April - Saturday before Easter Sunday
Sunday 9 April - Easter Sunday
Monday 10 April - Easter Monday
Tuesday 25 April - Anzac Day
Monday 12 June - King's Birthday
Friday 29 September - Friday before AFL Grand Final
Tuesday 7 November - Melbourne Cup Day
Monday 25 December - Christmas Day
Tuesday 26 December - Boxing Day
Western Australia public holidays 2023
Sunday 1 January - New Year's Day
Monday 2 January - Additional public holiday for New Year's Day
Thursday 26 January - Australia Day
Monday 6 March - Labour Day
Friday 7 April - Good Friday
Sunday 9 April - Easter Sunday
Monday 10 April - Easter Monday
Tuesday 25 April - Anzac Day
Monday 5 June - Western Australia Day
Monday 25 September - King's Birthday (Some regional areas in Western Australia hold the King's Birthday public holiday on a different date)
Monday 25 December - Christmas Day
Tuesday 26 December - Boxing Day
