Australia has one of the most fragmented public holiday systems in the world. While a handful of national holidays apply across all states and territories, each state and territory also observes its own additional public holidays—and even some national holidays fall on different dates depending on where you are.
If you manage a team spread across Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Perth, and Adelaide, you are effectively managing five different holiday calendars simultaneously.
This guide breaks down Australia's 2026 public holidays by state and shows you how to keep everyone's calendar accurate without manual overhead.
Australia's National Public Holidays 2026
These holidays are observed in all states and territories:
- 1 January — New Year's Day
- 26 January — Australia Day
- 3 April — Good Friday
- 4 April — Easter Saturday
- 5 April — Easter Sunday
- 6 April — Easter Monday
- 25 April — Anzac Day
- 25 December — Christmas Day
- 26 December — Boxing Day
**Note on Australia Day:** Where 26 January falls on a weekend, the substitute holiday shifts to the following Monday. In 2026, 26 January is a Monday, so it is observed on that day.
State and Territory Public Holidays 2026
New South Wales (Sydney)
- 8 June — King's Birthday
- 6 October — Bank Holiday
- 27 October — Labour Day
Victoria (Melbourne)
Melbourne is famous for the Melbourne Cup—a horse race that shuts down the city for a day.
- 9 March — Labour Day
- 8 June — King's Birthday
- 3 November — Melbourne Cup Day (Melbourne metropolitan area only)
- 24 December — Christmas Eve (afternoon)
- 31 December — New Year's Eve (afternoon)
Queensland (Brisbane)
- 4 May — Labour Day
- 13 August — Royal Queensland Show (Brisbane metro only)
- 8 June — King's Birthday
South Australia (Adelaide)
- 9 March — Adelaide Cup
- 9 June — King's Birthday
- 5 October — Labour Day
- 24 December — Christmas Eve (afternoon)
- 31 December — New Year's Eve (afternoon)
Western Australia (Perth)
Western Australia observes the King's Birthday on a different date than the eastern states, which catches many interstate businesses off guard.
- 2 March — Labour Day
- 25 May — Western Australia Day
- 28 September — King's Birthday
Australian Capital Territory (Canberra)
- 9 March — Canberra Day
- 25 May — Reconciliation Day
- 8 June — King's Birthday
- 5 October — Family and Community Day / AFL Grand Final Friday
Northern Territory (Darwin)
- 4 May — May Day
- 8 June — Queen's Birthday
- 5 August — Picnic Day
- 5 October — AFL Grand Final Friday
Tasmania (Hobart)
- 9 March — Eight Hours Day (Labour Day)
- 8 June — King's Birthday
The King's Birthday Problem
The King's Birthday is one of the most confusing holidays in Australia because it is observed on different dates in different states:
- Most states (NSW, VIC, ACT, TAS, SA): Second Monday in June
- Queensland: Last Monday in October
- Western Australia: Fourth Monday in September
If you schedule a national all-hands call on the second Monday in June thinking it is just King's Birthday, you will catch your Queensland and WA colleagues off guard—they are at work that day.
Managing Australian Holiday Calendars for Teams
For businesses with offices across multiple Australian states, the practical approach is to:
1. **Maintain state-specific holiday calendars** for each location where you have employees
2. **Block all state holidays as team unavailable**, not just national ones
3. **Pay special attention to Q4** when Queensland observes its King's Birthday and several states have unique October holidays
Autolidays supports Australian state and territory public holidays, making it straightforward to block the right days for each team member. View the complete Australia holiday data at /holidays/australia.
Frequently Asked Questions
**Do all Australian states observe the same Christmas and Easter holidays?**
Christmas Day and Easter holidays are observed nationally, but some states observe Christmas Eve and New Year's Eve as partial public holidays. Victoria and South Australia are notable examples.
**What is the Melbourne Cup Day holiday?**
Melbourne Cup Day is a public holiday in the Melbourne metropolitan area only—not all of Victoria. It falls on the first Tuesday in November when the Melbourne Cup race is run.
**Why does Western Australia have a different King's Birthday date?**
Western Australia observes the King's Birthday on the fourth Monday in September rather than the second Monday in June like most other states. The historical reason is linked to state preferences established decades ago. For practical purposes, you simply need to track it separately.
**How do I add Australian state holidays to Google Calendar?**
You can manually subscribe to state holiday calendars in Google Calendar, but these typically only show holidays as labels rather than blocking your time. To actually block your calendar, use Autolidays.
Stop Managing Five Holiday Calendars Manually
If you have a team spread across Australian states, tracking each state's holiday calendar manually is a recurring overhead that leads to mistakes. Autolidays automates this by importing the correct holidays for each location and blocking your team's calendars accordingly.
View Australia holidays and get started