School holidays run through January in every state and territory, with Term 1 not starting until the last week of January or the first week of February. 23 January 2026 falls inside this national school break, the longest of the four holiday periods on the Australian school calendar and the busiest month of the year for family travel to caravan parks, coastal towns and the roads that lead to them.
Traffic volumes, flight bookings and getaway trips peak on Friday afternoons across Australian cities as the working week ends. Friday 23 January 2026 falls on this day of the week, at the close of its standard five-day working stretch, marking the start of the weekend for the standard Monday-to-Friday workforce.
Contracts and legal deadlines that specify calendar days count every day from 23 January 2026 including weekends and public holidays, while deadlines specified in working or business days count only the days this page includes in its working-day total. The difference between the two conventions can shift a deadline by several days once weekends and holidays are counted.
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