How Many Public Holidays Are There in Australia?

·Published: 8 August 2026

There is no single public-holiday total that applies to every person in Australia. The calendar includes dates observed nationwide as well as holidays declared by individual states and territories. Some observances apply only within a city or another local area. Your practical total therefore depends on where you work, which calendar your employer follows and whether a holiday receives an additional weekday when it falls on a weekend.

National dates are only the starting point

The shared calendar provides a useful baseline. In 2026, the seven listed national dates are New Year’s Day, Australia Day, Good Friday, Easter Monday, ANZAC Day, Christmas Day and Boxing Day. The same seven names appear in 2027 and 2028, although their weekdays change. That baseline does not represent every public holiday available in each jurisdiction, because states and territories add their own dates.

The difference between a national occasion and a day off also needs care. A nationally significant date may be observed under separate state and territory arrangements. Rules about an additional day, eligibility to be absent from work and payment for work performed on that date can depend on the relevant jurisdiction and employment conditions. For calendar planning, use the entries that apply at your actual work location rather than assuming an Australian list is complete.

Why the King’s Birthday creates different answers

The King’s Birthday is a clear example of state and territory variation. It does not appear on one common date throughout Australia. Most jurisdictions observe it in June, while Queensland observes it later in the year and Western Australia sets its own date. This means two colleagues in different states may have different working Mondays even when both describe the occasion as the King’s Birthday holiday.

This variation matters for organisations operating across state lines. A Sydney office may be closed while colleagues elsewhere continue their usual schedule, or the reverse may happen on another date. Shared project calendars should identify the jurisdiction beside each holiday instead of placing one generic King’s Birthday entry across every Australian team. The same principle helps with appointments, payroll periods and delivery estimates that cross state or territory boundaries.

Melbourne Cup Day and Picnic Day show local differences

Melbourne Cup Day is associated with Victoria, but it should not be treated as a day off throughout the entire state. It is a public holiday in metropolitan Melbourne, while arrangements in regional areas can differ and another local holiday may apply. Picnic Day belongs to the Northern Territory calendar rather than the national calendar. These examples explain why lists found under the broad label of Australian public holidays can show different totals without either list necessarily being wrong.

Your home address alone may not settle which calendar matters. Someone living outside Melbourne but working at a workplace covered by a Melbourne holiday arrangement may need to check the location and employment rules that apply to that workplace. Likewise, a national employer may keep some operations running while a particular office observes its local holiday. For personal planning, label each date as national, state, territory or local.

What happens when a holiday falls on a weekend?

A Saturday or Sunday date can affect the apparent total because some holidays receive an additional public holiday on a nearby weekday. The treatment is not identical for every occasion or every jurisdiction. In 2026, ANZAC Day falls on Saturday, 25 April, while Boxing Day falls on Saturday, 26 December. You should not automatically move both to Monday: the applicable calendar determines whether an additional day exists and which weekday receives it.

The distinction between the commemorative date and an additional day is useful. The original date remains the named occasion, while legislation or a formal declaration may provide another public holiday. A monthly calendar can therefore display an observance on the weekend and a separate weekday entry. Counting only named occasions may produce one figure, while counting weekdays unavailable for ordinary work may produce another.

How public holidays change working-day totals

For a Monday-to-Friday schedule, a public holiday reduces the working-day count only when it removes a day that would otherwise be worked. A holiday on Saturday does not automatically subtract a weekday. If an additional Monday is declared, that Monday does reduce the count. Part-time rosters, weekend work and workplaces that continue operating on public holidays require a different calculation because their normal working days are not necessarily Monday to Friday.

The site’s baseline calendar counts 256 working days and 109 weekend or holiday days in 2026, using its listed seven holidays and a Monday-to-Friday week. It counts 257 working days in 2027 and 254 in the leap year 2028. State, territory and local holidays can lower the working-day figure for a particular location. To calculate your own year, begin with the weekdays, subtract each applicable holiday that lands on one of your normal workdays, then account for any formally listed additional days without subtracting the same date twice.