Easter Monday 2027

Type of holiday: statutory public holiday, a non-working day.

Easter Monday closes out the Easter long weekend, falling the day after Easter Sunday and, like Good Friday, its date is set each year by the ecclesiastical calculation used to determine Easter rather than a fixed day of the month. As the final day of the four-day break most of the country enjoys over Easter, it functions as the transition back to ordinary working life rather than a day with distinct rituals of its own.

Its status as a public holiday goes back to the same colonial-era Christian calendar that established Good Friday, Christmas Day and Boxing Day as holidays across the Australian colonies, well before Federation. Unlike Easter Saturday, Easter Monday has always been observed consistently in every state and territory, which is part of why it's the day most associated with "getting home" from the long weekend rather than any particular celebration.

How it's marked

Easter Monday tends to be a quieter, family-oriented day: the tail end of Easter egg hunts, agricultural shows and country fairs that run over the long weekend in many regional areas, and a popular day for road trips home from holiday destinations. The Sydney Royal Easter Show, one of the country's largest annual events, typically runs across the Easter period and draws large crowds through the Monday. Major cities otherwise see a noticeable exodus of traffic as people return from the coast or regional areas ahead of the working week.

Where it's a public holiday

Easter Monday is a public holiday in every state and territory:

• New South Wales
• Victoria
• Queensland
• Western Australia
• South Australia
• Tasmania
• Australian Capital Territory
• Northern Territory

No transfer needed

Because Easter Monday is always a Monday by definition, there's no weekend-transfer rule to apply, unlike fixed-date holidays such as Christmas Day or Australia Day.

Trading and practicalities

Trading restrictions on Easter Monday are noticeably lighter than on Good Friday. In most states, major retailers and shopping centres open, often to take advantage of the last day of the long weekend for shoppers, though some jurisdictions retain limited restrictions on larger stores. Public transport typically runs a public holiday timetable, and roads leading out of capital cities are often busiest in the opposite direction to the Thursday before, as holidaymakers head home. Anyone with interstate travel plans over Easter should expect airports and major highways to be at their most congested on this day, given it's the point at which the whole country returns to work simultaneously the next morning.