Good Friday 2027

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

Good Friday commemorates the crucifixion of Jesus Christ in the Christian tradition and falls two days before Easter Sunday, its date set each year by the ecclesiastical rules used to calculate Easter rather than by a fixed day of the month. Because Easter is calculated from the lunar calendar, Good Friday can land anywhere from late March to late April, and it moves independently of any other public holiday on the Australian calendar.

Unlike Christmas, which arrived in Australia as a colonial transplant without a founding local event, Good Friday's status as a public holiday reflects the country's Christian settlement history rather than anything that happened on Australian soil, and it has been observed as a holiday since the earliest days of colonial administration. It's worth remembering, too, that Good Friday in Australia falls in autumn, not spring — a point that trips up anyone assuming the Northern Hemisphere's seasonal associations with Easter carry over.

How it's marked

Good Friday is the most solemn and commercially quiet day of the Easter period. Church services, particularly those recounting the crucifixion, are held across denominations, and many families treat the day as the quiet start to the Easter long weekend rather than a day for outings. It's also traditionally associated with seafood, a habit rooted in the Christian custom of abstaining from meat, with fish and prawns a common feature of Good Friday meals in many households.

Where it's a public holiday

Good Friday 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 Good Friday is always a Friday by definition, there's no weekend-transfer question to resolve — it never falls on a Saturday or Sunday, unlike fixed-date holidays such as Australia Day or Christmas Day.

Trading restrictions

Good Friday carries some of the strictest trading restrictions of the entire calendar, on par with Christmas Day in most states. In many jurisdictions the vast majority of retail is required to stay closed, with exemptions typically limited to pharmacies, service stations, small "convenience"-style stores, and takeaway food outlets. Restaurants and cafes generally remain open, since dining out is a common Good Friday activity, but supermarkets, department stores and most shopping centres close their doors for the day in states with the tightest rules, reopening for Easter Saturday trade. Anyone planning errands over the long weekend should check ahead, since Good Friday is one of the few days most Australians can genuinely expect their local shopping centre to be shut.