Australian public holidays for staff rostering
Public holidays are set state by state, and a roster has to know which ones apply before anybody is asked to work them. Choose a state for its 2027 dates, checked against the government’s own list, with a checklist and a calendar file.
Choose a year and state
2027 is the year these pages check. For other years, the calendar tool works the dates out from the same rules.
Every 2027 public holiday on one page, date by date.
The days every checked list shares in 2027
New South Wales, Victoria, Queensland, South Australia, Western Australia, Tasmania, the Northern Territory and the Australian Capital Territory all keep these, on these dates.
| Date | Day | Holiday | Applies to |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 January | Friday | New Year's Day | Whole state |
| 26 January | Tuesday | Australia Day | Whole state |
| 26 March | Friday | Good Friday | Whole state |
| 29 March | Monday | Easter Monday | Whole state |
| 25 December | Saturday | Christmas Day | Whole state |
| 27 December | Monday | Additional day for Christmas Day | Whole state |
Where the states differ
Each state keeps days of its own, and a holiday on a weekend is made up differently from one state to the next.
| State or territory | Days beyond the shared list |
|---|---|
| New South Wales |
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| Victoria |
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| Queensland |
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| South Australia |
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| Western Australia |
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| Tasmania |
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| Northern Territory |
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| Australian Capital Territory |
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Before a public holiday: the roster checklist
- Mark the holidays on the calendar before you build any roster that includes them
- Decide whether you open, and for what hours, before asking anybody to work
- Treat a public holiday shift as a request the employee can answer, and keep a record of the answer
- Look up what working the day is paid under the award or agreement, and enter that multiplier in your roster costing
- Check minimum engagement and breaks under the award before you roster short holiday trading hours
- Add the days a calendar may leave out: days proclaimed each year, regional show days and part-day holidays
- Check which state each person is based in, if you roster people across a border
Where an employee is based for work
Public holidays generally follow the state or territory where an employee is based for work. That is not necessarily where the business is registered, or where one particular shift happens to be worked.
So a business with venues in two states can have two sets of public holidays on the same roster. Where somebody’s base is not obvious, the Fair Work Ombudsman explains how it is worked out.
Downloads
Only for the states whose lists were checked, so nothing unchecked ends up in somebody’s calendar looking official.
The dates and these files are free to reuse under CC BY 4.0, with Roster Flow credited as the source.
Sources
- NSW Government: public holidaysEvery 2027 date on the New South Wales page checked against it on 13 September 2026.
- Business Victoria: public holidaysEvery 2027 date on the Victoria page checked against it on 18 September 2026.
- Queensland Government: public holidaysEvery 2027 date on the Queensland page checked against it on 13 September 2026.
- SafeWork SA: public holidaysEvery 2027 date on the South Australia page checked against it on 18 September 2026.
- Government of Western Australia: public holidaysEvery 2027 date on the Western Australia page checked against it on 13 September 2026.
- WorkSafe Tasmania: public holidaysEvery 2027 date on the Tasmania page checked against it on 18 September 2026.
- NT Government: public and regional holidaysEvery 2027 date on the Northern Territory page checked against it on 18 September 2026.
- ACT Government: public holidaysEvery 2027 date on the Australian Capital Territory page checked against it on 13 September 2026.
- Fair Work Ombudsman: public holidaysWho gets a public holiday, being asked to work one, and where an employee is based for work.
Questions
Which state’s public holidays does an employee get?
Generally those of the state or territory where the employee is based for work, which is not always where the business is registered or where a particular shift is worked. The Fair Work Ombudsman explains how this works.
Can I ask staff to work on a public holiday?
An employer can ask an employee to work on a public holiday if the request is reasonable, and the employee can refuse if the request is not reasonable or if refusing is reasonable. The Fair Work Ombudsman sets out what is taken into account.
What are staff paid for working a public holiday?
That depends on the award, enterprise agreement or contract that covers them. These pages list dates only, and Roster Flow prices a holiday shift at the multiplier the business enters.
Where do these dates come from?
Every date was read against the list that state or territory government publishes, and each page names its source and the day it was read. One day is still open: Victoria sets the Friday before the AFL Grand Final once the AFL releases its fixture, and the Victorian page says so.
What happens when a public holiday falls on a weekend in 2027?
It depends on the state and the holiday. Anzac Day is a Sunday: New South Wales, Western Australia and the ACT keep 25 April and add Monday 26 April, and Queensland and the Northern Territory observe it on the Monday instead. Christmas Day and Boxing Day fall on the weekend too, and most lists add Monday 27 and Tuesday 28 December. Tasmania is the exception: it holds Boxing Day on Tuesday 28 December instead, so Sunday 26 December is not a public holiday there.