Australian Public Holidays 2025: Complete State-by-State Calendar

New Year’s Day might be the same everywhere, but by the time you hit February, Australia’s public holiday calendar turns into a glorious mess of local show days, horse races, and the occasional queen’s birthday that isn’t actually in June. In 2025, the country will observe 10 national public holidays, but the real story is in the state-by-state differences — Victoria gets a Friday before the AFL Grand Final (yes, that’s a real holiday), while Queensland celebrates the King’s Birthday in October. According to the Fair Work Ombudsman’s 2024 Public Holidays Guidelines, each state and territory legislates its own schedule, resulting in between 11 and 13 paid public holidays per year depending on where you live. The Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS, 2023 Labour Account) notes that public holidays shift roughly 0.3% of annual working days, which doesn’t sound like much until you realise that’s the equivalent of Sydney’s entire workforce taking a long weekend simultaneously. We’ve pored over every gazette, every government portal, and every obscure local by-law to bring you the definitive 2025 calendar — because nobody wants to book a camping trip only to discover the entire state has decided to watch a horse race.

National Holidays: The Non-Negotiables

Australia Day, Good Friday, Easter Monday, Anzac Day, Christmas Day, and Boxing Day are the six pillars that every state and territory observes. In 2025, Australia Day falls on Sunday, 26 January, which means the public holiday shifts to Monday, 27 January for most of the country (except Western Australia, which observes it on the Monday anyway). Good Friday lands on 18 April, with Easter Monday following on 21 April — a four-day window that historically sees a 14% spike in domestic travel bookings, per Tourism Australia’s 2024 Holiday Trends Report. Anzac Day, 25 April, is a Friday in 2025, giving everyone a three-day weekend without any legislative gymnastics.

Christmas Day (Thursday, 25 December) and Boxing Day (Friday, 26 December) form a natural long weekend, but be warned: in South Australia, Boxing Day is officially called Proclamation Day and is observed on 26 December regardless of the day of the week. The Fair Work Ombudsman (2024) confirms that part-time and casual workers are entitled to penalty rates on these days, ranging from 150% to 250% of base pay depending on the award.

New South Wales: The Early Starters

NSW kicks off 2025 with New Year’s Day (1 January) and Australia Day (27 January observed), then cruises through Easter before hitting the state-specific stuff. The King’s Birthday falls on Monday, 9 June — the same date as every other eastern state except Queensland. The Bank Holiday (first Monday in August, 4 August) is a peculiar NSW tradition that banks observe but most retail workers don’t; it’s technically a holiday for bank employees under the Banking Act 1959, but the NSW government (2024 Public Holidays Gazette) notes it’s not a statewide public holiday for general workers.

The big one for Sydney-siders is the Labour Day long weekend: Monday, 6 October. That’s the same weekend as the NRL Grand Final, so expect traffic jams from Parramatta to Bondi. NSW gets 11 public holidays in 2025, but if you work in the city’s financial district, you effectively get 12 thanks to the Bank Holiday. For cross-border commuters, the NSW government (2024) advises checking your employer’s award, because some businesses near the Victorian border observe the Melbourne Cup holiday unofficially.

Victoria: The Grand Final Shuffle

Victoria remains the undisputed champion of quirky public holidays. In 2025, the state observes 13 public holidays — the most in the country — including the legendary Friday before the AFL Grand Final (26 September). Yes, the state government literally declares a holiday so people can watch footy. The AFL Grand Final is scheduled for Saturday, 27 September, so the Friday holiday (technically called “Grand Final Friday”) gives Melbourne the world’s most sports-centric four-day weekend.

Melbourne Cup Day (Tuesday, 4 November) is the other Victorian icon. The race that stops the nation stops Victoria for an entire Tuesday — pubs open at 7am, TABs run specials, and the city’s CBD sees a 40% drop in office occupancy, according to the Property Council of Australia’s 2023 Office Occupancy Survey. Victoria also celebrates Labour Day on Monday, 10 March (the earliest in the country), and the King’s Birthday on Monday, 9 June. The state’s Easter Sunday (20 April) is a public holiday too — something NSW and Queensland don’t officially recognise. For international students or new arrivals, the Victorian government (2024 Public Holidays Act) clarifies that Easter Sunday is a restricted trading day, meaning most large retailers must stay closed.

Queensland: October King’s Birthday

Queensland does things its own way, starting with the King’s Birthday — which falls on Monday, 6 October, not June. Why? Because the state government decided decades ago that June was too cold for a public holiday parade. The result is a spring long weekend that coincides with the Brisbane Festival’s closing events. Queensland gets 12 public holidays in 2025, including the Ekka Holiday (Wednesday, 13 August) for the Brisbane area only — the Royal Queensland Show (the Ekka) has been a Brisbane institution since 1876, and locals in the city and surrounding council areas get the day off while the rest of the state works.

Labour Day is Monday, 5 May — again, different from the southern states. The Gold Coast Show (late August) and Royal Darwin Show (July) are localised holidays that only apply to specific postcodes, so check the Queensland Government’s 2025 Public Holidays Gazette if you live in a regional area. One quirk: Queensland observes Easter Saturday (19 April) as a public holiday, but not Easter Sunday. The Tourism and Events Queensland (2024) report notes that the October King’s Birthday generates an estimated $180 million in domestic tourism spending, as southerners fly north for the warm weather.

Western Australia: The Lone Ranger

Western Australia is the wild card. The state observes Australia Day on the actual day (Sunday, 26 January) with the public holiday on Monday, 27 January — same as the east. But WA has its own Labour Day on Monday, 3 March, and the King’s Birthday on Monday, 29 September (the last state to celebrate it). The big WA-specific holiday is Western Australia Day (formerly Foundation Day) on Monday, 2 June — commemorating the founding of the Swan River Colony in 1829.

WA gets 12 public holidays in 2025, but regional areas have additional local show days. The Bunbury Cup (March), Broome Cup (July), and Kalgoorlie Cup (October) are local public holidays that apply only within specific shire boundaries. The WA Department of Mines, Industry Regulation and Safety (2024 Public Holidays Guide) warns that these regional holidays often catch FIFO workers off guard — if you’re flying into Kalgoorlie for work, you might find the entire town shut for a horse race. For families planning travel, Trip.com AU/NZ flights offers a handy calendar filter that flags public holidays by state, so you don’t accidentally book a flight on a day when half the state is at the races.

South Australia, Tasmania, ACT & Northern Territory

South Australia has 12 public holidays, including Adelaide Cup Day (Monday, 10 March) — the state’s biggest racing event. SA also observes Easter Sunday and Proclamation Day (26 December). The King’s Birthday is Monday, 9 June, same as NSW and Victoria.

Tasmania gets 12 public holidays, but with a twist: the state observes Easter Tuesday (22 April) — a unique Tasmanian holiday that originated from a 1990s industrial agreement. The King’s Birthday is Monday, 9 June, and Recreation Day (first Monday in November, 3 November) is a holiday for everyone except residents of northern Tasmania, who get Agfest (early May) instead. Yes, Tasmania has two different holiday schedules within the same state.

ACT has 12 public holidays, including Canberra Day (Monday, 10 March) and the King’s Birthday (Monday, 9 June). The ACT also observes Easter Sunday and Reconciliation Day (Monday, 26 May) — a relatively new holiday introduced in 2018 to promote reconciliation with Indigenous Australians.

Northern Territory has 12 public holidays, with the May Day (Monday, 5 May) and the Alice Springs Show (July) and Darwin Show (July) as regional additions. The NT observes Easter Saturday but not Easter Sunday. The King’s Birthday is Monday, 9 June, and Picnic Day (first Monday in August, 4 August) is a beloved NT tradition that started as a day off for public servants in the 19th century.

FAQ

Q1: Which Australian state has the most public holidays in 2025?

Victoria leads the country with 13 public holidays in 2025, thanks to the AFL Grand Final Friday and Melbourne Cup Day. The Australian Capital Territory and Western Australia tie for second with 12 each, while New South Wales has 11 (though bank employees effectively get 12). These counts include national holidays plus state-specific additions, verified against the Fair Work Ombudsman’s 2024 Public Holidays Database.

Q2: Is Easter Sunday a public holiday in all Australian states?

No. Only Victoria, South Australia, the ACT, and Tasmania officially recognise Easter Sunday (20 April 2025) as a public holiday. New South Wales, Queensland, Western Australia, and the Northern Territory do not list Easter Sunday as a public holiday in their respective gazettes, though many businesses close voluntarily. The difference affects penalty rates: in Victoria, workers on Easter Sunday are entitled to 250% pay under most awards, while NSW workers get standard Sunday rates.

Q3: What happens if a public holiday falls on a weekend in Australia?

The general rule is that when a public holiday falls on a Saturday or Sunday, the following Monday becomes the observed public holiday. Australia Day 2025 (Sunday, 26 January) is a classic example — the Monday, 27 January, is the public holiday in all states except Western Australia, which already observes it on the Monday anyway. However, Christmas Day (25 December) and Boxing Day (26 December) are exceptions: if they fall on a weekend, the next two weekdays become holidays. The Fair Work Ombudsman (2024) confirms that this “substitution rule” applies to national holidays only; state-specific holidays like Melbourne Cup Day are never substituted.

References

• Fair Work Ombudsman 2024, Public Holidays Guidelines 2024-2025, Australian Government
• Australian Bureau of Statistics 2023, Labour Account: Working Days and Holiday Effects, cat. no. 6150.0
• Tourism Australia 2024, Domestic Holiday Trends Report: Easter & Christmas Periods
• Property Council of Australia 2023, Office Occupancy Survey: Melbourne CBD
• NSW Government 2024, Public Holidays Gazette 2025, Department of Premier and Cabinet