State-by-State Holiday Differences: Why Australia Has No National Calendar

Australia has only seven nationally consistent public holidays. Everything else varies by state—and some variations are genuinely surprising. This isn't trivia. It breaks deadline calculations for cross-border work.

If you're negotiating a contract across state lines, assuming the same public holiday calendar is a rookie mistake that costs real money.

The Eight National Holidays

Here are the public holidays observed across all of Australia on the same date:

• New Year's Day – January 1
• Australia Day – January 26
• Good Friday – Variable (March/April)
• Easter Sunday – Variable (March/April)
• Easter Monday – Variable (March/April)
• Anzac Day – April 25
• Christmas Day – December 25
• Boxing Day – December 26 (called Proclamation Day in South Australia)

Note on Easter Saturday: Most states observe Easter Saturday (the day after Good Friday) as a public holiday, but it is not a statewide public holiday in Tasmania or Western Australia. Tasmania observes Easter Tuesday instead (restricted to public service workers), while Western Australia does not observe Easter Saturday statewide.

Even these national holidays have variations. Substitute day rules differ by state. Anzac Day falling on a weekend triggers different responses depending on where you are.

Beyond these eight, it's a free-for-all.

Here's the quickest way to spot where the divergence usually shows up:

The Queen's Birthday Puzzle

This is the big one that catches people out.

Most Australian states observe the Queen's Birthday (now King's Birthday) on the second Monday in June. But not all of them. And the ones that don't have their own reasons.

Queensland moved it to the first Monday in October back in 2012. Why? To avoid clashing with school holidays and other events. This created immediate confusion for national businesses: Queensland is on a different calendar than every other state for half the year.

Western Australia doesn't have a fixed date. It's usually late September or early October, gazetted annually. Again, strategic timing to avoid conflicts with other events.

The result: if you have staff in Queensland and New South Wales, and you're calculating a 10-working-day deadline, you might count a "Queen's Birthday" that doesn't exist in one location, throwing your entire calculation off.

Bank Holiday – Often Not a General Public Holiday

This is the one that confuses legal teams and finance departments.

"Bank Holiday" isn't a universal Australian public holiday. In some jurisdictions, it's a banking/financial sector closure day rather than a general public holiday for everyone.

For example, New South Wales treats the Bank Holiday as a day for banks and financial institutions, not a declared public holiday for all employees. ACT guidance also makes clear it doesn't apply to everyone. South Australia uses a Bank Holiday in early August, but whether it's a full public holiday or industry-specific depends on how it's gazetted for that year.

The distinction matters for settlement dates, financial deadlines, and whether employees actually get the day off.

If you're calculating a deadline for a financial transaction that spans a Bank Holiday weekend, you need to know which state rules apply.

Other State-Specific Holidays

Beyond the national holidays and the usual suspects, each state has its own additions:

Australian Capital Territory

• Reconciliation Day – Monday on or after May 27
• Canberra Day – March

South Australia

• Adelaide Cup Day – A Monday in March
• Proclamation Day – December 26 (replaces Boxing Day)

Tasmania

• Royal Hobart Regatta – February (southern Tasmania only)
• Recreation Day – November (northern Tasmania only)

Northern Territory

• May Day – First Monday in May
• Picnic Day – First Monday in August

Western Australia

• Western Australia Day – First Monday in June

New South Wales

• Labour Day – October
• King's Birthday – June
• Regional show days in some areas

Victoria

• Labour Day – March
• King's Birthday – June
• Melbourne Cup Day (default statewide, with regional substitutions)
• Regional show days in many localities

Queensland

• Labour Day – May
• King's Birthday – October
• Extensive regional show days

Cross-Border Deadline Risks

Here's where state differences create real problems:

Scenario 1: Contract Governed by One State, Performance in Another

You sign a contract governed by New South Wales law, but the work is performed in Queensland. A deadline says "10 working days from notice." NSW doesn't have an extra public holiday in that period, but Queensland does (King's Birthday is in October there, not June). Which holiday applies? The answer depends on the contract language and the courts' interpretation—and you shouldn't rely on uncertainty.

Scenario 2: Federal Court Deadlines

Federal institutions typically follow the holiday calendar for the registry or place of work. That still means you need the relevant state or territory calendar rather than assuming a single "federal" list.

Scenario 3: Employment Law

Employment law follows where the employee works, not where the employer is headquartered. If an employee works in South Australia and is given 2 weeks' notice, Adelaide Cup Day in March counts as a non-working day even if the employer is based in NSW and Adelaide Cup doesn't exist there.

Multi-State Employers

If you're a national employer with staff across multiple states, you need multiple public holiday calendars:

• Don't assume a state-specific holiday is known across the organisation
• When communicating deadlines, specify the location those deadlines apply to
• Payroll systems need to track holidays by employee location, not headquarters location
• When calculating notice periods or contract timelines, confirm which state's holidays apply

FAQ

Q: Why is Queen's Birthday on different dates in different states? A: States choose their own dates. Queensland and Western Australia moved theirs to avoid clashing with school holidays and other events. There's no requirement for uniformity across Australia.

Q: Is Easter Tuesday a public holiday? A: Easter Tuesday is a restricted public holiday in Tasmania, applying only to public service workers and some award-covered employees. It does not apply universally to all Tasmanian workers. Most private sector workers in Tasmania do not get Easter Tuesday off. Everywhere else in Australia, Easter Saturday is the public holiday (not Easter Tuesday).

Q: Do federal employees get state public holidays? A: Sometimes. Federal public servants get federal public holidays plus some state holidays depending on where they're based. It's complex—check the relevant enterprise agreement or APS conditions of service.

Q: If I'm in NSW but my counterparty is in Queensland, which public holidays apply to a contract deadline? A: That depends on the contract. If it specifies "Queensland law applies," use Queensland holidays. If it says "NSW law," use NSW holidays. If it's ambiguous, get legal advice—don't guess.

Sources

• Fair Work Ombudsman – Public Holidays by State
• Australian Government – Public Holidays
• NSW Legislation – Public Holidays Act 2010
• Queensland Legislation – Holidays Act 1983
• Victoria Legislation – Public Holidays Act 1993
• South Australia Legislation – Holidays Act 1910
• Western Australia Legislation – Public Holidays Act 1993
• Tasmania Legislation – Public Holidays Act 2010
• NT Legislation – Public Holidays Act 2014
• ACT Legislation – Public Holidays Act 2011