Australia Public Holidays 2027: Leave Guide

Australia's public holiday calendar is a national skeleton with eight sets of state and territory dates layered on top — which is why two colleagues in different capitals can end up with wildly different years. In 2027 the national dates fall well: Australia Day and the Melbourne Cup both sit on Tuesdays, Easter runs its full four-day course, and the Christmas holidays shift into the new working week. Here is the complete 2027 calendar and where your leave goes furthest.

Every Australian public holiday in 2027

• Fri, Jan 1 — New Year's Day (national)
• Tue, Jan 26 — Australia Day (national)
• Mon, Mar 1 — Labour Day (Western Australia)
• Mon, Mar 8 — Labour Day (Victoria), Eight Hours Day (Tasmania), Canberra Day (ACT) and Adelaide Cup Day (South Australia)
• Fri, Mar 26 — Good Friday (national)
• Sat, Mar 27 — Holy Saturday (most states)
• Sun, Mar 28 — Easter Sunday (most states)
• Mon, Mar 29 — Easter Monday (national)
• Sun, Apr 25 — Anzac Day (national)
• Mon, Apr 26 — Anzac Day observed (most states, as 25 April is a Sunday)
• Mon, May 3 — May Day (Northern Territory) and Labour Day (Queensland)
• Mon, May 31 — Reconciliation Day (ACT)
• Mon, Jun 7 — Western Australia Day
• Mon, Jun 14 — King's Birthday (all states except Queensland and Western Australia)
• Mon, Aug 2 — Picnic Day (Northern Territory)
• Fri, Sep 24 — Friday before the AFL Grand Final (Victoria, date subject to the fixture)
• Mon, Sep 27 — King's Birthday (Western Australia)
• Mon, Oct 4 — Labour Day (NSW, South Australia and ACT) and King's Birthday (Queensland)
• Tue, Nov 2 — Melbourne Cup (Victoria)
• Mon, Dec 27 — Christmas Day observed (25 December falls on a Saturday)
• Tue, Dec 28 — St. Stephen's Day, or Boxing Day observed

The best play: ten days off for four in September

Victoria gets the standout window of 2027. The Friday before the AFL Grand Final falls on Sep 24 and the following Monday, Sep 27, is a public holiday in Western Australia — but for Victorians the Grand Final Friday alone opens a four-day weekend. Book Mon–Thu, Sep 20–23 and you are off from Sat, Sep 18 through Sun, Sep 26: ten days away for four days of leave, right as the weather turns.

Western Australians can run the same trick around Sep 27: take Tue–Fri, Sep 28–Oct 1 and the break runs Sat, Sep 25 through Sun, Oct 3 — nine days for four.

Christmas: nine days for three

Because Christmas Day lands on Saturday, Dec 25 in 2027, both festive holidays move to the following week — Mon, Dec 27 and Tue, Dec 28. Take just three days, Wed–Fri, Dec 29–31, and you are off from Sat, Dec 25 through Sun, Jan 2. Nine days for three days of leave, over the peak of the Australian summer.

This is the most heavily requested leave window of the year in every Australian workplace, so lodge it as soon as your 2027 calendar opens.

Easter: four days free, ten days for four

Good Friday (Fri, Mar 26), Holy Saturday, Easter Sunday and Easter Monday (Mon, Mar 29) give a four-day break nationally without spending anything. To extend it, take Tue–Fri, Mar 30–Apr 2: you are then off Mar 26 through Apr 4, ten days for four days of leave. Autumn in the southern states and the start of the dry season up north both make this a strong travel window.

The one-day bridges

Two Tuesday holidays in 2027 are made for a single bridge day:

• Australia Day — Tue, Jan 26. Take Mon, Jan 25 and you are off Sat, Jan 23 through Tue, Jan 26: four days for one, in peak summer.
• Melbourne Cup — Tue, Nov 2 in Victoria. Take Mon, Nov 1 for a four-day break from Oct 30, the traditional start of the Melbourne spring social calendar.

Automatic long weekends by state

These Mondays cost nothing and are already three-day weekends:

• Mon, Mar 1 — Labour Day in Western Australia
• Mon, Mar 8 — Victoria, Tasmania, ACT and South Australia
• Mon, Apr 26 — Anzac Day observed, nationally
• Mon, May 3 — Northern Territory and Queensland
• Mon, May 31 — Reconciliation Day in the ACT
• Mon, Jun 7 — Western Australia Day
• Mon, Jun 14 — King's Birthday in most states
• Mon, Aug 2 — Picnic Day in the Northern Territory
• Mon, Oct 4 — Labour Day in NSW, SA and the ACT; King's Birthday in Queensland

What to watch in 2027

• The AFL Grand Final Friday is a moving date. Most calendars list it as Friday before AFL Grand Final (Tentative Date) for a reason: it follows the fixture. Treat Sep 24 as the expected date rather than a locked one, and avoid non-refundable bookings until the AFL confirms it.
• Anzac Day falls on a Sunday, so most states observe it on Mon, Apr 26 — but the substitute rules differ, and a few states do not shift it. Check your state before assuming a three-day weekend.
• The King's Birthday splits three ways: June for most states, late September for Western Australia and early October for Queensland. If you work across state lines, this is the date that catches teams out.
• Queensland and Western Australia have no June King's Birthday holiday, which makes the mid-year stretch noticeably long there. A booked break matters more than a bridge day.

Build your own 2027 calendar

Run these numbers against your own state and leave balance with our Australia leave planner for 2027, or read our complete guide to long weekends in Australia for the state-by-state detail.

The takeaway for 2027: September and Christmas are the two windows worth protecting, and the two Tuesday holidays — Australia Day and the Melbourne Cup — are the cheapest four-day breaks on the calendar. Claim them before the rest of the office does.