Legal Public Holidays in Australia

The following holidays are public holidays in all states and territories: It`s important to keep an eye out for holidays that may affect your employees and your employees` pay rates if you decide to take action on those days. Public holidays in Australia refer to public holidays recognised by law in Australia. Although declared on a state and territorial basis, they include a mix of nationally celebrated days and holidays reserved exclusively for individual jurisdictions. You can choose to close your business during the holidays, which many businesses do at Christmas/New Year. If this is the case, you may be able to ask your employees to take paid or unpaid leave during the shutdown for the days they normally worked and ensure that you comply with any termination provisions that may be included in a modern award, operating agreement or contract (if applicable). Saturday, January 1: New Year`s Day Monday, January 3: Additional New Year`s Day holiday Tuesday, January 26: Australia Day Friday, April 15: Good Friday Saturday, April 16: Easter Saturday Sunday, April 17: Easter Sunday Monday, April 18: Easter Monday Monday, April 25: ANZAC Day Sunday, December 25: Christmas Day Monday, December 26: Boxing Day Labour Day commemorates the achievements of the Australian labour movement. The celebration of Labour Day has its origins in the eight-hour movement, which advocated eight hours for work, eight hours for rest and eight hours for rest. On April 21, 1856, stonemasons and construction workers stopped working on construction sites around Melbourne, Australia, and marched from the University of Melbourne to Parliament to reach an eight-hour day. Their Direct Action protest was successful, and they are considered the first organized workers in the world to achieve an eight-hour day without losing pay, which later inspired the celebration of Labor Day and May Day. In Tasmania, the holiday is called Eight Hours Day and in the Northern Territory, May Day. Get the full list of Australian public holidays and Australian public holidays. In Australia, in addition to some holidays celebrated by some states, there are also public holidays. Australia also bans the sale of alcohol on certain public holidays such as Good Friday.

The days are set out in the Public Holidays Act 1983. [43] Most statutory holidays include a second holiday on a weekday if they fall on a Saturday or Sunday. In this case, both days are public holidays. [44] Australia celebrates seven recognized national holidays in each of the eight states and territories. However, each state also has its own holiday, which is recognized in its region. Some of these holidays may be the same as in other states or simply celebrated on different days. August 2015, the day before the AFL Grand Final, and Easter Sunday were designated as public holidays in Victoria. This date of the holiday is given by the Victorian government and cannot be predicted exactly. In 2019, the Victorian Parliament legislated the AFL Grand Final holiday by amending the Public Holidays Act 1993 (Vic). [49] Queensland Monday, May 2: Labour Day Wednesday, August 10*: Royal Queensland Show Monday, May 3.

October: Queen`s Birthday Tuesday, December 27: Additional holidays for Christmas Day Liquor licenses in several states prevent the sale of alcohol on certain holidays such as Good Friday. In general, public holidays in Australia consist of national holidays and other public holidays declared by state territories and the government. Victoria Monday, March 14: Labour Day Monday, June 13: Queen`s Birthday Tuesday, November 1: Melbourne Cup Day Monday, December 26: Additional Christmas Day Break *Limited holidays in Tasmania. Observed by some arbitration awards/agreements and government public service **Main circular region only***Hobart only If you can otherwise negotiate statutory holidays, employees generally do not have to work on statutory holidays. Permanent employees who would otherwise have worked on a public holiday have the right to work on a public holiday and receive their base pay for the normal hours they would have worked on that day, so you must ask these workers to work on that day if reasonably necessary. An employee may refuse your request if it is inappropriate. For more information on how to ask employees to work on holidays, see below. Penalty interest is the wage rates an employee receives higher than their standard principle for working at hours or days, such as holidays outside the normal work week. [53] They were introduced in 1947 for workers who worked on the Sabbath,[54][55] since most workers were Christians, whereas these wage rates are now set by the Fair Work Commission. Public holidays in Australia are regular paid public holidays.

If a holiday falls on a weekend, the holiday is celebrated by proclamation on the following day other than the weekend. Employees who are not covered by a federal bonus or agreement are entitled to vacation under Victoria`s Public Holidays Act 1993. In addition, all permanent employees who are not covered by a federal award or agreement and who would normally work on a statutory holiday (or a replacement holiday) are entitled to leave without loss of pay. Your employers are not required to make additional payments if they work on a public holiday, but that doesn`t stop employees and employers from negotiating additional wages. All other statutory holidays, such as the Queen`s birthday and Labour Day, are declared individually by state and territory governments. Until 1994, Melbourne Show Day was celebrated on Thursdays of the last full week of September as a half-day holiday – which was later converted to a full day (abolished by the state government). [51] Easter Tuesday was a statutory holiday in Victoria until 1994 (also abolished by the state government). If Christmas Day (December 25) is a Saturday or Sunday, December 27 is also a holiday. If Boxing Day (December 26) is a Saturday or Sunday, December 28 is also a public holiday.

Employees` entitlements to leave and additional compensation vary depending on whether they are covered by a supplement or a federal agreement. The state and territories may set restricted trading days, which are days (often holidays) that require all businesses that are not exempt to close. Businesses of certain types are sometimes automatically exempted, usually food stores, gas stations, and some retail stores. Whether or not you can trade depends on the laws of your state or territory and whether you have an exemption. Public holidays in Victoria are governed by the Victorian Public Holidays Act 1993. Independent contractors will only be paid on a public holiday if they provide services to you during a period that is considered a public holiday in Australia, your state or region. The payment would not necessarily be split into a “public holiday rate”, it would simply be a negotiated rate between you and the contractor, as with any other agreement of the contractor. A contractor may include additional fees in the price of their service and pass them on to you when they use services when they would otherwise have a day to recover. Public holidays in South Australia are set out in the Holidays Act 1910, while additional public holidays throughout the state or parts of the state may be declared by the Governor. [46] The Act defines holidays and holidays that are identical, unless a holiday falls on a Saturday; In this case, the holiday is the following Monday and Saturday and Monday are public holidays.

A casual worker may refuse to work on a public holiday. A permanent employee may refuse if the request is unreasonable. Public holidays in Australia are based on various religious, cultural and civic observations. The Christian holidays, namely Christmas and Easter, are among the most important to observe.