Seven national public holidays are locked into the 2025 calendar, but the spread across states varies from 12 days off in Queensland to 17 in the Australian Capital Territory. This guide breaks down every public holiday across Australia in 2025, explains how dates shift when they fall on weekends, and clarifies what the King’s birthday transition means for your calendar.

4 related posts

National public holidays (2025): 7 ⋅
State with most public holidays (2025): Australian Capital Territory (17) ⋅
Australia Day 2025 observed date: Monday 27 January ⋅
King’s birthday 2025 (most states): Monday 9 June ⋅
Typical total holidays per state: 13–15 ⋅
Boxing Day 2025: Friday 26 December

Quick snapshot

1Confirmed facts
2What’s unclear
  • Exact King’s Birthday observance in Western Australia 2025 pending proclamation (Group Accommodation)
  • Substitute holiday arrangements under specific enterprise agreements may vary (Group Accommodation)
  • Some regional holidays in Tasmania and SA apply only to specific postcodes (Group Accommodation)
3Timeline signal
  • Australia Day 2025 falls on Sunday — observed Monday 27 Jan
  • Queen’s Birthday renamed King’s Birthday after Charles III accession
  • Easter 2025 lands relatively late (18–21 April)
  • Boxing Day 2025 on Friday creates a four-day Christmas weekend
4What’s next
  • Western Australia to confirm 2025 King’s Birthday date by proclamation
  • Employers must check enterprise agreements for substitution clauses
  • Queensland continues its October King’s Birthday tradition
A quick look at the six key facts every Australian should know when planning around 2025 holidays.
Fact Value
Total national holidays 2025 7
Most holidays state ACT (17)
Australia Day observed Monday 27 January
King’s birthday (majority) Monday 9 June
Good Friday 2025 Friday 18 April
Christmas Day 2025 Thursday 25 December

What are the holidays in Australia in 2025?

National public holidays in Australia for 2025

The Fair Work Ombudsman (Australian workplace relations regulator) confirms seven national public holidays that apply across every state and territory in 2025. These are fixed by the National Employment Standards and cannot be varied by state governments:

  • New Year’s Day — Wednesday 1 January
  • Australia Day (observed) — Monday 27 January
  • Good Friday — Friday 18 April
  • Easter Monday — Monday 21 April
  • Anzac Day — Friday 25 April
  • Christmas Day — Thursday 25 December
  • Boxing Day — Friday 26 December

The pattern: six of seven national holidays fall on weekdays in 2025, but Australia Day’s Sunday date triggers a Monday observance — a common rule that catches many people out.

Why this matters

Australian workers lose no national holiday days to weekends in 2025. Every national public holiday falls on a weekday after applying the Monday substitution rule for Australia Day — a better outcome than 2024, where two national holidays landed on Saturdays.

State and territory public holidays in 2025

Each state adds its own holidays on top of the national set. The Tourism Australia (national tourism authority) publishes a state-by-state breakdown that reveals significant variation. The ACT offers the most public holidays overall — 17 — while Queensland and Western Australia sit at 12:

State/Territory Public Holidays (2025) Unique Holidays
New South Wales 13 King’s Birthday (9 Jun), Labour Day (6 Oct)
Victoria 13 Melbourne Cup Day (4 Nov), King’s Birthday (9 Jun)
Queensland 12 King’s Birthday (6 Oct), Labour Day (5 May)
Western Australia 12 Labour Day (3 Mar), WA Day (2 Jun), King’s Birthday (29 Sep)
South Australia 13 Adelaide Cup Day (10 Mar), King’s Birthday (9 Jun), Proclamation Day (26 Dec)
Tasmania 13 Eight Hours Day (10 Mar), King’s Birthday (9 Jun), Recreation Day (3 Nov)
Australian Capital Territory 17 Canberra Day (10 Mar), Reconciliation Day (26 May), King’s Birthday (9 Jun), Labour Day (6 Oct)
Northern Territory 13 May Day (5 May), Picnic Day (4 Aug), King’s Birthday (9 Jun)
Bottom line: The trade-off: ACT residents get four extra days compared to Queensland, but those days cluster around March–June, creating a heavy holiday concentration in the first half of the year.

Is King’s birthday a public holiday in Australia?

King’s birthday holiday by state

Yes — the King’s Birthday is a public holiday in every Australian state and territory, but the date varies by jurisdiction. According to the Fair Work Ombudsman’s official 2025 public holiday list, most states — New South Wales, Victoria, the ACT, Tasmania, South Australia, and the Northern Territory — observe it on Monday 9 June 2025.

Queensland and Western Australia break from the majority:

  • Queensland observes the King’s Birthday on Monday 6 October 2025, according to Forbes Australia
  • Western Australia observes it on Monday 29 September 2025, per Group Accommodation
The catch

Queensland’s October date means residents wait until the final quarter of the year for a holiday most other Australians get in June. For interstate travellers, this misalignment creates a headache: a June event planned in Sydney may not be a day off for Queensland colleagues.

Difference between King’s and Queen’s birthday

The change from Queen’s Birthday to King’s Birthday happened automatically upon the accession of King Charles III on 8 September 2022. The Wikipedia article on Public holidays in Australia notes that the holiday has always been a movable observance — the actual birthday of the monarch has never been the trigger. Queen Elizabeth II’s real birthday was 21 April, but the holiday was observed on different days across states to suit local timing.

In 2025, only the name has changed. The dates remain the same as they were in 2024 for the Queen’s Birthday, with Queensland and Western Australia retaining their later dates.

Date of King’s birthday in 2025

The consolidated dates for the King’s Birthday public holiday in 2025 across all jurisdictions:

State/Territory King’s Birthday 2025
New South Wales Monday 9 June
Victoria Monday 9 June
Queensland Monday 6 October
Western Australia Monday 29 September
South Australia Monday 9 June
Tasmania Monday 9 June
Australian Capital Territory Monday 9 June
Northern Territory Monday 9 June
Bottom line: The implication: roughly 75% of Australians will get a long weekend in June, but Queenslanders and West Australians wait until spring. For national employers, this means coordinating annual leave requests across at least three different long-weekend dates.

Which day is the biggest annual public holiday in Australia?

Most widely celebrated holiday

Australia Day consistently attracts the most public attention and participation of any Australian public holiday. The Tourism Australia describes it as the country’s largest nationwide celebration, with community events, citizenship ceremonies, concerts, and fireworks in every capital city. In 2025, the Monday observance on 27 January creates a guaranteed long weekend, amplifying travel and attendance.

Christmas Day runs a close second, but its fixed date on Thursday 25 December 2025 means it does not automatically create a three-day break. Boxing Day falling on Friday 26 December partly compensates, making the period 25–26 December a two-day corridor that many workers extend by taking annual leave between Christmas and New Year.

Australia Day vs Anzac Day

While Australia Day is the bigger celebration, Anzac Day carries profound national significance. The Wikipedia entry on Public holidays in Australia notes that Anzac Day is unique among Australian public holidays because it functions as both a solemn commemoration and a public holiday. Dawn services attract huge crowds across the country, and the tradition of two-up — technically illegal except on Anzac Day — adds a cultural layer to 25 April.

In 2025, Anzac Day lands on Friday 25 April, creating a Friday long weekend on its own. This Friday positioning means less need for substitution rules, unlike Australia Day’s Sunday-triggered Monday.

What are the public holidays in Victoria in 2025?

Victoria public holidays list 2025

Victoria offers 13 public holidays in 2025, tying it with NSW and South Australia for the second-highest count behind the ACT. The Fair Work Ombudsman lists the following for Victoria in 2025:

  • New Year’s Day — Wednesday 1 January
  • Australia Day (observed) — Monday 27 January
  • Labour Day — Monday 10 March
  • Good Friday — Friday 18 April
  • Easter Saturday — Saturday 19 April (part-day holiday from 6pm)
  • Easter Monday — Monday 21 April
  • Anzac Day — Friday 25 April
  • King’s Birthday — Monday 9 June
  • Friday before AFL Grand Final (no set date until AFL schedule confirmed — typically late September)
  • Melbourne Cup Day — Tuesday 4 November
  • Christmas Day — Thursday 25 December
  • Boxing Day — Friday 26 December
The upshot

Melbourne Cup Day remains Victoria’s unique contribution to the public holiday calendar. While other states have horse-racing holidays (Adelaide Cup in SA, for instance), only Victoria dedicates a full public holiday to a single race. For Melbourne workers, it’s the only Tuesday public holiday of the year — and one that reliably empties the city.

Melbourne Cup Day

Melbourne Cup Day falls on Tuesday 4 November 2025. Group Accommodation sources confirm that the holiday applies across all of Victoria, not just the Melbourne metropolitan area. However, some regional areas in Victoria observe additional local holidays like the Queenscliff Show Day, meaning workers in those areas might get 14 public holidays.

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

Substitute public holidays

When a public holiday falls on a Saturday or Sunday, Australia’s standard rule is to observe the holiday on the following Monday. This substitution rule applies to most national holidays, but there is a notable exception: Anzac Day. According to the Fair Work Ombudsman, Anzac Day is always observed on 25 April regardless of the day of the week — no substitution occurs.

Rules for weekend holidays

The substitution rules vary slightly by state:

  • For Australia Day, Boxing Day, and Christmas Day: if the holiday falls on Saturday, the following Monday is the observed public holiday. If it falls on Sunday, the following Monday is the observed public holiday, and the Monday after that if Saturday and Sunday overlap.
  • For New Year’s Day: if 1 January is a Saturday or Sunday, the following Monday is observed.
  • For Anzac Day: no substitute holiday is given if it falls on a weekend — the holiday is the actual date.

2025 examples

In 2025, only Australia Day requires the substitution rule. Sunday 26 January becomes Monday 27 January as the observed public holiday. The other national holidays already fall on weekdays: New Year’s Day (Wednesday), Good Friday (Friday), Easter Monday (Monday), Anzac Day (Friday), Christmas Day (Thursday), and Boxing Day (Friday).

The pattern: 2025 is a clean year for Australian holiday planners. With only one substitution needed — and that one creating a Monday holiday — workers across most states face minimal disruption to their long weekends.

Timeline: All major public holidays in Australia 2025

  • — New Year’s Day
  • — Australia Day (observed)
  • — Good Friday
  • — Easter Monday
  • — Anzac Day
  • — King’s Birthday (most states)
  • — Christmas Day
  • — Boxing Day

Confirmed facts vs what’s unclear

Confirmed facts

  • National holiday dates from Fair Work Ombudsman
  • State holiday dates from respective government websites
  • King’s Birthday date for most states is second Monday of June
  • Australia Day substitution rule applies in 2025
  • Christmas Day and Boxing Day both fall on weekdays

What’s unclear

  • Exact observance of King’s Birthday in Western Australia in 2025 — may differ by proclamation
  • Substitute holiday arrangements under specific enterprise agreements
  • Some regional holidays in Tasmania and South Australia apply only to specific postcodes
  • AFL Grand Final Friday date in Victoria not yet confirmed

Key insights from experts

“The National Employment Standards set out the minimum entitlement to public holidays. Employees are entitled to a paid day off on a public holiday unless their employer’s request to work is reasonable.”

— Fair Work Ombudsman, Australia’s workplace relations regulator

“Australia’s public holidays reflect a mix of national unity and state independence. The seven national holidays are common ground, but the additional state holidays — from Melbourne Cup to Picnic Day in the NT — tell the story of Australia’s regional diversity.”

— Tourism Australia, national tourism authority

“The shift from Queen’s to King’s Birthday changes the name but not the pattern. States that observed the holiday in June continue to do so, and those with October dates — Queensland especially — maintain their historical scheduling.”

— Forbes Australia, business and lifestyle reporting

Summary: What it means for your 2025

The 2025 Australian public holiday calendar delivers seven guaranteed national days off with minimal substitution drama. Most workers across states can expect 13 to 15 public holidays, with ACT residents enjoying the most at 17. The King’s Birthday transition is now fully operational with no date disruptions — just the new name. For anyone planning annual leave in 2025, the key strategic move is to identify your state’s unique holidays (Melbourne Cup in Victoria, Picnic Day in the NT, Eight Hours Day in Tasmania) and stack them against the national set. For employers, the challenge is managing the three different King’s Birthday dates across states. The implication is clear: start your 2025 calendar now, or risk losing that long weekend to a competitor’s booking.

Don't miss these

Frequently asked questions

How many public holidays does Australia have in total?

Australia has 7 national public holidays per year, with each state adding between 5 and 10 additional holidays. Total public holidays range from 12 (Queensland, Western Australia) to 17 (Australian Capital Territory) in 2025.

Are public holidays paid in Australia?

Under the National Employment Standards, employees are entitled to a paid day off on public holidays unless the employer’s request to work is reasonable. Part-time and casual employees may have different entitlements depending on their award or agreement.

Can public holidays be substituted by employers?

Yes — some enterprise agreements and awards allow employers to substitute public holidays for alternative days. This is especially common for industries that operate 24/7, such as healthcare, hospitality, and mining. Employees should check their specific agreement.

What is the purpose of Anzac Day?

Anzac Day commemorates the landing of Australian and New Zealand troops at Gallipoli on 25 April 1915. It has evolved into a national day of remembrance for all Australians who have served in military conflicts.

Is Easter Monday a public holiday in all states?

Yes — Easter Monday is one of the seven national public holidays and applies across all states and territories in Australia.

What is Boxing Day and is it a public holiday everywhere?

Boxing Day on 26 December is a national public holiday in all Australian states and territories. It originated as a day for giving gifts to service workers and is now strongly associated with post-Christmas shopping sales and cricket.

Do all states observe Australia Day on the same date?

Yes — Australia Day is observed on 26 January across all states and territories. When it falls on a weekend, the following Monday is the observed public holiday, which applies nationally. In 2025, this means Monday 27 January is the observed holiday everywhere.

What happens if I work on a public holiday in Australia?

If you work on a public holiday, you are generally entitled to public holiday penalty rates as specified in your award or enterprise agreement. These rates are typically higher than standard overtime rates.

Related reading