NSW Public Holidays 2026 Dates for Work and Leave Planning
A public holiday can change a normal workweek pretty quickly. One extra day away from the office can turn into a four-day break, or a busy roster can suddenly need a rethink. The NSW Public Holidays calendar for 2026 includes several dates worth marking early, particularly if you’re planning annual leave, family trips or workplace schedules. A few minutes spent checking the calendar now can save that familiar last-minute scramble later.
NSW public holidays 2026 dates
New South Wales has statewide public holidays, plus some local and regional holidays that apply only to particular areas. The NSW Government lists the following statewide dates for 2026.
| Public holiday | Date in 2026 |
|---|---|
| New Year’s Day | Thursday, 1 January |
| Australia Day | Monday, 26 January |
| Good Friday | Friday, 3 April |
| Easter Saturday | Saturday, 4 April |
| Easter Sunday | Sunday, 5 April |
| Easter Monday | Monday, 6 April |
| Anzac Day | Saturday, 25 April |
| Additional Anzac Day holiday | Monday, 27 April |
| King’s Birthday | Monday, 8 June |
| Labour Day | Monday, 5 October |
| Christmas Day | Friday, 25 December |
| Boxing Day | Saturday, 26 December |
| Additional Boxing Day holiday | Monday, 28 December |
One date that deserves a little attention is Monday, 27 April. Anzac Day falls on Saturday, 25 April in 2026, and NSW has an additional public holiday on the following Monday.
So, yes, that late-April calendar is a little more generous than it first appears.
New Year’s Day and Australia Day
The first NSW public holiday of 2026 is New Year’s Day on Thursday, 1 January.
Australia Day follows on Monday, 26 January.
For employees working a standard Monday-to-Friday schedule, Australia Day creates a straightforward three-day weekend. New Year’s Day is slightly different because it lands on Thursday. Taking annual leave on Friday could create a four-day break, depending on your workplace arrangements.
It’s a small calendar trick, really. One leave day can sometimes feel much more useful when it sits beside a public holiday.
Easter public holidays in NSW
Easter is one of the bigger stretches of public holidays in the NSW calendar.
In 2026, the dates are:
- Good Friday — 3 April
- Easter Saturday — 4 April
- Easter Sunday — 5 April
- Easter Monday — 6 April
Good Friday and Easter Monday are public holidays under the national workplace standards, while NSW also recognises Easter Saturday and Easter Sunday as public holidays.
For anyone planning an Easter getaway, this is a useful period to mark well ahead of time. Accommodation prices, traffic and availability can all change around popular holiday periods.
For employers, Easter can bring a different sort of planning headache. Staff availability may change, trading hours may be different and some industries have special public holiday arrangements.
Anzac Day has an additional holiday in 2026
Anzac Day falls on Saturday, 25 April 2026.
NSW has an additional public holiday on Monday, 27 April because Anzac Day falls on a Saturday this year. The NSW Government announced the additional holiday in February 2026, and Fair Work also lists both 25 April and 27 April for NSW.
The actual Anzac Day remains 25 April. The Monday is an additional public holiday, not a replacement for the day of commemoration.
For leave planning, this creates a useful little window around the end of April. If you’re thinking about taking a few days away, check your roster before putting in a request.
King’s Birthday and Labour Day
The King’s Birthday public holiday falls on Monday, 8 June 2026 in NSW.
Later in the year, Labour Day falls on Monday, 5 October 2026.
Both land on Mondays, which makes them natural long-weekend dates.
If you’re trying to spread annual leave across the year rather than taking one huge block, these Monday holidays can be handy points around which to plan a short break.
A Friday or Tuesday of annual leave can turn a normal three-day public holiday weekend into four days away from work.
Of course, whether your leave request is approved depends on your workplace and applicable employment arrangements.
Christmas and Boxing Day public holidays
Christmas Day falls on Friday, 25 December 2026.
Boxing Day is Saturday, 26 December, followed by an additional public holiday on Monday, 28 December.
That makes the final week of 2026 particularly interesting for leave planning.
Someone taking annual leave around Christmas may be able to create a fairly long break by combining public holidays with a handful of ordinary leave days. The exact number of days needed depends on your usual working pattern.
It is worth checking your workplace shutdown dates too. Some businesses close over Christmas and New Year, and different rules can apply to annual leave during a shutdown.
Do public holidays reduce your annual leave balance?
A common question is whether a public holiday gets deducted from annual leave if it falls during a holiday period.
Under the National Employment Standards, a public holiday that falls during a period of paid annual leave generally isn’t counted as annual leave. If the employee would normally work that day, they receive the relevant public holiday entitlement and that day isn’t taken from their annual leave balance.
For example, imagine you’re taking annual leave across a week that includes a public holiday. You don’t normally need to use an annual leave day for that public holiday.
Your work pattern matters, though. Part-time employees may have different results depending on whether the public holiday falls on a day they normally work.
Working on a NSW public holiday
Not everyone gets the day off.
Some industries continue operating on public holidays, and employees can sometimes be asked to work where the relevant workplace rules allow it. Penalty rates or other entitlements may apply under an award or enterprise agreement.
If you’re rostered to work on Christmas Day, Boxing Day or another public holiday, check your award, agreement or employment contract before assuming what you’ll be paid.
The rules can vary quite a bit between industries. A café worker, hospital employee and office worker may have very different arrangements.
Local public holidays in NSW
The statewide calendar isn’t the whole story.
Some regional and rural areas have local public holidays declared for particular communities. The NSW Government lists local dates separately, with 2026 examples including holidays connected with events such as the Walcha Cup, Kangaroo Valley Show and Albury Gold Cup.
So if you work outside Sydney or in a regional NSW area, checking your local council or the NSW Government list can be worthwhile.
A local holiday doesn’t automatically apply across the whole state.
Planning annual leave around NSW public holidays
A NSW public holiday calendar 2026 can be surprisingly useful for planning more than just days off.
Start by marking the public holidays that fall on weekdays. Then look at your annual leave balance and see where a single day of leave could create a longer break.
Easter, the April Anzac Day period, the King’s Birthday, Labour Day and Christmas all give different planning opportunities.
If you work part-time or have rotating shifts, look at your actual roster rather than counting calendar days alone. Your ordinary working days matter.
And if you’re booking flights or accommodation, check the dates early. Everyone else has a calendar too, unfortunately.
A public holiday list is a small thing to keep nearby, but it can make holiday planning, staff scheduling and annual leave requests much less messy. For 2026, those Monday dates are especially useful little markers — and Christmas arriving on a Friday doesn’t hurt either.