New South Wales
No — today is not a public holiday in New South Wales.
Saturday 24 October 2026.
Friday
25December 2026
Christmas Day
in 62 days- Public holidays left in 2026
- 3
- Next long weekend
- 25–28 DecemberFriday to Monday
- Shops open today?
- YesWhich days shops close
- Applies in
- All of NSW Local holidays not yet listed
NSW public holidays coming up
Checked against New South Wales' own law and the government's published dates. Where each one comes from is at the bottom of the page.
The rest of 2026
| Date | Holiday | Shops |
|---|---|---|
| Fri 25 Dec | Christmas Day | Shops closed |
| Sat 26 Dec | Boxing Day | Open if staff opt in |
| Mon 28 Dec | Additional public holiday for Boxing Day Because Boxing Day falls on a Saturday. The 26th stays a public holiday as well. | Shops open |
2027
| Date | Holiday | Shops |
|---|---|---|
| Fri 1 Jan | New Year's Day | Shops open |
| Tue 26 Jan | Australia Day | Shops open |
| Fri 26 Mar | Good Friday | Shops closed |
| Sat 27 Mar | Easter Saturday | Shops open |
| Sun 28 Mar | Easter Sunday | Shops closed |
| Mon 29 Mar | Easter Monday | Shops open |
| Sun 25 Apr | Anzac Day Falls on a Sunday. Anzac Day is not moved, and an additional public holiday is declared for the Monday. | Shops closed |
| Mon 26 Apr | Additional public holiday for Anzac Day | Shops open |
| Mon 14 Jun | King's Birthday | Shops open |
| Mon 4 Oct | Labour Day | Shops open |
| Sat 25 Dec | Christmas Day Falls on a Saturday, so the following Monday is an additional public holiday. | Shops closed |
| Sun 26 Dec | Boxing Day | Open if staff opt in |
| Mon 27 Dec | Additional public holiday for Christmas Day | Shops open |
| Tue 28 Dec | Additional public holiday for Boxing Day | Shops open |
Earlier in 2026 — ten dates already passed
| Date | Holiday | Shops |
|---|---|---|
| Thu 1 Jan | New Year's Day | Shops open |
| Mon 26 Jan | Australia Day | Shops open |
| Fri 3 Apr | Good Friday | Shops closed |
| Sat 4 Apr | Easter Saturday | Shops open |
| Sun 5 Apr | Easter Sunday | Shops closed |
| Mon 6 Apr | Easter Monday | Shops open |
| Sat 25 Apr | Anzac Day | Shops closed |
| Mon 27 Apr | Additional public holiday for Anzac Day | Shops open |
| Mon 8 Jun | King's Birthday | Shops open |
| Mon 5 Oct | Labour Day | Shops open |
Good to know: New South Wales adds a day when Christmas or Boxing Day lands on a weekend, moves Australia Day rather than adding to it, and never moves Anzac Day at all.
2026 at a glance
The whole year on one screen, with every public holiday marked and today circled. This is the view worth printing.
Jan
Feb
Mar
Apr
May
Jun
Jul
Aug
Sep
Oct
Nov
Dec
Long weekends in NSW
Three days or more in a row without a working day in the middle. A holiday landing on a Saturday does not make one by itself, which is why these are worked out from the published dates rather than assumed. This models a standard Monday-to-Friday week, which is not everyone's. For the same question asked the other way round — who else is off that weekend — see long weekends month by month.
| Dates | Because of |
|---|---|
| Fri 25 – Mon 28 Dec 4 days | Christmas Day, Boxing Day and the additional public holiday for Boxing Day |
| Fri 1 – Sun 3 Jan 2027 3 days | New Year's Day |
| Fri 26 – Mon 29 Mar 2027 4 days | Good Friday, Easter Saturday, Easter Sunday and Easter Monday |
| Sat 24 – Mon 26 Apr 2027 3 days | Anzac Day and the additional public holiday for Anzac Day |
| Sat 12 – Mon 14 Jun 2027 3 days | King's Birthday |
| Sat 2 – Mon 4 Oct 2027 3 days | Labour Day |
Turn NSW's public holidays into longer breaks
Worked out from the NSW dates above: which days to book, and what each one buys. Monday-to-Friday assumed, as everywhere else on this page.
| Book | What you get |
|---|---|
| Tue 29 – Thu 31 Dec 3 days of leave | 10 days off, Fri 25 Dec – Sun 3 Jan 2027 Christmas Day, Boxing Day, the additional public holiday for Boxing Day and New Year's Day |
| Mon 25 Jan 2027 1 day of leave | 4 days off, Sat 23 – Tue 26 Jan Australia Day Best value: the most days off per day of leave |
| Mon 22 – Thu 25 Mar 2027 4 days of leave | 10 days off, Sat 20 – Mon 29 Mar Good Friday, Easter Saturday, Easter Sunday and Easter Monday |
| Tue 27 – Fri 30 Apr 2027 4 days of leave | 9 days off, Sat 24 Apr – Sun 2 May Anzac Day and the additional public holiday for Anzac Day |
| Tue 15 – Fri 18 Jun 2027 4 days of leave | 9 days off, Sat 12 – Sun 20 Jun King's Birthday |
| Tue 5 – Fri 8 Oct 2027 4 days of leave | 9 days off, Sat 2 – Sun 10 Oct Labour Day |
A public holiday inside booked annual leave does not come out of your balance, and the rule turns on where you are based for work rather than where you live — what a day of leave is worth sets out the section and what it means for a regional day.
Which days do NSW shops have to close?
The trading list is not the holiday list
New South Wales has five restricted trading days: Good Friday, Easter Sunday, Anzac Day, Christmas Day and Boxing Day. On each of them shops must be kept closed at all times (s4) unless Part 3 of the Act exempts them. Boxing Day is the one any shop may open on: section 8A lets it trade if everyone working there freely chose to, and being rostered on is not choosing (s3A). That is why the Boxing Day sales go ahead.
The law: Retail Trading Act 2008 (NSW) s 4 and Part 3.
The restricted list is shorter than the holiday list above and does not line up with it: whether a day is a public holiday and whether shops must shut are two separate questions, with two separate Acts behind them.
You may still read that NSW shops can open after 1pm on Anzac Day. That rule has gone: the Retail Trading Amendment (Anzac Day Trading Hours) Act 2024 changed s4(c) to 'at all times on Anzac Day', and Schedule 2 Part 6 cl 12 removed the old Shops and Industries Act 1962 exemption for those shops.
The exemptions:
- Shops whose predominant business is a kind listed in Schedule 1 (s7) — chemists, newsagents, florists, cafes and takeaway, fruit and vegetable shops and petrol stations among them — on the condition that everyone working that day freely chose to.
- Small shops (s8): at most two natural-person owner-occupiers or one corporation, and no more than four people engaged in the business on the day.
- Boxing Day only (s8A): any shop may open if it is staffed solely by people who freely elected to work that day — which is why Boxing Day sales happen.
- A hotel or small bar is not caught by the Act just for selling liquor, meals or refreshments (s9). A packaged liquor licence — the kind a standalone bottle shop holds — exempts nothing (s6A).
- Any other shop may apply to the Secretary for an exemption of up to three years, granted only in exceptional circumstances and in the public interest, and its staff must also have freely chosen to work (ss 10, 13).
Where these dates come from
Public holidays in New South Wales are set by the Public Holidays Act 2010 (NSW) No 115, with some dates set by orders, proclamations or notices made under it. Every date was checked against the dates published by the NSW Government — NSW Industrial Relations on Friday 4 September 2026.
Which part of the law sets each day
- New Year's Day — section 4(a) of the Act
- Australia Day — section 4(b) of the Act
- Good Friday — section 4(c) of the Act
- Easter Saturday — section 4(d) of the Act
- Easter Sunday — section 4(e) of the Act
- Easter Monday — section 4(f) of the Act
- Anzac Day — section 4(g) of the Act
- Additional public holiday for Anzac Day — an extra day declared by the Minister under section 5
- King's Birthday — section 4(h) of the Act
- Labour Day — section 4(i) of the Act
- Christmas Day — section 4(j) of the Act
- Boxing Day — section 4(k) of the Act
- Additional public holiday for Boxing Day — section 4(k) of the Act
- Additional public holiday for Christmas Day — section 4(j) of the Act
Notes on particular dates
- Anzac Day (Sat 25 Apr 2026): Falls on a Saturday. NSW does not move Anzac Day — it stays on 25 April — and an additional public holiday is declared for the Monday as well.
- Additional public holiday for Anzac Day (Mon 27 Apr 2026 and Mon 26 Apr 2027): Declared under s5(1) by the Public Holidays Amendment (Anzac Day) Order 2026 (2026 No 48), which names both this day and the other year's in one clause. An additional day, not a substitute — the order says so in terms, and 25 April remains the Anzac Day public holiday under s4(g).
- Boxing Day (Sat 26 Dec 2026): Falls on a Saturday, so the following Monday is an additional public holiday. Any shop may still open if everyone working there freely chose to (s8A).
- Boxing Day (Sun 26 Dec 2027): Falls on a Sunday, so the following Tuesday is an additional public holiday. Any shop may still open if everyone working there freely chose to (s8A).
If the day affects your pay or your trading
Whenday answers what the date is. Two sibling sites answer what it costs, and they are written by the same author — see about Whenday for how they fit together.
- Working this day? Public-holiday penalty rates and how they stack with leave loading — Payjoey works from the Fair Work rules.
- Trading this day? Your state's restricted-trading rules for small business — Bizroo covers the obligations that follow.
Frequently asked questions
Is today a public holiday in NSW?
On Saturday 24 October 2026, no.
How many public holidays are there in NSW in 2026?
Thirteen across the whole state — the first is New Year's Day on Thursday 1 January 2026 and the last is the additional public holiday for Boxing Day on Monday 28 December 2026. The total moves from year to year because several days gain a substitute or an extra Monday when they land on a weekend; the bottom of this page lists which part of the law sets each one.
When is the next public holiday in NSW?
Christmas Day, on Friday 25 December 2026: 62 days after Saturday 24 October 2026. New South Wales has published 2027 as well, so the list on this page carries on past New Year — those are the dates to plan travel or rosters around.
When is the next long weekend in NSW?
Friday 25 to Monday 28 December 2026 — 4 days around Christmas Day, with 3 public holidays in it. After that, Friday 1 to Sunday 3 January 2027 — 3 days around New Year's Day.
Are Easter Saturday and Easter Sunday public holidays in NSW?
Yes, both. The NSW public holidays for Easter 2027 are Good Friday (Friday 26 March), Easter Saturday (Saturday 27 March), Easter Sunday (Sunday 28 March) and Easter Monday (Monday 29 March).
Are Christmas Eve and New Year's Eve public holidays in NSW?
No. Neither is a public holiday in NSW. Its public holidays at Christmas are Friday 25, Saturday 26 and Monday 28 December 2026, and at New Year Friday 1 January 2027.
Is Boxing Day a public holiday in NSW?
Yes. Saturday 26 December 2026 is a public holiday in NSW. Monday 28 December 2026 is the additional public holiday for Boxing Day, because 26 December falls on a Saturday.
Is Anzac Day a public holiday in NSW?
Yes. In 2027 the NSW public holiday for Anzac Day is Sunday 25 April 2027, and Monday 26 April 2027 is a public holiday as well — the additional public holiday for Anzac Day — under the Public Holidays Act 2010 (NSW) No 115. Whether a jurisdiction adds a day, swaps the day or leaves a weekend Anzac Day where it falls is the rule that differs most across the country, so a list giving one date for everyone gets it wrong somewhere; the Anzac Day page sets all eight answers side by side.
Is Anzac Day moved when it falls on a weekend in NSW?
No. Anzac Day is a public holiday on 25 April every year, weekend or not — section 4(g) of the Public Holidays Act 2010 gives it no weekend rule at all, unlike Australia Day, which really is moved. What happens instead in 2026 and 2027 is that an extra public holiday is declared for the Monday under section 5.
The difference shows up in a pay run. Someone rostered on Saturday 25 April 2026 has worked a public holiday, and the state also gets Monday the 27th — two days, not one moved day. Anyone reading a calendar that shows only "Anzac Day (observed) Monday 27 April" would get that wrong in both directions.
Can shops open on Anzac Day in NSW?
Not any more, though many calendars still repeat the old rule. The Retail Trading Amendment (Anzac Day Trading Hours) Act 2024 changed section 4 of the Retail Trading Act 2008 to read at all times on Anzac Day. The old rule that let shops open after 1pm is repealed, and Schedule 2 Part 6 clause 12 removed the leftover exemption that had carried over from the Shops and Industries Act 1962.
Cross the Murray and the opposite is true: Victoria still closes only until 1pm. A national answer to this question is wrong for somebody no matter which way it is written.
Why does the NSW Government list a Bank Holiday in August?
Because it changes who is open, not who has the day off. The first Monday in August is a bank close day under Part 3A of the Retail Trading Act 2008, so retail bank branches and some financial institutions shut. It is not a declared public holiday: there is no entitlement to be absent, no penalty rate attaches to it, and it appears nowhere in the Public Holidays Act.
It is left off the table above for that reason. A list that mixes it in with the real holidays is telling most readers something untrue about their own August.
Does everyone in NSW get the same public holidays?
Not entirely, and the vocabulary matters. Section 5 lets the Minister declare a public holiday for part of the State — a local public holiday, which really is a public holiday in that area, with penalty rates following your award. Section 8 covers local event days, often a show or a racing carnival, and those are expressly not public holidays for work purposes and can run for part of a day.
Calendar sites often treat those as one thing. The table above is the statewide list only; local public holidays and local event days are not listed here yet.
Verified
Checked against the Public Holidays Act 2010 (NSW) No 115 and the dates published by the NSW Government — NSW Industrial Relations on . If the date affects your pay, check your award or agreement.