South Australia
No — today is not a public holiday in South Australia.
Saturday 24 October 2026.
Friday
25December 2026
Christmas Day
in 62 daysBefore then: Christmas Eve on Thu 24 Dec, from 7pm to midnight only — not a day off.
- Public holidays left in 2026
- 3 Plus Christmas Eve (evening only) and New Year's Eve (evening only)
- Next long weekend
- 25–28 DecemberFriday to Monday
- Shops open today?
- YesWhich days shops close
- Applies in
- All of SA Local holidays not yet listed
SA public holidays coming up
Checked against South Australia's 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 |
|---|---|
| Thu 24 Dec | Christmas Eve Evening only, from 7pm to midnight — not a day off |
| Fri 25 Dec | Christmas Day |
| Sat 26 Dec | Proclamation Day holiday |
| Mon 28 Dec | Additional public holiday for Proclamation Day |
| Thu 31 Dec | New Year's Eve Evening only, from 7pm to midnight — not a day off |
2027
| Date | Holiday |
|---|---|
| Fri 1 Jan | New Year's Day |
| Tue 26 Jan | Australia Day |
| Mon 8 Mar | Adelaide Cup Day |
| Fri 26 Mar | Good Friday |
| Sat 27 Mar | Easter Saturday |
| Sun 28 Mar | Easter Sunday |
| Mon 29 Mar | Easter Monday |
| Sun 25 Apr | Anzac Day Falls on a Sunday, and again there is no replacement day. |
| Mon 14 Jun | King's Birthday |
| Mon 4 Oct | Labour Day |
| Fri 24 Dec | Christmas Eve Evening only, from 7pm to midnight — not a day off |
| Sat 25 Dec | Christmas Day Falls on a Saturday, so the following Monday is a public holiday as well. |
| Sun 26 Dec | Proclamation Day holiday Falls on a Sunday, so the following Tuesday is a public holiday as well. |
| Mon 27 Dec | Additional public holiday for Christmas Day |
| Tue 28 Dec | Additional public holiday for Proclamation Day |
| Fri 31 Dec | New Year's Eve Evening only, from 7pm to midnight — not a day off |
2028
South Australia has already published a third year. Not every state and territory has.
| Date | Holiday |
|---|---|
| Sat 1 Jan | New Year's Day |
| Mon 3 Jan | Additional public holiday for New Year's Day |
| Wed 26 Jan | Australia Day |
| Mon 13 Mar | Adelaide Cup Day |
| Fri 14 Apr | Good Friday |
| Sat 15 Apr | Easter Saturday |
| Sun 16 Apr | Easter Sunday |
| Mon 17 Apr | Easter Monday |
| Tue 25 Apr | Anzac Day |
| Mon 12 Jun | King's Birthday |
| Mon 2 Oct | Labour Day |
| Sun 24 Dec | Christmas Eve Evening only, from 7pm to midnight — not a day off |
| Mon 25 Dec | Christmas Day |
| Tue 26 Dec | Proclamation Day holiday |
| Sun 31 Dec | New Year's Eve Evening only, from 7pm to midnight — not a day off |
Earlier in 2026 — ten dates already passed
| Date | Holiday |
|---|---|
| Thu 1 Jan | New Year's Day |
| Mon 26 Jan | Australia Day |
| Mon 9 Mar | Adelaide Cup Day The second Monday in March — the same Monday Victoria takes as Labour Day. |
| Fri 3 Apr | Good Friday |
| Sat 4 Apr | Easter Saturday |
| Sun 5 Apr | Easter Sunday |
| Mon 6 Apr | Easter Monday |
| Sat 25 Apr | Anzac Day Falls on a Saturday. South Australia adds nothing and moves nothing — there is no replacement day. |
| Mon 8 Jun | King's Birthday |
| Mon 5 Oct | Labour Day |
Good to know: South Australia runs on a Public Holidays Act passed in 2023, calls Boxing Day the Proclamation Day holiday, and has two part-day holidays that start at 7pm.
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 SA
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, the Proclamation Day holiday and the additional public holiday for Proclamation Day |
| Fri 1 – Sun 3 Jan 2027 3 days | New Year's Day |
| Sat 6 – Mon 8 Mar 2027 3 days | Adelaide Cup Day |
| Fri 26 – Mon 29 Mar 2027 4 days | Good Friday, Easter Saturday, Easter Sunday and Easter Monday |
| Sat 12 – Mon 14 Jun 2027 3 days | King's Birthday |
| Sat 2 – Mon 4 Oct 2027 3 days | Labour Day |
Turn SA's public holidays into longer breaks
Worked out from the SA 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, the Proclamation Day holiday, the additional public holiday for Proclamation 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 |
| Tue 9 – Fri 12 Mar 2027 4 days of leave | 9 days off, Sat 6 – Sun 14 Mar Adelaide Cup Day |
| 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 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 SA shops have to close?
The trading list is not the holiday list
South Australia does not restrict a handful of named days. Section 6 says the Act applies only to shops inside a shopping district, and section 4 defines that as the Central Business District (CBD) Tourist Precinct, the Metropolitan Shopping District — which is the rest of the metropolitan area — or any Proclaimed Shopping District. Inside one, section 13 sets ordinary hours and then adds the sentence that matters: the shopkeeper 'is not entitled to open the shop on a day that is a public holiday'. Every public holiday, not five of them. What follows is a list of named exceptions, and they are where the real answer lives.
The law: Shop Trading Hours Act 1977 (SA), ss 4, 5, 5A, 6, 11-13.
Every jurisdiction draws this line differently, and South Australia's is the one that turns on where you are standing. New South Wales names five restricted days and exempts small shops. Victoria names two and a half. South Australia restricts every public holiday, but only inside a shopping district, and outside greater Adelaide that means only where a council applied for it. Western Australia restricts by class of shop rather than by day, and the ACT and the Northern Territory restrict nothing. There is no useful national answer to 'can shops open on a public holiday'.
The exemptions:
- Easter Saturday: a shop in the Greater Adelaide Shopping District may open until 5pm (s13(2)(a)) — which is why Easter Saturday is a public holiday in South Australia and an ordinary Saturday for shopping.
- 26 December: a shop whose business is not wholly or predominantly foodstuffs may open 9am to 5pm (s13(2)(b)).
- Any additional public holiday: 9am to 5pm (s13(2)(e)) — so the substitute Mondays and Tuesdays in late December are trading days.
- The CBD Tourist Precinct is treated differently again: 11am to 5pm on a public holiday other than Good Friday, Christmas Day and Anzac Day, and 12 noon to 5pm on Anzac Day itself (s13(2)(f)).
- Part-day public holidays do not close shops: s13(5aa) lets a shop open on a part-day public holiday falling on a weekday as if it were not one at all — so the 7pm Christmas Eve and New Year's Eve holidays change what staff are paid without changing when the doors are open.
- The Act does not apply at all to a shop at an agricultural or horticultural show, or to one run for no more than a week where the takings go to a charitable, religious or benevolent purpose (s6(2)).
- The Minister may grant exemptions under s5 — and, under s5A, may require shops to close when it would otherwise be lawful to open, for no more than 14 days at a time.
- Geography is the first exemption, and the biggest. Greater Adelaide is a shopping district by definition, so the restrictions simply apply there. Everywhere else in the State is only covered if it is a Proclaimed Shopping District — and section 11(2) says the Governor cannot proclaim one except to give effect to an application from the local council under section 12. So a country town is outside this Act unless its own council asked to be brought inside it.
Where these dates come from
Public holidays in South Australia are set by the Public Holidays Act 2023 (SA) No 39 of 2023, with some dates set by orders, proclamations or notices made under it. Every date was checked against the dates published by SafeWork SA, Government of South Australia on Saturday 12 September 2026.
Which part of the law sets each day
- New Year's Day — section 3(1)(a) of the Act
- Australia Day — section 3(1)(b) of the Act
- Adelaide Cup Day — section 3(1)(c) of the Act
- Good Friday — section 3(1)(d) of the Act
- Easter Saturday — section 3(1)(e) of the Act
- Easter Sunday — section 3(1)(f) of the Act
- Easter Monday — section 3(1)(g) of the Act
- Anzac Day — section 3(1)(h) of the Act
- King's Birthday — section 3(1)(i) of the Act
- Labour Day — section 3(1)(j) of the Act
- Christmas Eve — section 4(a) of the Act
- Christmas Day — section 3(1)(k) of the Act
- Proclamation Day holiday — section 3(1)(l) of the Act, with the date proclaimed each year
- Additional public holiday for Proclamation Day — section 3(3)(a) of the Act (2026); section 3(3)(b) of the Act (2027)
- New Year's Eve — section 4(b) of the Act
- Additional public holiday for Christmas Day — section 3(2) of the Act
- Additional public holiday for New Year's Day — section 3(2) of the Act
Notes on particular dates
- Proclamation Day holiday (Sat 26 Dec 2026): South Australia's name for it. Proclamation Day itself is 28 December; the holiday is observed on the 26th. It falls on a Saturday, so the following Monday is a public holiday as well.
- New Year's Day (Sat 1 Jan 2028): Falls on a Saturday. Section 3(2) — “If Christmas Day or New Year's Day falls on a Saturday or a Sunday, the following Monday will be a public holiday in addition to that day” — so both days count. Contrast Tasmania, which substitutes.
- Additional public holiday for New Year's Day (Mon 3 Jan 2028): The same subsection that adds a day after a weekend Christmas. Read from the Act 2026-09-12, not assumed from the Christmas precedent.
- Anzac Day (Tue 25 Apr 2028): A Tuesday, and s3 gives Anzac Day no weekend rule in any case.
- Christmas Day (Mon 25 Dec 2028): A Monday, so s3(2) never fires.
- Proclamation Day holiday (Tue 26 Dec 2028): 26 December 2028 is a Tuesday. Section 3(3) adds a day only where Proclamation Day falls on a Saturday, Sunday or Monday, so 2028 is the year South Australia gets no additional December day.
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 SA?
On Saturday 24 October 2026, no.
How many public holidays are there in SA in 2026?
Fifteen across the whole state — the first is New Year's Day on Thursday 1 January 2026 and the last is New Year's Eve on Thursday 31 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 SA?
Christmas Day, on Friday 25 December 2026: 62 days after Saturday 24 October 2026. South Australia 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 SA?
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 SA?
Yes, both. The SA 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 SA?
Yes, for part of the day: Christmas Eve from 7pm to midnight on Thursday 24 December 2026 and New Year's Eve from 7pm to midnight on Thursday 31 December 2026. They are public holidays for those hours only; the rest of each day is not.
Is Boxing Day a public holiday in SA?
Under another name. In SA the public holiday on Saturday 26 December 2026 is the Proclamation Day holiday, not Boxing Day. Monday 28 December 2026 is the additional public holiday for Proclamation Day, because 26 December falls on a Saturday.
Is Anzac Day a public holiday in SA?
Yes. In 2027 the SA public holiday for Anzac Day is Sunday 25 April 2027 — under the Public Holidays Act 2023 (SA) No 39 of 2023. 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.
Which Act sets South Australia’s public holidays?
The Public Holidays Act 2023, which commenced on 1 January 2024. Any page still citing the Holidays Act 1910 for South Australia is citing repealed law — the legislation register marks the 1910 Act as ceased.
The change was not cosmetic. Easter Sunday became a public holiday under the new Act, so a South Australian Easter has four public holidays now where it used to have three.
Why does South Australia call 26 December Proclamation Day?
Because it is commemorating something else entirely. Proclamation Day marks the reading of the proclamation establishing the province in 1836, and the actual anniversary is 28 December — but the holiday attached to it is observed on the 26th, which is why the Act names that date the "Proclamation Day holiday" rather than Boxing Day.
It behaves like Boxing Day everywhere else for weekend purposes, so nothing about your leave changes. It is the name on the calendar that differs.
What are South Australia’s part-day public holidays?
Two of them: 7pm to midnight on Christmas Eve, and 7pm to midnight on New Year’s Eve. Neither is a day off. What they do is turn an evening shift into a public-holiday shift, so the penalty rates in your award or agreement apply from 7pm.
The Northern Territory has the same two evenings from the same hour. Queensland has one, on Christmas Eve, and its window opens at 6pm. If you roster across a border, the hour matters.
Is there an extra day when Anzac Day falls on a weekend in SA?
No. Section 3 lists 25 April with no weekend rule attached, and SafeWork SA states plainly that no substitute or additional public holiday is observed. South Australia, Victoria and Tasmania are the three that add nothing.
It matters in both 2026 and 2027, because Anzac Day falls on a Saturday and then a Sunday. Two years running, people in Western Australia, New South Wales and the ACT get a second day off that South Australians do not.
Verified
Checked against the Public Holidays Act 2023 (SA) No 39 of 2023 and the dates published by SafeWork SA, Government of South Australia on . If the date affects your pay, check your award or agreement.