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Australian Capital Territory · government schools

No — government schools in the Australian Capital Territory are in Term 4.

Saturday 24 October 2026. Term 4 runs to Fri 18 Dec.

Friday

18

December 2026

Last day of Term 4

in 55 days
Next school holidays
19 December – 1 February 2027 45 days off, weekends included
Breaks still to start in 2026
1
Term 1 2027 begins
Tue 2 Feb New students start earlier — see when
Applies to
Government schools Catholic and independent set their own
Subscribe to ACT school breaks (.ics)Print the year

ACT school holidays coming up

Measured the way a parent measures it: from the last day your child is at school to the first day they go back.

The rest of 2026

ACT government school holidays still to come in 2026
BreakLast school dayFirst day back
Summer holidays 45 days offFri 18 DecTue 2 Feb

2027

ACT government school holidays 2027
BreakLast school dayFirst day back
Autumn holidays 18 days offFri 9 AprWed 28 Apr
Winter holidays 17 days offFri 2 JulTue 20 Jul
Spring holidays 17 days offFri 24 SepTue 12 Oct
Summer holidays Back-to-school date not published yetFri 17 DecTerm 1 2028 not published
Earlier in 2026 — 3 breaks already over
ACT government school holidays already over in 2026
BreakLast school dayFirst day back
Autumn holidays 18 days offThu 2 AprTue 21 Apr
Winter holidays 17 days offFri 3 JulTue 21 Jul
Spring holidays 17 days offFri 25 SepTue 13 Oct

Term dates

ACT government school terms 2026 and 2027
Term20262027
Term 1Mon 2 Feb to Thu 2 AprTue 2 Feb to Fri 9 Apr
Term 2Tue 21 Apr to Fri 3 JulWed 28 Apr to Fri 2 Jul
Term 3Tue 21 Jul to Fri 25 SepTue 20 Jul to Fri 24 Sep
Term 4Tue 13 Oct to Fri 18 DecTue 12 Oct to Fri 17 Dec

Good to know: Canberra is the only place in the country that gives new students a different first day from everyone else — and its colleges, not the calendar, decide when Year 12 finishes.

Whose school holidays are these?

The department's calendar is not everybody's calendar

These are the dates for ACT public schools. The ACT Government says it plainly on the same page: private schools may have different dates. Catholic systemic and independent schools in Canberra set their own calendars, which is why a search for the Territory's school holidays often turns up an individual school's dates beside the government's.

That is why a search for your state's school holidays turns up your state's education department, an independent schools association and somebody's individual school, all with slightly different dates. None of them is wrong. They are answering for different schools.

  • Government schools — The dates in the tables on this page, set by the ACT Government.
  • Catholic systemic schools — Catholic systemic schools are close to the government dates but not bound by them — dioceses set their own staff development days, and start and finish days can move by a day or two. Check your diocese or your school.
  • Independent schools — Independent schools set their own calendar entirely. In practice most start a little earlier and finish a little earlier than the government dates, and their terms can be a few days shorter at each end. The only reliable source is your own school’s published calendar.

2026 at a glance

The school year on one screen: term breaks shaded, public holidays filled, today ringed. This is the view worth printing for the fridge.

Public holiday School holidays Today

Jan

Feb

Mar

Apr

May

Jun

Jul

Aug

Sep

Oct

Nov

Dec

Which students go back first?

Most states and territories bring staff back before students, and the gap is why two calendars can give different answers for the same first day of school. The ACT is the one that does not publish a staff day at all.

The ACT publishes no staff day — it publishes two student start dates

The ACT publishes no staff day at all. What it publishes instead is two student start dates: new students come back a day or two before continuing ones. New students means every Kindergarten, Year 7 and Year 11 student, and anyone starting at the school for the first time — so for a lot of families the first day is the earlier one.

None published. The two student start dates are what the Territory gives you.

Student start dates in the ACT, 2026
2026DateWho it covers
Term 1Fri 30 Jannew studentsContinuing students return Monday 2 February.
Student start dates in the ACT, 2027
2027DateWho it covers
Term 1Mon 1 Febnew studentsContinuing students return Tuesday 2 February.

Source: ACT Government, read .

The catches in the ACT's calendar

Things the dates alone do not tell you

  • The ACT is the only jurisdiction here that publishes two Term 1 start dates for students: new students start a day or two before continuing ones. New students means Kindergarten, Year 7 and Year 11 — anyone starting at a school for the first time or moving up to the next school type — even if they were already at the same campus.
  • The tables here use the continuing student date, which is the day most families are asking about. If you have a child starting Kindergarten, Year 7 or Year 11, their first day is the earlier date.
  • College exam periods are set and communicated by individual schools, not centrally, so a Year 12 student's last day is not on the Territory calendar at all.

Public holidays during the ACT school year

Term time has public holidays in it too, and they are not the same days as the school breaks — see public holidays in the ACT, where every date is checked against the Holidays Act 1958 (ACT) A1958-19.

Frequently asked questions

When does school go back in the ACT?
Students go back on Tuesday 2 February 2027 for Term 1, and on Wednesday 28 April 2027 for Term 2. New students start a little earlier, on Monday 1 February 2027.
When are the next school holidays in the ACT?
Next are the summer holidays: the last day of school is Friday 18 December 2026, and the break runs from Saturday 19 December 2026 to Monday 1 February 2027 — 45 days counting weekends. Then the autumn holidays, 10 to 27 April 2027.
When do the 2027 school terms start and end in the ACT?
For students, Term 1 from 2 February to 9 April, Term 2 from 28 April to 2 July, Term 3 from 20 July to 24 September and Term 4 from 12 October to 17 December. Those are the first and last days in class; the holidays are the days between.
When are the pupil-free days in the ACT?
The ACT publishes no pupil-free or staff days. What it publishes is an earlier start for new students: Monday 1 February 2027, with everyone else back on Tuesday 2 February 2027.
When are the Easter school holidays in the ACT?
Easter 2027 runs from Good Friday 26 March to Easter Monday 29 March, during Term 1 — so in the ACT Easter is a long weekend in term time, not part of the school holidays. The autumn holidays come after it, from 10 April to 27 April.
Why do ACT schools have two different first days?

Because new students start before everyone else. The ACT publishes a separate start date for them — in 2026, Friday 30 January for new students and Monday 2 February for continuing ones.

“New” is broader than it sounds. It covers every Kindergarten, Year 7 and Year 11 student, even one who was already at the same campus the year before, plus anyone joining a school for the first time. So a family with a Year 6 and a Year 7 has two different first days in the same week.

When does Year 12 actually finish in the ACT?

Whenever your college says. The Territory calendar gives a Term 4 end date, but the ACT Government notes that college exam periods are managed and communicated by individual schools.

So the date in the table is the school year’s last day, not a leaver’s. If you are planning around the end of Year 12 — a holiday, a job start, a lease — the college is the only source that can tell you, and it is worth asking early.

Do ACT school holidays match New South Wales?

Closely, and not exactly. The ACT is surrounded by NSW and the two calendars run in step for most of the year — both take their spring break through late September and early October.

The gaps are at the edges. In 2026 ACT Term 2 starts on 21 April and NSW’s on the 22nd; in 2027 the ACT returns on 28 April and NSW on the 29th. A day either way is enough to matter if you live in Queanbeyan and work in Civic, or the other way round.

Verified

Term dates from ACT Government, checked . Built for . These are government school dates — confirm with your own school before you book anything.