New South Wales · government schools
No — New South Wales government schools are in Term 3.
Tuesday 8 September 2026. Term 3 runs to Fri 25 Sep.
New South Wales splits its school year in two: the far west starts a week later than everyone else, and the department’s published holiday dates are shorter than the break your child actually gets.
Saturday
26September 2026
Spring holidays begin
in 18 days- Last day of this term
- Fri 25 Sep
- Length of the next break
- 17 daysLast day of school to first day back
- Breaks left in 2026
- 2
- Applies to
- Government schoolsCatholic and independent set their own
Whose school holidays are these?
The department's calendar is not everybody's calendar
These are the dates for NSW GOVERNMENT schools. Catholic systemic and independent schools are not bound by the department's calendar — most sit close to it, but they set their own start and finish days and their own staff development days, and independent schools commonly begin and end a few days earlier. Check your own school before booking anything.
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 department.
- 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.
Jan
Feb
Mar
Apr
May
Jun
Jul
Aug
Sep
Oct
Nov
Dec
NSW school holidays in 2026
Measured the way a parent measures it: from the last day your child is at school to the first day they go back. The department publishes its own, narrower figure too, and both are shown.
| Break | Last day | Back at school | Days off |
|---|---|---|---|
| Autumn holidays | Thu 2 Apr | Wed 22 Apr | 19 |
| Winter holidays | Fri 3 Jul | Tue 21 Jul | 17 |
| Spring holidays | Fri 25 Sep | Tue 13 Oct | 17 |
| Summer holidays | Thu 17 Dec | Wed 3 Feb | 47 |
What the department itself publishes
The same breaks, counted the department's way. Where this is shorter than the table above, the difference is public holidays and staff days that sit inside the break.
| Period | From | To |
|---|---|---|
| Autumn | Tue 7 Apr | Fri 17 Apr |
| Winter | Mon 6 Jul | Fri 17 Jul |
| Spring | Mon 28 Sep | Fri 9 Oct |
| Summer | Fri 18 Dec | Wed 27 Jan |
Term dates
| Term | 2026 | 2027 |
|---|---|---|
| Term 1 | Mon 2 Feb – Thu 2 Apr | Wed 3 Feb – Fri 9 Apr |
| Term 2 | Wed 22 Apr – Fri 3 Jul | Thu 29 Apr – Fri 2 Jul |
| Term 3 | Tue 21 Jul – Fri 25 Sep | Tue 20 Jul – Fri 24 Sep |
| Term 4 | Tue 13 Oct – Thu 17 Dec | Tue 12 Oct – Mon 20 Dec |
The catches in NSW's calendar
Things the dates alone do not tell you
- Western division — Schools in the far west of NSW — 'late start' schools — begin the school year a week later and get extra vacation days at the start of each year. Terms 2, 3 and 4 are identical to the Eastern division.
- The department's published vacation periods are NARROWER than the gap between terms: they exclude public holidays and staff development days. The row that matters to a parent is the last and first day for students, which is why this page shows both.
- The department notes that a small number of schools near the Victorian and Queensland borders operate on dates that differ from the standard calendar.
Public holidays during the NSW 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 NSW, where every date is checked against Public Holidays Act 2010 (NSW) No 115.
Frequently asked questions
Why do the NSW school holiday dates I see keep disagreeing?
Because two different things are being counted. The department publishes the AUTUMN, WINTER and SPRING vacation periods as weekdays only, with public holidays and staff development days taken out — its 2026 autumn holidays run 7 to 17 April, eleven days.
A parent counts from the last day their child is at school to the first day back, which in 2026 is Friday 3 April to Tuesday 21 April: nineteen days, not eleven. Both numbers are correct and they answer different questions. This page shows both, with the parent’s version first.
Do schools in western NSW have different holidays?
They have a different START, not different holidays. Schools in the Western Division — the department calls them ‘late start’ schools — begin the school year a week after the rest of the state and get the extra days at the front of the summer break. Terms 2, 3 and 4 are identical.
In 2026 that means a Western Division student’s summer holidays run to 2 February rather than 26 January. If you are moving between Broken Hill and Sydney, that is a week of childcare nobody warned you about.
Do NSW private schools have the same holidays?
Roughly, and not exactly. Independent schools set their own calendars and most begin a few days before the government schools and finish a few days earlier in December. Catholic systemic schools sit closer to the government dates but their dioceses set their own staff days.
The practical version: if you have children at two different schools, do not assume one calendar covers both. It is the single most common way a family books a holiday that only half of them can take.
Are there NSW schools that follow neither calendar?
Yes, and the department says so itself. A small number of government schools close to the Victorian and Queensland borders run on dates that differ from the standard NSW calendar, because they sit inside communities that work to the neighbouring state’s rhythm.
The department’s advice for those schools is to check the individual school’s website. It is a small number of schools, but if yours is one of them the statewide table is simply not about you.
Verified
Term dates from NSW Department of Education, checked . Built for. These are government school dates — confirm with your own school before you book anything.