Tasmania · government schools

No — government schools in Tasmania are in Term 4.

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

Friday

December 2026

Last day of Term 4

in 55 days

Next school holidays: 19 December – 3 February 2027 47 days off, weekends included
Breaks still to start in 2026: 1
Term 1 2027 begins: Thu 4 Feb Staff go back earlier, on days each school sets — see the rules
Applies to: Government schools Catholic and independent set their own

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TAS 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

TAS government school holidays still to come in 2026
Break	Last school day	First day back
Summer holidays 47 days off	Fri 18 Dec	Thu 4 Feb

2027

TAS government school holidays 2027
Break	Last school day	First day back
Autumn holidays 16 days off	Fri 9 Apr	Mon 26 Apr
Winter holidays 16 days off	Fri 2 Jul	Mon 19 Jul
Spring holidays 16 days off	Fri 24 Sep	Mon 11 Oct
Summer holidays Back-to-school date not published yet	Thu 16 Dec	Term 1 2028 not published

Earlier in 2026 — 3 breaks already over

TAS government school holidays already over in 2026
Break	Last school day	First day back
Autumn holidays 16 days off	Fri 17 Apr	Mon 4 May
Winter holidays 16 days off	Fri 10 Jul	Mon 27 Jul
Spring holidays 16 days off	Fri 2 Oct	Mon 19 Oct

The department's own dates, counted differently

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.

TAS published vacation periods 2026
Period	From	To
Term 1 holiday	Sat 18 Apr	Sun 3 May
Term 2 holiday	Sat 11 Jul	Sun 26 Jul
Term 3 holiday	Sat 3 Oct	Sun 18 Oct

Term dates

TAS government school terms 2026 and 2027
Term	2026	2027
Term 1	Thu 5 Feb to Fri 17 Apr	Thu 4 Feb to Fri 9 Apr
Term 2	Mon 4 May to Fri 10 Jul	Mon 26 Apr to Fri 2 Jul
Term 3	Mon 27 Jul to Fri 2 Oct	Mon 19 Jul to Fri 24 Sep
Term 4	Mon 19 Oct to Fri 18 Dec	Mon 11 Oct to Thu 16 Dec

Good to know: Tasmania puts its professional learning days in term time, and they differ between the north and the south. Its colleges set their own finishing dates, and in 2026 its autumn break came a fortnight after the mainland’s.

Whose school holidays are these?

The department's calendar is not everybody's calendar

These are the dates for Tasmanian government schools and colleges. Catholic and independent schools set their own. Check your own school.

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.

Public holiday School holidays Today

Jan

Feb

Mar

Apr

May

Jun

Jul

Aug

Sep

Oct

Nov

Dec

Pupil-free days: when teachers go back

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. Tasmania calls them professional learning days.

The TAS department sets these dates and publishes them

Published by the department and scheduled during term rather than in the breaks, and the only ones in the country that differ by region and by year level — so a child in Hobart and a child in Launceston do not get the same days off, and Years 11 and 12 do not get the K–10 ones at all. Teachers also start before students, and college teachers start a week before school teachers.

Three in 2026 and four in 2027, plus the teacher start days before Term 1.

Professional learning days in TAS, 2026
2026	Date	Who it covers
Term 1	Tue 27 Jan	college teachersCollege teachers start Tuesday 27 January, a week before school teachers.
Term 1	Mon 2 Feb to Wed 4 Feb	school teachersSchool teachers start Monday 2 February; students return Thursday 5 February.
Professional learning day	Fri 5 Jun	K–12, statewideA student-free day in the middle of term — the department schedules these during the school year, not in the breaks.
Professional learning day	Fri 23 Oct	K–10, south onlyA student-free day in the middle of term — the department schedules these during the school year, not in the breaks.
Professional learning day	Fri 30 Oct	K–10, north onlyA student-free day in the middle of term — the department schedules these during the school year, not in the breaks.

Professional learning days in TAS, 2027
2027	Date	Who it covers
Term 1	Mon 25 Jan	college teachersCollege teachers start Monday 25 January.
Term 1	Mon 1 Feb to Wed 3 Feb	school teachersSchool teachers start Monday 1 February; students return Thursday 4 February.
Professional learning day	Fri 11 Jun	K–12, statewideA student-free day in the middle of term — the department schedules these during the school year, not in the breaks.
Professional learning day	Mon 19 Jul	K–10, statewideThe first day of Term 3, so K–10 students return on Tuesday 20 July; Years 11 and 12 start on the Monday.
Professional learning day	Fri 22 Oct	K–10, south onlyA student-free day in the middle of term — the department schedules these during the school year, not in the breaks.
Professional learning day	Fri 29 Oct	K–10, north onlyA student-free day in the middle of term — the department schedules these during the school year, not in the breaks.

Source: Department for Education, Children and Young People (Tas), read Thursday 8 October 2026.

The catches in TAS's calendar

Things the dates alone do not tell you

Colleges have their own finishing dates, which may depend on exam timetables — the department says so on its own page.
Professional learning days differ by region: in 2026 one is statewide, one is south-only and one is north-only, so a child in Hobart and a child in Launceston do not have the same days off.

Public holidays during the TAS 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 TAS, where every date is checked against the Statutory Holidays Act 2000 (Tas) No 96 of 2000.

Frequently asked questions

When does school go back in TAS?

Students go back on Thursday 4 February 2027 for Term 1, and on Monday 26 April 2027 for Term 2.

When are the next school holidays in TAS?

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 Wednesday 3 February 2027 — 47 days counting weekends. Then the autumn holidays, 10 to 25 April 2027.

When do the 2027 school terms start and end in TAS?

For students, Term 1 from 4 February to 9 April, Term 2 from 26 April to 2 July, Term 3 from 19 July to 24 September and Term 4 from 11 October to 16 December. Those are the first and last days in class; the holidays are the days between.

When are the pupil-free days in TAS?

TAS calls them professional learning days — days teachers are at school and students are not. Still to come in 2026: 30 October (K–10, north only). In 2027: 25 January (college teachers), 1 to 3 February (school teachers), 11 June (K–12, statewide), 19 July (K–10, statewide), 22 October (K–10, south only) and 29 October (K–10, north only).

When are the Easter school holidays in TAS?

Easter 2027 runs from Good Friday 26 March to Easter Monday 29 March, during Term 1 — so in TAS Easter is a long weekend in term time, not part of the school holidays. The autumn holidays come after it, from 10 April to 25 April.

Are Tasmania’s school terms out of step with the mainland’s?

In 2026 they were. Term 1 began on 5 February and ran to 17 April, and Term 2 did not start until 4 May — by which point most mainland students were a week or two into their second term. Tasmania’s autumn break overlapped the end of South Australia’s, New South Wales’s and the ACT’s, and for its second week no other state or territory was on holiday.

In 2027 they are not. Term 1 still starts later, on 4 February, but it ends on 9 April, and the autumn break runs 10 to 25 April — the same fortnight as South Australia and Western Australia. Check the year before assuming Tasmania is out of step.

Do all Tasmanian students get the same days off?

No, and the difference is regional. Tasmania’s professional learning days are not all statewide: in 2026 one is statewide, one applies to the south only and one to the north only.

So a child in Hobart and a child in Launceston have different Fridays off in October. It is a small thing until you are the parent of both.

Do Tasmanian colleges finish at the same time as schools?

Not necessarily. The department notes on its own page that colleges have their own finishing dates, which may depend on exam timetables.

So a Year 12 student’s last day is set by their exam schedule rather than by the term calendar, and the date on this page is the school one. Check the college directly for a leaver’s final day.

Verified

Term dates from Tasmanian Department for Education, Children and Young People, checked Thursday 8 October 2026. Built for Saturday 24 October 2026. These are government school dates — confirm with your own school before you book anything.