Victoria · government schools
No — government schools in Victoria are in Term 4.
Saturday 24 October 2026. Term 4 runs to Fri 18 Dec.
Friday
18December 2026
Last day of Term 4
in 55 days- Next school holidays
- 19 December – 27 January 2027 40 days off, weekends included
- Breaks still to start in 2026
- 1
- Term 1 2027 begins
- Thu 28 Jan Staff go back Wed 27 Jan — see the staff days
- Applies to
- Government schools Catholic and independent set their own
VIC 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
| Break | Last school day | First day back |
|---|---|---|
| Summer holidays 40 days off | Fri 18 Dec | Thu 28 Jan |
2027
| Break | Last school day | First day back |
|---|---|---|
| Autumn holidays 17 days off | Thu 25 Mar | Mon 12 Apr |
| Winter holidays 16 days off | Fri 25 Jun | Mon 12 Jul |
| Spring holidays 16 days off | Fri 17 Sep | Mon 4 Oct |
| Summer holidays Back-to-school date not published yet | Fri 17 Dec | Term 1 2028 not published |
Earlier in 2026 — 3 breaks already over
| Break | Last school day | First day back |
|---|---|---|
| Autumn holidays 17 days off | Thu 2 Apr | Mon 20 Apr |
| Winter holidays 16 days off | Fri 26 Jun | Mon 13 Jul |
| Spring holidays 16 days off | Fri 18 Sep | Mon 5 Oct |
Term dates
| Term | 2026 | 2027 |
|---|---|---|
| Term 1 | Wed 28 Jan to Thu 2 Apr | Thu 28 Jan to Thu 25 Mar |
| Term 2 | Mon 20 Apr to Fri 26 Jun | Mon 12 Apr to Fri 25 Jun |
| Term 3 | Mon 13 Jul to Fri 18 Sep | Mon 12 Jul to Fri 17 Sep |
| Term 4 | Mon 5 Oct to Fri 18 Dec | Mon 4 Oct to Fri 17 Dec |
Good to know: Victoria settles its term dates five years at a time by ministerial determination, and its teachers go back a day before its students.
Whose school holidays are these?
The department's calendar is not everybody's calendar
These are the dates for Victorian government schools and kindergartens. Catholic and independent schools set their own calendars; most stay close to these dates and none is required to. 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.
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. Victoria calls them student-free days.
In Victoria most of these dates are set school by school
School councils endorse up to five a year, but the first one is fixed by policy: “the first day of Term 1 each year must be a student-free day in all government schools”. So Victoria's published Term 1 start is a staff day everywhere, and students come the day after. One more is set aside for assessment and reporting, two are at local discretion, and a fifth exists only where the principal holds a common professional practice day.
Up to five a year; only the Term 1 one has a date you can look up.
Source: Department of Education (Vic) Policy and Advisory Library, read .
The catches in VIC's calendar
Things the dates alone do not tell you
- Term 1 has two start dates: teachers return first and students the following day. The student date is the one on this page's table.
- Term dates are approved in five-year blocks, so Victoria's dates are settled further ahead than most — the 2026 to 2030 dates were approved in 2021.
Public holidays during the VIC 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 VIC, where every date is checked against the Public Holidays Act 1993 (Vic) No 119/1993.
Frequently asked questions
When does school go back in VIC?
When are the next school holidays in VIC?
When do the 2027 school terms start and end in VIC?
When are the pupil-free days in VIC?
When are the Easter school holidays in VIC?
How far ahead are Victorian term dates decided?
Five years at a time. The Minister determines them under Regulation 13 of the Education and Training Reform Regulations 2017, in blocks — the 2026 to 2030 dates were approved on 28 June 2021.
That is genuinely useful. Victoria has already fixed the first day of Term 1 in 2030, so a wedding, a build or a long trip can be planned around its school calendar years out. Western Australia and the Northern Territory publish further still, to 2032, though Western Australia marks its later years as preliminary.
When exactly does the Victorian school year start?
On two dates, depending on who you are. The term begins for teachers first and for students the following day — in 2026 that is Tuesday 27 January for staff and Wednesday 28 January for students.
The tables on this page use the student dates, because the question people are asking is when the children go back. If you are a teacher, add a day at the front of Term 1.
Do Victorian Catholic and independent schools use these dates?
They are not required to. The determination binds government schools and kindergartens; Catholic and independent schools publish their own calendars and set their own pupil-free days.
That is why a search for Victoria’s school holidays can turn up an individual Melbourne school’s calendar beside the state’s: parents are often looking for one school’s dates, not the state’s.
Verified
Term dates from Victorian Government, checked . Built for . These are government school dates — confirm with your own school before you book anything.