Celebrations and Holidays

Most workers in Australia have around 12 national and state public holidays throughout the year, in addition to their annual holidays. These include:

• New Year’s Day, which is on 1 January every year. The most common time for people in Australia to take their annual leave is between mid-December and the end of January.

• Christmas and Easter, two of the most important dates in the Christian calendar. Christmas Day is on 25 December every year, while Easter is observed at some point between late March and late April each year.

• Boxing Day, the day after Christmas Day, is also a public holiday. • Australia Day, on 26 January, is the day Australians celebrate the founding of the first European settlement in Australia in 1788.

• Anzac Day, on 25 April, is the day the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps (Anzac) landed at Gallipoli in Turkey in 1915 during World War I. This day is set aside in memory of those who fought for Australia and those who lost their lives in war. The day is a national public holiday and is commemorated with ceremonies, the laying of wreaths and military parades.

There are also a number of other non-national holidays which are celebrated only in specific states and territories (or celebrated in all states, but at different times of the year). These include Labour (or Eight-Hour) Day and the official birthday of Queen Elizabeth.

Melbourne Cup Day, which occurs on the first Tuesday of November each year, is a public holiday in metropolitan Melbourne. The Melbourne Cup is a world-famous horse race which brings Australia almost to a standstill. For a few minutes, most people, whether at work, school or home, stop to watch the race on television.
Source: Australian Government Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) https://www.dfat.gov.au

IMPORTANT: This information is accurate only at the time of publication.