Public Holidays in Australia 2026
All nationwide public holidays in Australia for 2026 at a glance – with free downloads as Excel, CSV or PDF and tips for bridge days and long weekends.
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All Public Holidays in Australia 2026
Australia has 8 national public holidays in 2026. Each state and territory also has additional public holidays. The table below lists all national holidays for 2026.
Regional Holidays by State
Beyond the nationwide holidays, many states and territories observe additional public holidays. The total number ranges from 11 to 15 per year depending on your state. View the complete holiday calendar for each state:
- Australian Capital Territory – 15 holidays
- New South Wales – 13 holidays
- Northern Territory – 15 holidays
- Queensland – 13 holidays
- South Australia – 15 holidays
- Tasmania – 11 holidays
- Victoria – 14 holidays
- Western Australia – 13 holidays
Bridge Days & Long Weekends in Australia 2026
Bridge days (Brückentage) are single vacation days that connect a public holiday with a weekend, creating extended time off. Australia's 2026 calendar offers several excellent opportunities to maximize your vacation days.
Best Bridge Day Opportunities in 2026
- January 2 (Friday) – Take one day off after New Year's Day (Thursday, January 1) for a 4-day weekend from January 1 to 4.
- January 23 (Friday) – Take one day off before Australia Day (Monday, January 26) for a 4-day weekend from January 23 to 26.
- April 2 (Thursday) – Take Thursday off before Good Friday for a 5-day break from April 2 to 6 (using just 1 vacation day, since Good Friday and Easter Monday are holidays).
- December 24 (Thursday) – Take Thursday off before Christmas Day for a 5-day break from December 24 to 28 (using just 1 vacation day, since Christmas Day and Boxing Day Holiday are holidays).
Automate your holiday calendar
Manage Australia's Public Holidays Automatically with absentify
Keeping track of public holidays across different states and territories – let alone multiple countries – can be tedious. absentify eliminates the manual work by syncing public holidays directly into the tools your team already uses.
Why Teams Choose absentify
- Automatic sync with Microsoft Teams & Outlook – Public holidays appear in your team calendar without any manual entry. Select Australia (or any of 250+ countries) and holidays are added automatically.
- Regional holidays included – absentify recognizes state-specific holidays. Everyone sees the correct days off for their location.
- Calendar sync across all devices – Absences and public holidays are visible everywhere: Teams, Outlook, desktop, and mobile.
- Free plan with unlimited users – Get started without a credit card. The free plan covers unlimited team members with all essential features.
How It Works
- Sign up – Create your free absentify account in under two minutes.
- Select your country and state – Choose Australia and your specific state to get the right holidays.
- Invite your team – Team members see holidays and absences in their existing Teams or Outlook calendar.
- Plan smarter – Use the built-in team calendar to coordinate vacations around public holidays and bridge days.
Frequently Asked Questions
Australia has 8 public holidays in 2026 that are observed nationwide across all 8 states and territories. Depending on which state you live or work in, there can be up to 15 public holidays in total when regional holidays are included.
The top bridge day opportunities in 2026 are: January 2, January 23, April 2. May is especially favorable, with multiple public holidays offering several chances to extend weekends with minimal vacation days used.
Yes. The Australia public holiday calendar for 2026 is available as a free download in PDF, Excel (.xlsx), and CSV formats. No registration or account creation is required.
absentify lets you select your specific state during setup. The system then automatically includes both the nationwide holidays and any additional regional holidays for that state in your team calendar. This ensures every team member sees the correct holidays for their location.