Australia Public Holidays Calendar 2013 & 2014

Welcome! Australians are experts at holidaying and this Public Holidays Australia website is the ultimate resource for planning your days off and long weekends!

What are public holidays?

Public holidays in Australia are either national or state based. However it’s up to the individual states to decide if public holidays can be substituted when they occur on weekends. Generally, most states allow for extra public holidays if New Years Day, Australia Day, ANZAC Day, Christmas Day or Boxing Day fall on a Saturday or Sunday. If this happens, a public holiday Monday is added to create a long weekend.

The climate in Australia is comparatively temperate, so even a simple three-day weekend becomes a great reason to holiday. Generally people head to the beach, mountains or lakes. And in winter the snowfields in southern New South Wales and Victoria are sure to be busy on a public holiday weekend.

Rules for whether the day is a paid day off or not also depend on which state and what pay award affects the worker. Largely, if someone has to work on a public holiday, that person is paid a penalty rate of up to ‘double-time-and-a-half’ (two and a half times their normal hourly rate).

Summer and the Christmas season are the most prolific time of the year for public holidays in Australia, as in many other parts of the world. From Christmas Day through to New Years Day, some people can swing a ten-day break with only one or two days of their annual leave being affected.

The culture of Australia, no matter what the individual family heritage, is very laid back. Holidays here are times for sitting back with family and friends and relaxing, whether at home or away on holiday.

Full List of 2013 Public Holidays

Full List of 2014 Public Holidays