How to max your annual leave and public holidays in Australia 2026- Gourmet Traveller

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The grind: can’t live with it, can’t live without it – at least it feels this way some of the time. Especially when you’re in need of a jaunt elsewhere of the office. Though, the regulated four weeks of annual leave may seem sparing, there’s opportunity aplenty to maximise your precious paid days off and get longer breaks – if you play your cards right.

It’s about making the system work for you and being strategic about when to tack on an extra day to a nation or state-wide public holiday long weekend.

Consider this your guide to hacking the game of the ol’ AL calendar in 2026. Let’s start with the first long weekend post the new year period.

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January 26 public holiday 2026

January 26 falls on a a Monday this year.

Whether you’re laying low or wanting to get out of the city, using a day of AL on Friday 23 or Tuesday 27 will give you a four-day weekend. Alternatively, taking four days of AL Tuesday 27 to January 30 will see you have nine days off in a row.

Easter and ANZAC Day public holidays 2026

The public holidays making up the Easter period start from Good Friday on April 3 and goes to Easter Monday, April 6. Book five days of annual leave from April 7 to April 10 to score 10 days off in a row.Book in just three days of AL from April 23 to April 24 to score 10 days off in a row. ANZAC Day follows on Saturday, April 25, though only Western Australia gets a public holiday on Monday, April 27.

airbnb in the kangaroo valley — *(Credit: Robinson’s Run via Airbnb.)*

King’s Birthday public holiday 2026

The King’s Birthday public holiday falls on June 8 for most states and territories, bar QLD (October 5) and WA (September 28). Take a day or two of AL on the prior Friday or following Tuesday for a four-or-five-day long weekend.

Labour Day public holiday 2026

Labour Day falls on October 5 for ACT, NSW and SA (keep scrolling for the other states’ dates) in 2026. Just like the King’s Birthday holiday, take a day or two of AL on the prior Friday or following Tuesday for four or five days off. Heck, go wild and tack on another two or three for a eight-to-ten-day break.

Christmas 2026 and New Year 2027 public holidays

While it has just arrived for this year, that lovely languid time in which you lose track of what day of the week it is will come around again sooner than you can say ‘I can’t wait for the shutdown period’. With Christmas Day falling on a Friday, Boxing Day on the Saturday and New Year’s Day the next Thursday, you’ll only need three days of AL in the 10-day period between December 25 and January, 3.

Other 2026 public holidays

While the aforementioned list isn’t exhaustive of all the states and territories’ public holidays, it covers the big hitters. Below, we take a look at some other key public holidays to base your annual leave around.

ACT

Canberra Day, Monday, March 9
Reconciliation Day, Monday, June 1
Labour Day, Monday, October 5

NT

May Day, Monday, May 5
Picnic Day, Monday, August 4

QLD

Labour Day, Monday, May 4
Royal Queensland Show, Wednesday, August 12 (Brisbane area)
King’s Birthday, Monday, October 5

SA

Adelaide Cup Day, Monday, March 9
Labour Day, Monday, 5 October
Proclamation Day, Monday, 28 December

TAS

Eight Hours Day, Monday, March 9
Royal Hobart Show (only certain areas of the state), Thursday, October 22
Recreation Day (Recreation Day (areas of the state that don’t observe Royal Hobart Regatta), Monday, November 2

VIC

Labour Day, Monday, March 9
AFL Grand Final Friday, TBA
Melbourne Cup Day, Tuesday, November 3

WA

Labour Day, Monday, March 2
Western Australia Day, Monday, June 1
King’s Birthday, Monday, September 28

Author Jess G. Lynch Shopping Editor

Journalist and sometimes screenwriter Jess G. Lynch is a former Shopping Editor at Are Media who worked across some of Australia’s leading titles such as Gourmet Traveller, Home Beautiful, Better Homes & Gardens and Australian Women’s Weekly. With a Master of Arts in Creative Writing from UTS, and a Bachelor of Media from Macquarie University and the University of Bologna, Jess brings a rich blend of expertise to her work. Formerly, the vertical lead for travel, homes and lifestyle affiliate content across the publisher’s digital titles, she knows a thing or two about cultivating rich experiences both near and far from home. Based on Gadigal land, Jess is a regular at off-the-beaten track swim spots and inner west coffee haunts – often deep within a research spiral of destinations here and abroad. Her work has also appeared on titles such as marie claire, ELLE, news.com.au, Homes To Love, Who, body+soul, Kidspot, FBi Radio and in The Australian.

Author Rachel Weisz Shopping Content Producer

Rachel Weisz is the Shopping Writer at Gourmet Traveller. She has years of experience covering everything from travel, homes and fashion to culture and entertainment. After interning and contributing to titles such as Vogue, GQ, InStyle and Stellar, she now draws on her multidisciplinary background to shape her shopping and travel coverage. Rachel has an acute eye for trends that define the cultural zeitgeist, drawing on her expertise in editorial, e-commerce and social media to approach her work with a holistic perspective. When she’s not writing, she’s wandering through galleries, hunting down fashion archives or uncovering shopping finds she’ll inevitably end up covering somewhere.