2 April 2026
Christmas Shutdown 2026: Your Complete Planning Guide
How to plan the Christmas–New Year shutdown in 2026. Find out how many leave days you need, which public holidays fall on workdays, and how to maximise your break across all states.
The Christmas–New Year period in 2026 is one of the cleanest shutdown windows in recent memory. Christmas Day lands on a Friday, which means the public holidays stack up neatly and you need fewer leave days than usual to cover the full break.
The 2026 Christmas public holidays
- Christmas Day: Friday 25 December 2026 — national public holiday
- Boxing Day: Saturday 26 December 2026 — national public holiday
- Boxing Day (observed): Monday 28 December 2026 — national public holiday
- New Year's Day: Friday 1 January 2027 — national public holiday
Because Boxing Day falls on a Saturday, the observed public holiday shifts to Monday 28 December. That gives you Christmas Friday, the weekend, and Boxing Day observed on Monday — 4 days off for free before you've spent a single day of leave.
How many leave days do you need?
To cover the full period from Christmas through to New Year, you only need to fill the gap between Tuesday 29 December and Thursday 31 December — 3 leave days. Combined with the public holidays and the two weekends either side, that gives you a continuous break from Friday 25 December to Sunday 3 January — 10 days off for 3 days of leave.
That's an excellent ratio. If you want to stretch it to Monday 4 January, take a 4th leave day on Friday 2 January (a regular work day) for 11 days off total. Use the Leave Planner to confirm the exact count for your state, since state-specific holidays can add to this further.
Workplace shutdowns
Many Australian workplaces — particularly in construction, manufacturing, professional services, and the public sector — mandate a shutdown between Christmas and New Year. If your employer does this, you may be required to use annual leave (or accrued time off in lieu) to cover those days.
If you're not sure whether your workplace shuts down, now is the time to ask — before the leave allocation window fills up. December leave requests are the most competitive of the year.
State differences
The core Christmas–New Year public holidays are national, but a few states add extra days that can extend the break:
- All states: Christmas Day (Fri 25 Dec), Boxing Day observed (Mon 28 Dec), New Year's Day (Fri 1 Jan 2027).
- Proclamation Day (SA): South Australia observes Proclamation Day on 28 December. In 2026, this falls on the same Monday as Boxing Day observed — so SA workers get the same count as everyone else, but the day has a different name.
Check your state's public holiday page for the exact picture in your jurisdiction.
What's typically open and closed
The Australian economy largely winds down between Christmas and New Year. In practical terms:
- Closed or reduced hours: Government offices, banks, professional services, many retailers, most B2B businesses.
- Open: Supermarkets (often reduced hours on public holidays), petrol stations, hospitals, restaurants, tourism venues.
- Boxing Day sales: Major retailers open for Boxing Day sales — the busiest shopping day of the Australian retail calendar. If you plan to shop, expect crowds on 26 December and 28 December.
Plan ahead: the countdown is on
Christmas 2026 is coming up faster than you think. The practical things to sort out well before December:
- Submit your leave request — ideally before June, when your employer's planning cycle begins.
- Book flights and accommodation for the holiday period. December school holiday dates also start mid-December in most states, so travel demand is high from around 15 December onwards.
- Confirm your workplace's shutdown dates in writing so there are no surprises.
The 2026 Christmas window is genuinely good. Three leave days for 10 days off — or four leave days for 11 — doesn't come around every year. Make the most of it.