Long Weekends 2027 Australia: Best Leave Windows by State

Some years are weak for long weekends. 2027 isn't one of them. Easter lands cleanly, Christmas creates substitute days at the end of December, and several states pick up extra value from their own local holidays.

The national winners in 2027

Easter: Friday 26 March to Monday 29 March

This is the obvious one. Every Australian state gets the classic four-day Easter break, and it creates the strongest shared leave window of the year.

Christmas shutdown: Saturday 25 December to Tuesday 28 December

Because Christmas Day and Boxing Day fall on the weekend, the substitute holidays land on Monday 27 December and Tuesday 28 December. That turns the post-Christmas period into a much stronger shutdown than usual.

The state-by-state plays

• NSW: Monday 26 April 2027 becomes an additional public holiday after Anzac Day, creating a clean three-day break.
• ACT: Canberra Day, Reconciliation Day, and the Anzac Day Monday substitution make the ACT especially strong for long weekends.
• QLD: Labour Day in May and the Ekka holiday in August create two different leave-planning opportunities.
• SA: Adelaide Cup in March and Labour Day in October give South Australians extra extension points even without an Anzac substitute.
• WA: WA Day in June and King's Birthday in September spread the value nicely across the year.
• VIC: Labour Day, Melbourne Cup, and the Friday before the AFL Grand Final all matter, although the AFL date is still pending.

The best leave-stretch combinations

The highest-leverage leave move is still the same as always: attach leave to public holidays that already sit next to a weekend. Easter is the clearest example, but the late-December cluster in 2027 is also excellent because the substitute holidays do so much of the work for you.

If you're in NSW, ACT, QLD, NT or WA, the Monday 26 April Anzac Day substitute also creates a simple three-day break without any leave required. Victoria, Tasmania and South Australia do not get the same benefit in the same way, which is why long weekend planning really is state-specific.

What to do next

Open the Leave Planner to model exact date ranges, then compare your state against the Long Weekends page. A lot of 2027's value comes from timing, not just the number of public holidays on the calendar.