When a Public Holiday Falls on a Weekend: Substitute Days

When a public holiday lands on a Saturday or Sunday in Australia, you almost always still get a weekday off. Boxing Day 2026 is Saturday 26 December, and every state and territory declares a public holiday on Monday 28 December to go with it. Anzac Day is the one holiday that breaks the pattern.

Boxing Day on a Saturday or a Sunday

Yes, you get the Monday. Boxing Day 2026 falls on Saturday 26 December, and all eight states and territories declare a holiday on Monday 28 December. Seven of them keep the Saturday as a holiday as well, so the Monday is an extra day rather than a swap.

2027 doubles it. Christmas Day is Saturday 25 December and Boxing Day is Sunday 26 December, so every state and territory declares Monday 27 and Tuesday 28 December. That is the two-day run people are already asking their payroll about.

2028 needs none of this. Christmas Day is a Monday and Boxing Day a Tuesday, so the dates sit on weekdays and no substitute is needed in any state that has published 2028 dates (Western Australia hasn't yet). Check your state's list on the Boxing Day page.

Two ways a state handles it: added or moved

An additional public holiday leaves the weekend date alone and adds a weekday on top. That is what NSW, Victoria, Queensland, WA, the NT and the ACT do, which is why 26 December 2026 and the Monday after it are both public holidays there.

An observed holiday moves instead. Tasmania takes this route: it lists no Boxing Day on Saturday 26 December 2026 at all and observes the holiday on Monday 28 December. South Australia adds rather than moves, but names its 26 December holiday Proclamation Day.

The difference decides one thing that matters: whether the weekend date itself carries public-holiday pay and trading rules.

Anzac Day is the exception

Anzac Day marks a date rather than a weekday, so it stays on 25 April whatever day that is. Whether a weekday holiday joins it is a state decision, and the states do not agree.

"Added" means 25 April stays a public holiday too. "Moved" means the Monday replaces it, so the Sunday is an ordinary Sunday.

What it means for pay and rosters

The declared date is the one that carries public-holiday pay and trading rules. Work an added Saturday holiday in NSW and it counts; work the same Saturday in Tasmania, where the holiday moved, and it does not.

Penalty rates themselves come from your award or agreement, so read that for the figure. For counting business days, the substitute is the date that comes out of the total.

Check the dates for your state

1. Open your state's public holidays list, which labels every added and observed date.
2. Run the range through the Working Days Calculator, which already excludes substitutes.
3. See which of them stretch into a break on the long weekends calendar, or in the 2027 leave guide.

Frequently asked questions

Do I get a Monday off if Boxing Day is on a Saturday?

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Yes. In 2026 that Monday is 28 December, and all eight states and territories declare it. The only variation is whether the Saturday keeps its holiday status alongside it.

Is Boxing Day a QLD public holiday?

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Yes, in every year. Queensland also declares the weekday substitute when 26 December lands on a weekend, which puts Monday 28 December 2026 and Tuesday 28 December 2027 on the list.

What is a day in lieu public holiday?

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The everyday name for the weekday holiday a state declares because the real date fell on a weekend. Officially it is either an additional public holiday or an observed one, depending on the state.

If Anzac Day falls on a weekend, do you get a day off?

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Only in some states. On Sunday 25 April 2027, NSW and WA add Monday 26 April, while Queensland, the NT and the ACT shift the holiday to that Monday. Victoria, South Australia and Tasmania declare no Monday at all.

Which date do public holiday penalty rates apply to?

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Whichever date your state has declared. Where the holiday moved, the weekend date pays as an ordinary weekend; where a weekday was added, both dates are public holidays. Your award sets the rate itself.