Public holiday
Easter 2026 in Australia
Easter is a national public holiday period running from Good Friday to Easter Monday, with Good Friday and Easter Monday observed as public holidays in every state and territory.
Which states observe each Easter holiday
Good Friday and Easter Monday are public holidays everywhere, but the middle days differ by state. Dates and coverage below come straight from the 2026 holiday data.
Good Friday
Friday
Good Friday is a public holiday in ACT, NSW, NT, QLD, SA, TAS, VIC, WA.
Easter Saturday
Saturday
Easter Saturday is a public holiday in ACT, NSW, NT, QLD, SA, VIC. It is not a public holiday in WA, TAS.
Easter Sunday
Sunday
Easter Sunday is a public holiday in ACT, NSW, NT, QLD, SA, VIC, WA. It is not a public holiday in TAS.
Easter Monday
Monday
Easter Monday is a public holiday in ACT, NSW, NT, QLD, SA, TAS, VIC, WA.
Easter public holidays by state
Good Friday and Easter Monday are gazetted public holidays in all eight states and territories, which is why — for anyone on a standard Monday-to-Friday week — Easter delivers a four-day long weekend right across Australia, from Good Friday through Easter Monday, without touching your annual leave.
The middle days vary. Easter Saturday is a public holiday in most jurisdictions but not Western Australia or Tasmania. Easter Sunday is a public holiday in the majority of states — Tasmania is the main exception. The table above shows exactly which states observe each day for 2026.
Tasmania is also the only state with an Easter Tuesday (7 April 2026), but it is a restricted public holiday that generally applies only to Tasmanian State Service (public sector) employees, not the general workforce.
Trading hours follow different rules again. Good Friday and Easter Sunday are among the most restricted retail trading days of the year: in most states large stores must close on Good Friday, with only exempt outlets such as pharmacies, small shops and some stores in tourist precincts open. Easter Saturday and Easter Monday usually have normal or near-normal trading. Because each state sets its own rules, check your state’s trading-hours authority for exact times.
History
Easter is the oldest and most important Christian festival, celebrating the resurrection of Jesus Christ. In Australia, the Easter public holidays span from Good Friday to Easter Monday, making it the longest national holiday period on the calendar.
How Australians celebrate
Australians celebrate Easter with hot cross buns, chocolate eggs, and the Easter bilby (a uniquely Australian twist on the Easter bunny). The autumn long weekend is the peak domestic travel period after Christmas, with road trips and camping being popular choices.
Easter dates 2024–2029
Easter shifts each year with the lunar calendar. Every date below is drawn from the holiday data, not hand-typed.
Frequently asked questions
Easter 2026 runs from Good Friday, Friday 3 April 2026 to Easter Monday, Monday 6 April 2026. The public-holiday long weekend is four consecutive days, Good Friday through Easter Monday.
Easter is set by the lunar calendar — the first Sunday after the full moon following the March equinox — so Good Friday can land anywhere between late March and late April. That is why the Easter long weekend shifts by a week or more from one year to the next.
Yes. Good Friday and Easter Monday are gazetted public holidays in all eight states and territories. Anyone on a standard Monday-to-Friday schedule gets the four-day Easter long weekend with no annual leave required; shift, retail, casual and other staff rostered across the break may still work some of those days, usually on public-holiday penalty rates.
Easter Saturday is a public holiday in most states and territories but not in Western Australia or Tasmania. Because it falls on a Saturday, it mainly matters for weekend and retail staff who are entitled to public-holiday penalty rates.
Easter Sunday is a public holiday in most states and territories, with Tasmania the main exception. The table on this page shows exactly which states observe Easter Sunday for the current year.
Tasmania is the only state with Easter Tuesday, and it is a restricted public holiday — it generally applies only to Tasmanian State Service (public sector) employees rather than the whole workforce.
Good Friday and Easter Sunday are among the most restricted retail trading days of the year. In most states large stores must close on Good Friday, with only exempt outlets such as pharmacies and small shops trading, while Easter Saturday and Easter Monday have closer to normal hours. Each state sets its own trading rules.
Easter spans four consecutive days on the calendar, Good Friday to Easter Monday — the longest run of gazetted public holidays in the Australian year. For anyone on a standard Monday-to-Friday schedule that is a four-day weekend needing no annual leave; shift, retail and casual staff may still be rostered across the break. Taking a few days either side can stretch it to nine days or more.