26 January: Australia Day, marking the anniversary of the First Fleet's landing in Sydney Cove in 1788.
Easter weekend ("Good Friday", "Easter Saturday", "Easter Sunday" and "Easter Monday"): a four day long weekend in March or April set according to the Western Christian dates.
25 April: ANZAC Day, honouring military veterans
Second Monday in June: Queen's birthday holiday (celebrated in Western Australia in September) (WA observes Foundation Day a week earlier)
25 December: Christmas Day
26 December: Boxing Day
Many states observe Labour Day, but on different days. Most states have one or two additional state-wide holidays, with Victoria (state) and South Australia having a day off for a horse race (The Melbourne Cup and The Adelaide Cup).
When a public holiday falls on a Saturday or Sunday, the following Monday (and Tuesday if necessary) are usually declared holidays in lieu, although both the celebrations and the retail closures will occur on the day itself. Most tourist attractions are closed Christmas Day and Good Friday. Supermarkets and other stores may open for limited hours on some public holidays and on holidays in lieu, but are almost always closed on Christmas Day, Good Friday, Easter Sunday and ANZAC Day morning.
The Most Frequently Asked Travel Questions about Australia
Where To Stay & Best Hotels in Australia - updated Mar 2024
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Australia Travel Guide from Wikitravel. Many thanks to all Wikitravel contributors. Text is available under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0, images are available under various licenses, see each image for details.