Public holidays

Public holidays in Australia are a National Employment Standards entitlement: an employee is entitled to be absent on a public holiday, and full-time and part-time employees are paid their base rate for the hours they would ordinarily have worked. Which days count is a mix of nationally observed days and days declared by each state and territory — including regional ones like show days.

Working on a public holiday

An employer can ask someone to work a public holiday, but only if the request is reasonable — and the employee can refuse if the request is unreasonable or their refusal is reasonable. Factors include the nature of the business, the person's role, family responsibilities, and how much notice was given. Following a 2023 Federal Court decision, the safe practice is to genuinely ask, not simply roster people on and assume.

• Penalty rates: awards set higher rates for public holiday work, with the multiplier in each award's penalty clause.
• Alternatives: many awards allow substitution of another day, or extra leave or pay, by agreement.
• Casuals: get the public holiday penalty when they work, but aren't paid for holidays they don't work.

The multi-state trap

If you roster across state lines — or your state gazettes part-day holidays — the holiday calendar differs by location. Map each workplace to its own state or territory list at the start of every year.

Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth) ss 114–116 (NES) plus state and territory public holiday legislation; penalty rates per the applicable modern award.

Related terms

• Penalty rates
• Time off in lieu (TOIL)
• Modern award