Holidays in Australia

Holidays in Australia are different than the United States, in that the seasons of the year are reversed! Christmas is in the summer time, instead of the winter.  We had the privilege of living in Canberra, Australia for four years growing up, while our Dad was in the U.S. Army.  It is a fantastic country, and we got to do quite a bit of traveling around Australia while we lived there. We pretty much toured every State except for Tasmania.

Watching the New Years Eve firework show in Sydney Harbor is one of the best firework shows around the World!

Map of Australia

Holidays and Observances in Australia

All the Holidays in Australia information below, will give the 2026 Date, Holiday Name, and Holiday Type. Ultimately, we will have a Daily Holidays Page for each of the Days of the Year, and a devoted page for each of the Holidays and Observances.  Pages completed will be linked up below once they are done.

If a Holiday does not have 2026 after it below, that means that it is observed annually on the same day.  Those with 2026 listed after the date, are movable holidays that are observed on different days each year.

January 2026 Holidays in Australia

• January 1 - New Year's Day - National Holiday
  
• January 6 - Epiphany - Christian Holiday
  
• January 7 - Orthodox Christmas Day - Orthodox
  
• January 14 - Orthodox New Year - Orthodox
• January 16, 2026 - Isra and Mi'raj - Muslim Holidays
• January 26 - Australia Day - National Holiday

February 2026 Holidays in Australia

• February 2, 2026 - Tu B'Shevat (Arbor Day) - Jewish Holiday
• February 9, 2026 - Royal Hobart Regatta - State Holiday in Tasmania
• February 14 - Valentine's Day - Observance (See also Valentine's Day Food Tips)
• February 17, 2026 - Carnival/Shrove Tuesday - Christian Holiday
• February 17-18 - Lunar New Year
• February 18, 2026 - Ash Wednesday - Christian Holiday

March 2026 Holidays in Australia

• March 1, 2026 - Clean Up Australia Day - (First Sunday in March)
• March 2, 2026 - Labour Day - State Holiday in Western Australia
• March 3, 2026 - Purim - Jewish Holiday
• March 9, 2026 - Labour Day - State Holidays in Tasmania, Victoria
• March 9, 2026 - Adelaide Cup - Second Monday in March in Australia) - State Holiday in South Australia
• March 9, 2026 - Canberra Day - State Holiday in Australia Capital Territory
  
• March 17 - St. Patrick's Day - Observance (See also St. Patrick's Day Food Tips)
• March 19, 2026 - National Close the Gap Day
• March 21 - Harmony Day - Observance
• March 21, 2026 - March Equinox - Season (1st Day of Spring)
• March 29, 2026 - Palm Sunday - Christian Holiday

April 2026 Holidays in Australia

• April 2, 2026 - Maundy Thursday - Christian Holiday
• April 2 - April 9, 2026 - Passover - Jewish Holiday
• April 3, 2026 - Good Friday - National Holiday and Christian Holiday
• April 4, 2026 - Holy Saturday
• April 5, 2026 - Easter Sunday - National Holiday and Christian Holiday (See also Easter Food Tips)
• April 5, 2026 - Daylight Savings Time Ends
• April 6, 2026 - Easter Monday - National Holiday and Christian Holiday
• April 6 - Waltzing Matilda Day (Australia)
• April 7, 2026 - Easter Tuesday - Local Holiday in Tasmania
• April 10, 2026- Orthodox Good Friday - Orthodox
• April 11, 2026 - Orthodox Holy Saturday - Orthodox
• April 12, 2026 - Orthodox Easter - Orthodox
• April 13, 2026 - Orthodox Easter Monday - Orthodox
• April 14, 2026 - Yom HaShoah - Jewish Holiday
• April 25 - Anzac Day - National Holiday
• April 26 - Hug an Australian Day

May 2026 Holidays in Australia

• May 4, 2026 - May Day - State Holiday in Northern Territory
• May 5, 2026- Lag B'Omer - Jewish Holiday
• May 10, 2026 - Mother's Day - Observance
• May 14, 2026 - Ascension Day - Christian Holiday
• May 22, 2026 - Shavuot - Jewish Holiday
• May 24, 2026 - Pentecost - Christian Holiday
• May 25, 2026 - Whit Monday - Christian Holiday
• May 26 - National Sorry Day - Observance
• May 27, 2026 - Hari Raya Haji - State Holiday in Christmas Island, Cocos and Keeling Islands
• May 31, 2026 - Trinity Sunday - Christian Holiday

June 2026 Holidays in Australia

• June 1, 2026 - Western Australia Day - State Holiday in Western Australia
• June 4, 2026 - Corpus Christi - Christian Holiday
• June 6 - Queensland Day - Local Observance
• June 8, 2026 - King's Birthday - State Holiday in Cocos and Keeling Islands
• June 8, 2026 - King's Birthday - State Holiday - All except Christmas Island, Western Australia and Queensland
• June 21, 2026- June Solstice - Season

July 2026 Holidays in Australia

• July 5-12, 2026 - National Aborigines and Islanders Day Observance Committee Week - (8 Day Starting the First Sunday in July) (In Australia)
• July 23, 2026 - Tisha B'Av - Jewish Holiday

August 2026 Holidays in Australia

• August 3, 2026 - New South Wales Bank Holiday - Local Holiday in New South Wales
• August 3, 2026 - Northern Territory Picnic Day - Local Holiday in Northern Territory
• August 12, 2026 - Royal National Agricultural Show Day Queensland - State Holiday in Queensland
• August 15 - Assumption of Mary - Christian Holiday

September 2026 Holidays in Australia

• September 1 - Wattle Day (Australia - First Day of their Spring)
• September 6, 2026 - Father's Day - Observance
• September 12, 2026 - Rosh Hashana - Jewish Holiday
• September 21, 2026 - Yom Kippur - Jewish Holiday
• September 23, 2026 - September Equinox - Season
• September 28, 2026 - King's Birthday - State Holiday in Western Australia

October 2026 Holidays in Australia

• October 3, 2026 - Shemini Atzeret - Jewish Holiday
• October 4, 2026 - Daylight Saving Time Starts - Daylight Saving Time
• October 4 - Feast of St. Francis of Assisi - Christian Holiday
• October 4, 2026 - Simchat Torah - Jewish Holiday
• October 5, 2026 - King's Birthday - Common State Holiday in Queensland
  
• October 5, 2026 - Labour Day - Common Local Holidays in Australian Capital Territory, New South Wales, Queensland, South Australia
• October 5, 2026 - Territory Day - State Holiday in Christmas Island
• September 26, 2026 to October 13, 2025 - Sukkot - Jewish Holiday
• October 13, 2026 - Headspace Day (Australia) - (Second Tuesday in October)
• October 15, 2026 - International Pregnancy and Infant Loss Remembrance Day - Observance
• October 31 - Halloween - Observance

November 2026 Holidays in Australia

• November 1 - All Saints' Day - Christian Holiday
• November 2 - All Souls' Day - Christian Holiday
• November 2, 2026 - Recreation Day - Local Holiday in Tasmania
• November 3, 2026 - Melbourne Cup Day - Local Holiday in Victoria
• November 8, 2026 - Diwali / Deepavali - Observance
• November 11 - Remembrance Day - Observance
• November 13 - National Walk to Work Day 
• November 29, 2026 - First Sunday of Advent - Observance

December 2026 Holidays in Australia

• December 8 - Feast of the Immaculate Conception - Christian
• Evening of December 5, 2026 - Evening of December 12, 2026 -Hanukkah (8 Day Jewish Celebration)
• December 22, 2026 - December Solstice - Season
  
• December 24 - Christmas Eve - Observance
• December 25 - Christmas Day - National Holiday and Christian Holiday
• December 26 - Boxing Day - National Holiday (All except South Australia) and Christian Holiday
• December 28, 2026 - Boxing Day (Observed)
• December 31 - New Year's Eve - Observance, Part Day Holiday in Northern Territory and South Australia

Health Related Holidays in Australia

I found a great PDF calendar for the 2026 Health Observances observed in Australia made by Healthworks that has hyperlinks so that if you click on an Observance it will take you to a website for additional information:

• 2026 Health Observances in Australia PDF - from the link, you can enter your information and download the calendar
• 2025 Health Observances in Australia PDF 

Overview of Australia

This video below...Australia: A Snap Shot was done by the Australia Government's Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, who says, "This video provides a snap-shot of Australia in the new millennium; our role in international relations, our vibrant economy and trade, and our unique places and people."

Fun Facts About Australia

• As of 2017, Australia's population is approximately 24.6 million people

• The most populous states are New South Wales and Victoria, with their capitals, Sydney and Melbourne, being the largest cities in Australia.

• The center of Australia is sparsely populated. Most of the population is concentrated along the coastal region of Australia from Adelaide to Cairns, with a small concentration around Perth, Western Australia.

• Australia is an island continent and the world's sixth largest country.

• Canberra is Australia's capital city, and has a population of approximately 320,000 people. It is located in the Australian Capital Territory, midway between Melbourne and Sydney.

• Captain James Cook is credited with Australia's European discovery in 1770.

• Waltzing Matilda is as the best-known, best-loved and most iconic national song.

• Australia's National Gemstone is the opal, a rare and beautiful precious stone.

• Australia’s best-known animals are the kangaroo, koala, echidna, dingo, platypus, wallaby and wombat. There are more than 378 species of mammals, with almost half being marsupials. (those born under developed and continue to grow in a pouch)

• Uluru (Ayer's Rock) is one of Australia's most recognizable natural landmarks in the outback near Alice Springs, in the southern area of the Northern Territory. It is a large sandstone rock formation that is 1,142 ft high and has a total circumference 5.8 miles.  (We climbed to the top of it during our travels around the Country - I'm terribly afraid of heights, so this was a big accomplishment for me!)

• The earliest known people in Australia were the Aborigines.
  

Top 10 Things to Do in Australia

Info Coming Soon - because we spent four years in Australia, and traveled to all of the States, except for Tasmania, I may do a detailed page for this with lots of pictures and videos!

Australian Music

This is an Australian band called, Empire of the Sun, that my daughter Brie listens to.  The song is We Are the People, and the video was shot in Mexico. I've heard her playing this song before, and had really liked it, but I wasn't aware that they were from Australia.

Australian Resources

• Australia.com - The Official Tourism site of Australia

• Australia Government
  

• Australian Government - Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade
  

• CIA - The World Fact Book about Australia - The Central Intelligence Agency of the United States has a great Country overview of Australia.

Pinterest Board of Australia

Please Follow our Holidays and Observances HOLIDAYS IN AUSTRALIA Holiday Board on Pinterest - below you will see our 30 most recent pins to this photo board!

Click on the SEE ON PINTEREST bar right above, (link opens to our Pinterest Board) to see all the rest of our photo's on this board, and to Follow the board. New photos will be constantly added!

Solo Build It, or SBI, is the awesome E-Business software that we are using for this site! Create an extra income stream in your spare time!

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