If you’ve already googled ‘Australian public holidays 2025’, you’re not the only one. And although Australia can’t top Nepal with its 39 public holidays per year or Myanmar with its 32, we can do the next best thing by using our public holidays and weekends to our advantage. We’ve got a hack that will turn 26 annual leave days into a whopping 59 days of travel in 2025.
All of the states celebrate seven national public holidays in Australia at the same time in 2025. These are:
Wednesday 1 January 2025: New Year’s Day
Monday 27 January2025: Australia Day
Friday 18 April 2025: Good Friday
Monday 21 April 2025: Easter Monday
Friday 25 April 2025: Anzac Day
Thursday 25 December 2025: Christmas Day
Friday 26 December 2024: Boxing Day
In addition to these public holidays, there are also a few extras, such as Labour Day and the King’s Birthday, which are celebrated at different times of the year, depending on which state of Australia you are in. Just to make it confusing, some states recognise Easter Saturday and Easter Sunday as public holidays, and some don’t. You can view the full list for your state here.
So, starting from January 2025 and moving into 2026, here’s how to make the most of your annual leave by tagging on the back of weekends and public holidays in Australia.
By making use of the Australia Day Public Holiday plus your weekends in 2025, you’ll score nine days of road trip bliss in your RV in January/February using just four days of annual leave.
Saturday 25 January 2025: Weekend
Sunday 26 January 2025: Weekend
Monday 27 January 2025: Public holiday – Australia Day
Tuesday 28 January 2025: Annual leave
Wednesday 29 January 2025: Annual leave
Thursday 30 January 2025: Annual leave
Friday 31 January 2025: Annual leave
Saturday 1 February 2024: Weekend
Sunday 2 February 2025: Weekend
Easter and Anzac Day Public Holidays 2025
With the Easter long weekend and Anzac Day being just a week apart in 2025, Aussies could potentially go on a 16-day road trip using just seven days of annual leave. Not all states in Australia recognise Easter Saturday and Easter Sunday as public holidays, but for this purpose, it doesn’t really matter as they are weekend days anyway.
Public service workers in Tasmania are the winners here, as they actually get an extra public holiday in Australia on Tuesday 22 April 2025!
Saturday 12 April 2025: Weekend
Sunday 13 April 2025: Weekend
Monday 14 April 2025: Annual leave
Tuesday 15 April 2025: Annual leave
Wednesday 16 April 2025: Annual leave
Thursday 17 April 2025: Annual leave
Friday 18 April 2025: Public holiday – Good Friday
Saturday 19 April 2025: Public holiday – Easter Saturday / weekend
Sunday 20 April 2025: Public holiday – Easter Sunday / weekend
Monday 21 April 2025: Public holiday – Easter Monday
Labour Day and King’s Birthday Public Holidays in Australia
Now, this is where it gets a little tricky as Labour Day and the King’s Birthday Public Holidays in Australia are celebrated in different months, depending on your state. Either way, you should be able to score nine days of holiday bliss using just four days of your annual leave in 2025 for both public holidays, regardless of which state you’re in.
Labour Day: Western Australia only
Saturday 1 March 2025: Weekend
Sunday 2 March 2025: Weekend
Monday 3 March 2025: Public holiday – Labour Day
Tuesday 4 March 2025: Annual leave
Wednesday 5 March 2025: Annual leave
Thursday 6 March 2025: Annual leave
Friday 7 March 2025: Annual leave
Saturday 8 March 2025: Weekend
Sunday 9 March 2025: Weekend
Labour Day/8-Hours Day: Tasmania and Victoria only
Saturday 8 March 2025: Weekend
Sunday 9 March 2025: Weekend
Monday 10 March 2025: Public holiday – Labour Day
Tuesday 11 March 2025: Annual leave
Wednesday 12 March 2025: Annual leave
Thursday 13 March 2025: Annual leave
Friday 14 March 2025: Annual leave
Saturday 15 March 2025: Weekend
Sunday 16 March 2025: Weekend
Labour Day/May Day: Northern Territory and Queensland only
Saturday 3 May 2024: Weekend
Sunday 4 May 2024: Weekend
Monday 5 May 2025: Public holiday – Labour Day/May Day
King’s Birthday: All states (except Queensland and Western Australia)
Saturday 7 June 2025: Weekend
Sunday 8 June 2025: Weekend
Monday 9 June 2025: Public holiday – King’s birthday
Tuesday 10 June 2025: Annual leave
Wednesday 11 June 2025: Annual leave
Thursday 12 June 2025: Annual leave
Friday 13 June 2025: Annual leave
Saturday 14 June 2025: Weekend
Sunday 15 June 2025: Weekend
King’s Birthday: Western Australia only*
*Some regional areas in Western Australia hold the King’s Birthday Public Holiday on a different date
Saturday 27 September 2025: Weekend
Sunday 28 September 2025: Weekend
Monday 29 September 2025: Public holiday – King’s Birthday
Tuesday 30 September 2025: Annual leave
Wednesday 1 October 2025: Annual leave
Thursday 2 October 2025: Annual leave
Friday 3 October 2025: Annual leave
Saturday 4 October 2025: Weekend
Sunday 5 October 2025: Weekend
King’s Birthday: Queensland only
Saturday 4 October 2025: Weekend
Sunday 5 October 2025: Weekend
Monday 6 October 2025: Public holiday – King’s Birthday
Tuesday 7 October 2025: Annual leave
Wednesday 8 October 2025: Annual leave
Thursday 9 October 2025: Annual leave
Friday 10 October 2025: Annual leave
Saturday 11 October 2025: Weekend
Sunday 12 October 2025: Weekend
Christmas 2025 and the New Year Public Holidays
This, of course, leads us into Christmas 2025 and the New Year public holidays in Australia! For only seven days of annual leave, you can score a 16-day holiday from Saturday 20 December 2025 to Sunday 4 January 2026. Here’s how to do it:
Saturday 20 December 2025: Weekend
Sunday 21 December 2025: Weekend
Monday 22 December 2025: Annual leave
Tuesday 23 December 2025: Annual leave
Wednesday 24 December 2025: Annual leave
Thursday 25 December 2025: Public holiday – Christmas Day
Friday 26 December 2025: Public holiday – Boxing Day
Saturday 27 December 2025: Weekend
Sunday 28 December 2025: Weekend
Monday 29 December 2025: Annual leave
Tuesday 30 December 2025: Annual leave
Wednesday 31 December 2025: Annual leave
Thursday 1 January 2026: Public holiday – New Year’s Day
