The NSW Government has announced that an additional public holiday will be observed for ANZAC Day in 2026 and 2027.

Most states in Australia generally don’t observe an additional public holiday when ANZAC Day falls on a weekend, however, the Minns Government has decided to declare an additional holiday. The motivation to aware the additional holiday may be linked to the fact that New South Wales typically has less public holidays than other states.

ANZAC Day continues to be commemorated on the 25th of April, however residents will be rewarded with an additional holiday in 2026 and 2027.

NSW ANZAC Day Details 2026 & 2027

• Saturday, 25 April 2026 – ANZAC Day
• Monday, 27 April 2026 – ANZAC Day Public Holiday
• Sunday 25 April 2027 – ANZAC Day
• Monday, 26 April 2027 – ANZAC Day Public Holiday

We have updated our public holiday calendars to reflect this new holiday addition.

Further information can be found here on the NSW Government website.

Who doesn’t love a good holiday, and 2026 is another year where planning your leave early can unlock some impressive breaks while using minimal annual leave. While 2026 doesn’t quite line up the way 2025 did, there are still some excellent opportunities to stretch your time away from work. The key is spotting public holidays that fall close to weekends or cluster together, then strategically adding a few leave days around them.

The Best Opportunity in 2026: The End-of-Year Break!

The standout opportunity in 2026 falls at the end of the year. With Christmas and Boxing Day creating a strong public holiday block, and New Year’s Day close behind, you can enjoy a substantial break with very little leave required. Here’s how it works:.

• Friday 25 December 2026 — Christmas Day (public holiday)
• Saturday 26 December 2026 — Boxing Day (public holiday)
• Sunday 27 December 2026 — Weekend
• Monday 28 December 2026 — Additional Boxing Day public holiday
• Tuesday 29 December 2026 — Annual leave
• Wednesday 30 December 2026 — Annual leave
• Thursday 31 December 2026 — Annual leave
• Friday 1 January 2027 — New Year’s Day (public holiday)
• Saturday 2 January 2027 — Weekend
• Sunday 3 January 2027 — Weekend

By taking just three days of annual leave, you can enjoy a 10-day break from Friday 25 December 2026 through to Sunday 3 January 2027.

Put Your Leave Form in Early

This is one of those leave windows that tends to disappear fast once people realise how good it is. If you want to secure this break, it is worth getting your leave request in early, before everyone else clocks on.

All Australians love a good holiday rort and the year 2025 presents an opportunity that your colleagues will want to jump on before anyone else can.

It doesn’t happen every year, but from time to time the planets (or the moon actually) align to create a golden opportunity to have an extended break whilst using minimal personal holiday leave.

In 2025, it will be possible to have a 10 day holiday whilst only using 3 days of annual leave. This situation has arisen due to the fact that the Easter holidays move each year dependent on the date of the Paschal Full Moon. The Paschal Full Moon is the first full moon that occurs after the spring equinox.

In Australia, Easter can move between late March and into April. In 2025, Easter occurs later in April, which brings it closer to the ANZAC Day holiday. ANZAC Day occurs on a fixed date every year (25 April).

Put Your Leave Form in Now!

It is typical that workers will jump to put their leave forms in early to take advantage of these extended breaks so the sooner you put your leave form in, the better.

Below is a break down of the 10 day holiday window:

• Friday, 18 April 2025 – Good Friday
• Saturday, 19 April 2025 – Easter Saturday / Weekend
• Sunday, 20 April 2025 – Easter Sunday / Weekend
• Monday, 21 April 2025 – Easter Monday
• Tuesday, 22 April 2025 – Use annual leave
• Wednesday, 23 April 2025 – Use annual leave
• Thursday, 24 April 2025 – Use annual leave
• Friday, 25 April 2025 – ANZAC Day
• Saturday, 26 April 2025 – Weekend
• Sunday, 27 April 2025 – Weekend

If you’re looking for an extended long weekend this year then Friday, 26 April 2024 is looking like a favourite with workers throughout Australia.

In 2024 ANZAC Day falls on Thursday, 25 April and this makes for an awkward single day back at work before the weekend. You can be certain that your colleagues will eye off this date as a cheeky way to give themselves an extra long 4 day weekend.

There are not really any opportunities to gain bulk time off work without using too much of your holiday leave in 2024. The year 2025 shapes as the best year to grab some bulk time off with the ability to take 10 days off whilst only using 3 days of annual leave. The bulk leave opportunities usually arise due to the Easter holidays moving each year. On occasion they land in a favourable place that is close to other public holidays such as ANZAC Day.

The Australian Prime Minister, Anthony Albanese, has proposed a special one-off public holiday for all Australians if the Matildas win the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup.

The Matildas have been on a historic run and have reached the furthest point in a World Cup tournament of any previous Australian team. The Quarter Final broke Australian television viewership records and was the most watched TV event in Australia since Cathy Freeman’s 400m Gold Medal run in Sydney 23 years ago (source:news.com.au).

Mr Albanese has encountered some resistance to his idea, with industry groups arguing there could be a huge economic burden as a result of the unplanned public holiday.

Australian state and territory leaders are due to discuss the public holiday at National Cabinet on August 16th.

The Women’s World Cup final will be held in Sydney on Sunday, August 20. If approved, it is anticipated the public holiday would be observed on Monday, 21 August 2023.

The Matildas face England in the semi final on Wednesday 16 August in what should be a tough challenge. England is currently favoured to win that game but every Australian knows that we love being the underdog. Go Matildas!

The Omicron variant of COVID-19 has created new challenges for Australia’s health system. Whilst symptoms of the Omicron variant appear to be milder, it spreads more easily and rapidly than previous variants.

Testing capacity in NSW is under enormous pressure with a huge spike in people being exposed to the virus. The majority of the people receiving tests do not have the need to receive medical care due to our high vaccination rate combined with the somewhat milder symptoms of Omicron. It is still essential for those with symptoms to get tested but the government has been caught out by the sheer volume of tests required.

NSW Health advises that the only people getting a PCR (nose and throat swab) should be those who have COVID-19 symptoms; live in a household with a confirmed COVID-19 case; or have been advised by NSW Health to get a test. (Source: health.nsw.gov.au)

The government is scrambling to find solutions in this very dynamic environment as Rapid Antigen Tests become more appealing as a way to handle the skyrocketing numbers of tests required. We expect to see more announcements in coming days and weeks to help free up testing clinics and the health system.

Note that this information is current at the time this article was created (3 January, 2022). Due to the dynamic nature of the COVID rollout it is advised to continue checking the NSW Health website for any updates.

As Australia’s COVID-19 vaccination rollout continues more and more Aussies are lining up to get their jabs.

The majority of Australian’s in full time employment work from Monday to Friday, so it makes sense that some of the population would look to get their vaccination jabs on weekends or public holidays.

The official word from NSW Health is that vaccination clinics are only open from Monday to Friday.

As stated on the NSW Health Website – NSW Health’s vaccination clinics generally operate Monday to Friday. Therefore, there may be limited or no vaccines administered on weekend days and public holidays due to planned closures. (Source: health.nsw.gov.au)

As each locally acquired case of COVID-19 occurs and the threat of lockdowns or restrictions increases, it seems that the a higher number of the general public are willing to get their vaccinations sooner rather than later. It would be beneficial to the members of the NSW community if vaccination clinics had more flexibility by opening on weekends and public holidays to allow all members an opportunity to get their vaccinations.

Note that this information is current at the time this article was created (23 June, 2021). Due to the dynamic nature of the COVID rollout it is advised to continue checking the NSW Health website for any updates.

ANZAC Day, Australia’s most sacred day, has been majorly disrupted by the Coronavirus pandemic, with all traditional services now cancelled.

The services to mark the participation in World War 1 will no longer take place due to restrictions on large gatherings caused by the threat of Coronavirus (COVID-19).

At the time of writing this article Australian’s are not permitted to gather in groups of more than two people, making it impossible to show hold the usual parades and presentations.

Instead, Australians are looking at alternatives to show their respects on April 25.

One alternative that has been gaining traction is the idea of a dawn driveway service, loosely named Light Up The Dawn. It has been suggested that Australians walk to the ends of their driveways at dawn with candles to show their respects.

The driveway movement has even gained the endorsement of the RSL. RSL Australia general manager Kim Henshaw said “This gives them a way that they can have their own private commemoration. We see it as very positive indeed.” (source: news.com.au).

Whatever the outcome we believe all Australians will unite, albeit from a distance, to show their respects in what will be the most unique ANZAC Day we have ever seen.

In 2019, Australian workers were blessed with an opportunity to take a 10 day holiday whilst only using 3 days of leave. This was due to ANZAC Day falling mid way through the week and in close proximity to the Easter holidays.

The news is not good for those looking for a holiday rort in 2020. ANZAC Day falls on a Saturday in 2020 and there is no additional holiday during the week when ANZAC Day falls on a weekend.

Easter is the best time of year to get an extended break in 2020 as it is the only 4 day weekend in the 2020 public holiday calendar.

If you get in quicker than your work colleagues you will be able to have a 10 day holiday whilst only using 4 days of leave.

Here are the dates:

Saturday, 4th April 2020 – Weekend
Sunday, 5th April 2020 – Weekend
Monday, 6th April 2020 – Day #1 Annual Leave
Tuesday, 7th April 2020 – Day #2 Annual Leave
Wednesday, 8th April 2020 – Day #3 Annual Leave
Thursday, 9th April 2020 – Day #4 Annual Leave
Friday, 10th April 2020 – Easter Friday Holiday
Saturday, 11th April 2020 – Easter Saturday (weekend)
Sunday, 12th April 2020 – Easter Sunday (weekend)
Monday, 13th April 2020 – Easter Monday Holiday

Note you could also achieve the same result between Friday 10th April and Sunday 19th April.

So what are you waiting for. Get those annual leave forms in now before everyone else in the office does!