Prepare for the 2026/27 Festive Season – extra PH for Boxing Day
As we rapidly approach the finish line for 2026, and with the upcoming Festive period featuring an additional public holiday for Boxing Day for most of Australia, now is the time for employers to refresh on obligations to staff, whether you are preparing for your peak period or lucky enough to be planning some down time.
If you are readying for your peak period, it is appropriate to have early discussions with your staff about their availability for work, especially if shifts will be offered across the public holidays. Employers can reasonably request an employee to work on a public holiday, but staff members should not be rostered to perform a public holiday shift without some consultation first.
As indicated above, for the first time in four years, the 2026-27 Festive Season will see a return to an additional public holiday being in force nationally for Boxing Day. With Boxing Day falling on Saturday, 26 December 2026, all states and territories (except for Tasmania) will observe an additional public holiday on Monday, 28 December 2026.
It is important to recognise that additional public holidays are exactly that, extra public holidays, meaning public holiday benefits will attach to both dates of 26 December and 28 December 2026. This is distinct to substitute public holidays, wherein the public holiday is transferred to a different date to the day on which the holiday/occasion might fall in the calendar (as is the case in Tasmania this year, where 26 December will not be observed as a public holiday).
The public holiday calendar nationwide for the 2026/27 Festive Season is as follows:
| Date | Day | Holiday |
| 24 December 2026 (QLD only) | 6pm – midnight, Thursday | Christmas Eve (part-day) |
| 24 December 2026 (NT/SA only) | 7pm – midnight, Thursday | Christmas Eve (part-day) |
| 25 December 2026 | Friday | Christmas Day |
| 26 December 2026 (excl. Tas) | Saturday | Boxing Day |
| 28 December 2026 | Monday | Boxing Day Holiday |
| 31 December 2026 (NT/SA only) | 7pm – midnight, Thursday | New Year’s Eve (part-day) |
| 1 January 2027 | Friday | New Year’s Day |
| 26 January 2027 | Tuesday | Australia Day |
With all the above days (and part-days) designated as public holidays, the typical benefits of public holidays attach to all these dates, meaning any work performed will attract the designated public holiday penalty determined by the relevant Modern Award or enterprise agreement.
Permanent employees (being full-time or part-time employees) who would ordinarily have rostered hours on the above days, or part-days, will be entitled to be absent without loss of pay, unless they agree to work if reasonably requested by their employer. Employees may also reasonably refuse to perform work on any, or all, of the above dates.
If your business temporarily closes during the holiday period and you would like your permanent employees to utilise their annual leave entitlements, the requirement will need to be permitted by the relevant employment instrument and be precipitated by the stipulated period of written notice (often at least 28 days).
Even where the relevant instrument (e.g. modern award) permits an employer to direct employees to take annual leave during a temporary shutdown, sufficient annual leave must be accrued to cover the designated period. It is therefore appropriate to manage annual leave requests in the lead up to Christmas, to ensure employees will have sufficient leave available for the duration of an annual shutdown. Importantly, annual leave is granted at the discretion of the employer subject to the needs of the business, but an employer must not unreasonably refuse a request for annual leave.
Unsure of your obligations to your staff for the 2026/27 Festive Season? Subscribers are invited to contact our advice line on (07) 3220 3500 as a priority for clarification.