This Anzac Day falls on a Saturday – and these states will be getting an extra public holiday
- Written by: Giuseppe Carabetta, Associate Professor of Workplace and Business Law, UTS Business School, University of Technology Sydney
ANZAC Day is commemorated on 25 April each year as a tribute to more than 2 million Australians who’ve served in war and peacekeeping operations.
That date is always the same. But how it’s marked as a public holiday varies between states and territories when it falls on a weekend, as it does this year.
Some Australians will get an extra day off as a result, while millions of others won’t.
That can be confusing for employees, and creates a rostering headache for employers operating across states and territories, such as in hospitality, retail, health, transport and other essential services.
Whether you’re an employee or an employer, here’s what you need to know about workers’ rights to paid time off.
Do you get a bonus day off?
People often assume public holidays such as Anzac Day are automatic “days off”. However, the rules under Australian employment law are a bit more complicated.
As Anzac Day falls on a Saturday in 2026, there are different rules across Australia about how it’s marked as a public holiday.
A bonus day: New South Wales, Western Australia and the Australian Capital Territory all have a public holiday on April 25 2026. But they’ve also declared an additional public holiday on Monday April 27. If you’re rostered to work on that Saturday or Monday, both of those days count as public holidays in NSW, WA and the ACT.
Just one day: Victoria, Queensland, South Australia, Tasmania and the Northern Territory will only observe Anzac Day on Saturday April 25. If you work in a Monday-Friday job, unfortunately this means you won’t get an Anzac Day holiday this year.
Those variations have direct implications for people’s entitlements to leave and penalty rates.
Public holiday pay rules
If a public holiday such as Anzac Day falls on a day a permanent employee would normally work, they are entitled to:
- be absent from work on a public holiday
- and be paid their base rate of pay for ordinary hours that would have been worked on that day.
But if you’re not rostered onto work on a public holiday (including if you’re a part-timer or casual, whose hours don’t fall on the public holiday), you won’t get paid for that day.
Can employees refuse to work on public holidays?
Let’s say you’re a nurse, rostered on for Saturday April 25, which is a public holiday right across Australia, or on Monday April 27 if you’re in NSW, WA or the ACT.
If your employer asks you to work then, do you have to agree? And, if you do agree, do you get extra pay?
Under the national Fair Work Act, employers cannot require an employee to work on a public holiday. Employers are allowed to ask, but it has to be a “reasonable request”.
Likewise, an employee may refuse a request to work on a public holiday if their refusal is “reasonable”.
Whether a request (or refusal) is reasonable depends on the circumstances. The Fair Work Act identifies various factors that can be taken into account, including:
- the employer’s operational requirements (such as if the business must operate that day)
- the employee’s role and seniority
- the employee’s personal circumstances, such as caring responsibilities, religious observance or cultural significance
- whether the employee will receive additional compensation, including penalty rates or time off in lieu
- and whether the employee was given adequate notice.
A failure to properly assess or document these factors can expose employers to disputes, underpayment claims and even legal action.
Extra rights to check
Beyond that national law, it’s important to know your rights if you (or your staff) are also covered by an award or enterprise bargaining agreement.
These can impose additional or stricter obligations, such as higher penalty rates on public holidays, or additional rostering and consultation requirements.
For employees, that can be good news, as it can mean more pay. But this can significantly increase an employer’s costs for public holiday work.
For employers with staff across Australia, there is no one-size-fits-all approach to this year’s Anzac Day public holidays.
That makes early planning and clear communication from both employers and employees even more important – well before April 25.
Authors: Giuseppe Carabetta, Associate Professor of Workplace and Business Law, UTS Business School, University of Technology Sydney
