Australian Capital Territory Public Holidays 2026
Last reviewed: October 14, 2026 · Holiday data: October 12, 2026
The 2026 table for Australian Capital Territory lists 16 dates: 12 fall on a weekday and 4 on a weekend, and 2 of them are marked (observed) or (additional). That leaves 249 working days in 2026. Like the Australia calculator, this page counts Monday to Friday as working days; what changes is the holiday list.
How Australian Capital Territory differs from the national Australian holidays
The Australian Capital Territory keeps every national Australian public holiday and adds Canberra Day on the second Monday of March, Easter Saturday and Easter Sunday, Reconciliation Day (1 June 2026, 31 May 2027, 29 May 2028) and Labour Day on the first Monday of October. Anzac Day 2026 is Saturday 25 and Monday 27 April, and for 2027 the ACT Government lists Sunday 25 and Monday 26 April. The Holidays Act 1958 gives the Monday when 25 April is a Sunday (section 3(1)(a)(viii)), and notifiable instrument NI2026-387 declares Sunday 25 April 2027 an additional public holiday, so this calendar's 2027 table has both; the Sunday changes no working-day count. A weekend Christmas Day, Boxing Day or New Year's Day stays a public holiday and the following Monday or Tuesday is added: Boxing Day 2026 is Saturday 26 and Monday 28 December. The ACT Government notes that the Holidays Act 1958 also sets a bank holiday on the first Monday in August and that bank holidays 'do not apply to everyone'; this calculator counts it as a closure because it works on a bank-open-day basis. The King's Birthday stays on the national June date.
Added in Australian Capital Territory (2026)
- Canberra Day (Monday, March 9)
- Easter Saturday (Saturday, April 4)
- Easter Sunday (Sunday, April 5)
- Anzac Day (additional) (Monday, April 27)
- Reconciliation Day (Monday, June 1)
- Bank Holiday (Monday, August 3)
- Labour Day (Monday, October 5)
National dates not in Australian Capital Territory's table (2026)
Australian Capital Territory observes every national Australian public holiday on its national date and drops none.
Australian Capital Territory holiday calendar 2026
| Date | Day | Holiday |
|---|---|---|
| January 1 | Thursday | New Year's Day |
| January 26 | Monday | Australia Day |
| March 9 | Monday | Canberra Day |
| April 3 | Friday | Good Friday |
| April 4 | Saturday (weekend) | Easter Saturday |
| April 5 | Sunday (weekend) | Easter Sunday |
| April 6 | Monday | Easter Monday |
| April 25 | Saturday (weekend) | ANZAC Day |
| April 27 | Monday | Anzac Day (additional) |
| June 1 | Monday | Reconciliation Day |
| June 8 | Monday | King's Birthday |
| August 3 | Monday | Bank Holiday |
| October 5 | Monday | Labour Day |
| December 25 | Friday | Christmas Day |
| December 26 | Saturday (weekend) | Boxing Day |
| December 28 | Monday | Boxing Day (additional) |
2026 summary
Total days
365
Weekend days
104
Holidays on weekdays
12
Working days
249
After subtracting 104 weekend days and 12 weekday-falling holidays, Australian Capital Territory has 249 working days in 2026. The count on this page uses Australian Capital Territory's calendar, not the national Australian set on its own.
Australian Capital Territory in 2026: how the calendar falls
Every figure below is computed from the 2026 dates in the table above and the Monday to Friday week, and each rule names the provision or the official list it is taken from. When a date changes, the sentences change with it.
Australian Capital Territory's public holiday rules, applied to 2026
The ACT adds Canberra Day (s 3(1)(a)(iii)), Easter Saturday and Easter Sunday, Reconciliation Day (27 May, or the Monday after it), Labour Day on the first Monday of October, and a Bank Holiday on the first Monday of August under s 4(1)(b). In 2026 those days are Canberra Day on Monday, March 9, Easter Saturday on Saturday, April 4, Easter Sunday on Sunday, April 5, Reconciliation Day on Monday, June 1, Bank Holiday on Monday, August 3, and Labour Day on Monday, October 5.
25 April is a Saturday in 2026. The Act produces nothing for a Saturday; Monday, April 27 is a public holiday only because notifiable instrument NI2026-154 declared it one in addition, leaving the Saturday a public holiday too.
The Holidays Act 1958 adds a weekday for a weekend year-end holiday rather than replacing the weekend date. The rule is stated in s 3(1)(a)(i), (xii) and (xiii), each joined to its weekend date by 'and'. Boxing Day falls on a Saturday and stays a public holiday, with Monday, December 28 added.
Reconciliation Day falls on Monday, June 1 in 2026: s 3(1)(a)(ix) fixes it on 27 May, or the Monday after when 27 May is not itself a Monday.
How Australian Capital Territory's 2026 total is built
A year's working days are its weekdays minus the holidays that land on them, and both halves move. The weekday supply depends only on the year's length and the weekday it starts on; the holiday half depends on where each fixed date falls that year. 2026 runs 365 days, 52 whole weeks and one day over. It opens and closes on a Thursday, so the spare day is a weekday and the year holds 261 of them.
Twelve holidays in this page's count fall on weekdays (four more land on a weekend and cost nothing), so Australian Capital Territory has 249 working days in 2026. 2027 lands on the same 249.
Weekend public holidays in 2026, and what Australian Capital Territory does with each
A public holiday on a Saturday or Sunday removes no working day; what changes the count is whether Australian Capital Territory's law adds a weekday for it or puts one in its place. In Australian Capital Territory in 2026:
- ANZAC Day falls on Saturday, April 25 and stays a public holiday; Monday, April 27 is added on top, so the weekend date takes no working day and the weekday does.
- Boxing Day falls on Saturday, December 26 and stays a public holiday; Monday, December 28 is added on top, so the weekend date takes no working day and the weekday does.
Only the weekday entries change the count; a public holiday on a Saturday or Sunday takes no working day from it.
What Australian Capital Territory's own days cost in 2026
A holiday on Australian Capital Territory's list takes a working day out of the count only when it lands on a weekday that is not also a holiday on the national Australian set, and a holiday on the national Australian set that is not on Australian Capital Territory's list puts one back only when it lands on a weekday. In 2026, Australian Capital Territory's additions on a weekday are Canberra Day on Monday, March 9, Anzac Day (additional) on Monday, April 27, Reconciliation Day on Monday, June 1, Bank Holiday on Monday, August 3, and Labour Day on Monday, October 5, while Easter Saturday on Saturday, April 4 and Easter Sunday on Sunday, April 5 fall on a weekend and change nothing.
The net effect is five fewer working days than the national Australian set: 249 against 254.
Where the fixed-date holidays land in 2026
A holiday tied to a calendar date moves one weekday later each year, so the week it breaks changes every year while its date stays put. Against 2025, each of these has moved one weekday on:
- New Year's Day is a Thursday in 2026, after a Wednesday in 2025, which leaves Friday, January 2 as a single working day before the weekend on this page's count.
- Australia Day is a Monday in 2026, after a Sunday in 2025, so on this page's count it turns the weekend before it into three days off.
- ANZAC Day is a Saturday in 2026, after a Friday in 2025, a weekend day, so the date itself takes no working day on this page's count; the weekend rules above decide whether a weekday is given for it.
- Christmas Day is a Friday in 2026, after a Thursday in 2025, so on this page's count it is one of four days off in a row, Friday, December 25 to Monday, December 28.
- Boxing Day is a Saturday in 2026, after a Friday in 2025, a weekend day, so the date itself takes no working day on this page's count; the weekend rules above decide whether a weekday is given for it.
Long weekends and four-day breaks in Australian Capital Territory, 2026
A weekday holiday next to a weekend turns two days off into three; two closures side by side, or one on each side of a weekend, make four or more. That is arithmetic on the dates, so the list moves every year even when the holidays do not. On this page's count, Australian Capital Territory has nine such breaks in 2026:
- Saturday, January 24 to Monday, January 26: three days, for Australia Day.
- Saturday, March 7 to Monday, March 9: three days, for Canberra Day.
- Friday, April 3 to Monday, April 6: four days, for Good Friday and Easter Monday.
- Saturday, April 25 to Monday, April 27: three days, for Anzac Day (additional).
- Saturday, May 30 to Monday, June 1: three days, for Reconciliation Day.
- Saturday, June 6 to Monday, June 8: three days, for King's Birthday.
- Saturday, August 1 to Monday, August 3: three days, for Bank Holiday.
- Saturday, October 3 to Monday, October 5: three days, for Labour Day.
- Friday, December 25 to Monday, December 28: four days, for Christmas Day and Boxing Day (additional).
Stranded working days in 2026
A holiday on a Tuesday or a Thursday leaves one working day stranded between it and the weekend. In 2026 Australian Capital Territory has one: Friday, January 2, next to New Year's Day. It is a full working day on this page's count even though a day off sits on either side, so a deadline that lands on it is not pushed anywhere.
Australian Capital Territory month by month, 2026
A month's working days are its weekdays less the holidays on them, so a month with no weekday holiday is set entirely by how its weekdays fall, and every holiday that lands midweek takes one day off the month it sits in.
| Month | Working days, this count | Working days, national set | Weekday holidays |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 20 | 20 | New Year's Day (January 1) and Australia Day (January 26) |
| February | 20 | 20 | none |
| March | 21 | 22 | Canberra Day (March 9) |
| April | 19 | 20 | Good Friday (April 3), Easter Monday (April 6), and Anzac Day (additional) (April 27) |
| May | 21 | 21 | none |
| June | 20 | 21 | Reconciliation Day (June 1) and King's Birthday (June 8) |
| July | 23 | 23 | none |
| August | 20 | 21 | Bank Holiday (August 3) |
| September | 22 | 22 | none |
| October | 21 | 22 | Labour Day (October 5) |
| November | 21 | 21 | none |
| December | 21 | 21 | Christmas Day (December 25) and Boxing Day (additional) (December 28) |
The third column counts the same months on the national Australian set, so the gap between the two columns is exactly what Australian Capital Territory's own calendar changes.
Where Australian Capital Territory counts longest without a break in 2026
The longest run of working days with no weekday holiday inside it depends on how far apart consecutive closures sit, so it moves whenever one fixed-date holiday changes weekday. In 2026 it runs from Tuesday, October 6 to Thursday, December 24 in the second half of the year: 58 working days, 11 full working weeks and three days.
The first working day of 2026 on this count is Friday, January 2, after New Year's Day. The last is Thursday, December 31, which is the latest date a count of working days can end on inside 2026.
Which calendar the 2026 count uses
The count uses Australian Capital Territory's public holidays plus its Bank Holiday on the first Monday of August, Monday, August 3 in 2026, because it counts the days banks are open. It is a bank holiday under s 4(1)(b) of the Holidays Act 1958 and appears nowhere in the public-holiday list in s 3, so a count of general workplace days in 2026 is one working day longer than this one.
Statutes and schedules cited in this section
Each rule above comes from one of these sources or from the holiday data source below.
- ACT Legislation Register: Holidays Act 1958 (opens in a new tab)
- ACT Legislation Register: Holidays (Anzac Day Additional Public Holiday 2027) Declaration 2026 (No 1), NI2026-387 (opens in a new tab)
- ACT Legislation Register: Holidays (Anzac Day Additional Public Holiday 2026) Declaration 2026 (No 1), NI2026-154 (opens in a new tab)
Other years
Related links
Sources and verification
Official source: act.gov.au (opens in a new tab)
Cross-checked against this source on October 12, 2026.