Holidays in New Zealand 2026
Last reviewed: October 14, 2026 · Holiday data: October 9, 2026
The 2026 New Zealand holiday table below lists 11 dates, each one a day this calculator treats as closed. 11 fall on a weekday and 0 land on a weekend, leaving 250 working days across the year on the national-only count. A date is not always a holiday of its own: 2 are marked observed or additional, the day a holiday was moved to or a further day granted with it.
2026 public holidays calendar
| Date | Day | Holiday |
|---|---|---|
| Jan 1 | Thursday | New Year's Day |
| Jan 2 | Friday | Day after New Year's Day |
| Feb 6 | Friday | Waitangi Day |
| Apr 3 | Friday | Good Friday |
| Apr 6 | Monday | Easter Monday |
| Apr 27 | Monday | ANZAC Day (observed) |
| Jun 1 | Monday | King's Birthday |
| Jul 10 | Friday | Matariki |
| Oct 26 | Monday | Labour Day |
| Dec 25 | Friday | Christmas Day |
| Dec 28 | Monday | Boxing Day (observed) |
2026 year summary
Total days
365
Weekend days
104
Public holidays on weekdays
11
Working days
250
All 11 dates land on weekdays in 2026, so each one takes a working day out of the count. New Zealand's public holidays are the eleven national days in this table and, twelfth, each province's anniversary day. Section 44(1) of the Holidays Act 2003 lists them until 5 August 2028; from 6 August 2028 section 52 of the Employment Leave Act 2026, which repeals that Act, lists the same twelve. When New Year's Day, 2 January, Christmas Day or Boxing Day falls on a weekend it moves to the following Monday from a Saturday and to the following Tuesday from a Sunday, and Waitangi Day or Anzac Day moves to the following Monday from either (sections 45 and 45A, then sections 59 and 60), for an employee who would not otherwise work that day. The table lists those weekdays, the reading for a Monday-to-Friday week, and Employment New Zealand names the six days that can move. Matariki is the Friday that Schedule 1 of the Te Kāhui o Matariki Public Holiday Act 2022 gives for the year.
Sources for these rules
- Holidays Act 2003 (2003 No 129), version as at 20 December 2023: s 44(1) the public holidays; s 45 Christmas Day, Boxing Day, New Year's Day and 2 January on a weekend; s 45A Waitangi Day and Anzac Day on a weekend (from 1 January 2014) (New Zealand Legislation (Parliamentary Counsel Office))
- Employment Leave Act 2026 (2026 No 48): s 2(1) in force on 6 August 2028; s 150 repeals the Holidays Act 2003; s 52 the twelve public holidays; ss 59 and 60 public holidays that fall on a weekend (New Zealand Legislation (Parliamentary Counsel Office))
- Te Kāhui o Matariki Public Holiday Act 2022 (2022 No 14): s 5 and Schedule 1, the date of Matariki Observance Day in each year from 2022 to 2052; s 6(2)(a) a date added later must be a Friday (New Zealand Legislation (Parliamentary Counsel Office))
- When a public holiday falls on a weekend: six public holidays can be Mondayised, to Monday or Tuesday, for employees for whom the weekend day is not an otherwise working day; five always fall on a set weekday (Employment New Zealand (MBIE))
Checked October 13, 2026. All sources
Holidays not included
Each province's anniversary day (Auckland, Wellington, Canterbury, Otago and others) is the twelfth public holiday, under section 44(1)(k) of the Holidays Act 2003 and, from 6 August 2028, section 52(1)(l) of the Employment Leave Act 2026, and it is not in this national table. Employment New Zealand says these days are observed locally by custom and practice, generally on the Monday nearest the actual day, and relate to the former provinces of 19th-century New Zealand rather than to today's regions; it publishes each year's observed dates. For work done in one province, add its date under the calculator's Advanced options. Easter Sunday is in neither Act's list and is not included.
Sources for these rules
- Public holidays and anniversary dates: the national public holidays with their actual and observed dates, and each province's anniversary day (Employment New Zealand (MBIE))
- Holidays Act 2003 (2003 No 129), version as at 20 December 2023: s 44(1) the public holidays; s 45 Christmas Day, Boxing Day, New Year's Day and 2 January on a weekend; s 45A Waitangi Day and Anzac Day on a weekend (from 1 January 2014) (New Zealand Legislation (Parliamentary Counsel Office))
- Employment Leave Act 2026 (2026 No 48): s 2(1) in force on 6 August 2028; s 150 repeals the Holidays Act 2003; s 52 the twelve public holidays; ss 59 and 60 public holidays that fall on a weekend (New Zealand Legislation (Parliamentary Counsel Office))
Checked October 13, 2026. All sources
Other years
Sources and verification
Official source: Employment New Zealand (employment.govt.nz) (opens in a new tab)
Cross-checked against this source on October 9, 2026.