When is Canberra Day?
The next Canberra Day is Mon 8 Mar 2027 (ACT).
The ACT's own holiday on the second Monday in March, marking the naming of the capital in 1913.
- Canberra Day 2025 Mon 10 MarDates by state, and the long weekend it makes
- Canberra Day 2026 Mon 9 MarDates by state, and the long weekend it makes
- Canberra Day 2027 Mon 8 MarDates by state, and the long weekend it makes
- Canberra Day 2028 Mon 13 MarDates by state, and the long weekend it makes
About Canberra Day
The naming of the capital
Canberra Day commemorates 12 March 1913, when Lady Denman, wife of the Governor-General, stood on Capital Hill and announced the name of the new federal capital. Until that moment the city had been an unnamed plan on paper, chosen in 1908 as a compromise between Sydney and Melbourne.
The public holiday is observed on the second Monday in March. Until 2007 it was held on the third Monday, and it was moved a week earlier from 2008 so it sits closer to the actual anniversary. Because it is a Monday the date never needs substitution.
What the weekend looks like
The Canberra Day long weekend falls during Canberra's Enlighten festival and is often marked by the Canberra Balloon Spectacular, when dozens of hot-air balloons launch over the Parliamentary Triangle at dawn. It is the first long weekend of the year for the ACT after Australia Day, and it lands in the same week as Victoria's Labour Day and South Australia's Adelaide Cup Day, though NSW works on as normal.
If you are in Canberra and planning leave, the Monday pairs well with the Easter break when Easter is early: some years have only two working weeks between the two. The ACT holiday pages list every date and the long weekend planner ranks the combinations.
A crowded second Monday in March
Canberra Day shares its date with Labour Day in Victoria and Tasmania and Adelaide Cup Day in South Australia, so four jurisdictions have a long weekend on the second Monday in March while New South Wales, Queensland and the Northern Territory work through it (Western Australia took its Labour Day the week before). For a national employer that means the Canberra office is closed on a day the Sydney office is not, which catches people out every year. Flights and accommodation on the south coast and in the Snowy Mountains are priced for the Canberra and Melbourne long weekend, not the Sydney calendar.
The holiday is fixed in the ACT Holidays Act, so it never needs substitution and its date can be worked out for any year. It is the only public holiday in the country that marks the founding of a city rather than a state, a nation or an event.
Canberra Day FAQ
When is Canberra Day?
The next Canberra Day is Mon 8 Mar 2027 (ACT). The ACT's own holiday on the second Monday in March, marking the naming of the capital in 1913.
When is Canberra Day in 2025, 2026, 2027, 2028?
2025: Mon 10 Mar. 2026: Mon 9 Mar. 2027: Mon 8 Mar. 2028: Mon 13 Mar.
Is Canberra Day a holiday in NSW?
No. It applies only in the Australian Capital Territory. Nearby NSW towns such as Queanbeyan work as normal unless an employer chooses to observe it.