Is 31 December a public holiday?
No Thursday 31 December 2026 is not a public holiday anywhere in Australia, although New Year's Eve is a part-day holiday in SA and NT. The nearest public holidays are Boxing Day (additional day) / Proclamation Day (observed) / Boxing Day (observed) on Mon 28 Dec (every state and territory).
Public holidays are set state by state, so the same date can be a day off in one state and a normal Monday in the next. Here is what 31 December looks like in every published year.
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Wednesday 31 December 2025 Partial only
- New Year's Eve part-dayPart-day holiday, 7pm to midnight
A part-day holiday gives no day off; it means public holiday penalty rates for the hours it covers. See the part-day holidays guide.
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Thursday 31 December 2026 Partial only
- New Year's Eve part-dayPart-day holiday, 7pm to midnight
A part-day holiday gives no day off; it means public holiday penalty rates for the hours it covers. See the part-day holidays guide.
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Friday 31 December 2027 Partial only
- New Year's Eve part-dayPart-day holiday, 7pm to midnight
A part-day holiday gives no day off; it means public holiday penalty rates for the hours it covers. See the part-day holidays guide.
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Sunday 31 December 2028 Partial only
- New Year's Eve part-dayPart-day holiday, 7pm to midnight
A part-day holiday gives no day off; it means public holiday penalty rates for the hours it covers. See the part-day holidays guide.
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The holidays that fall on 31 December
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Christmas & Boxing Day
Christmas Day and Boxing Day are national public holidays on 25 and 26 December. South Australia calls the 26th Proclamation Day, marking the proclamation of the colony at Glenelg on 28 December 1836, but it is the same holiday on the same date. Because two consecutive fixed dates land on a weekend more often than not, the substitution rules get a workout every few years. Every state adds a weekday holiday when Christmas Day falls on a weekend, and the weekend day stays a holiday too. Boxing Day is handled the same way in Victoria, New South Wales, Queensland, Western Australia and the ACT: keep the weekend day, add a weekday. South Australia, Tasmania and the Northern Territory move a Saturday Boxing Day to the following weekday rather than keeping both, while a Sunday one is kept and a weekday added.
More about Christmas & Boxing Day
December in the public holiday calendar
December is the only month with two national public holidays in a row: Christmas Day and Boxing Day on the 25th and 26th, with extra weekday holidays added when either falls on a weekend, which pushes the 27th and 28th onto this site in some years. Christmas Eve and New Year's Eve are part-day holidays in South Australia and the Northern Territory, and Christmas Eve in Queensland. Because New Year's Day follows a week later, the working days between Boxing Day and 1 January are the most efficient annual leave in the calendar.
How public holidays are decided, and what you are owed31 December FAQ
Is 31 December a public holiday in 2025?
Wednesday 31 December 2025 is not a public holiday anywhere in Australia, although New Year's Eve is a part-day holiday in SA and NT. The nearest public holidays are Boxing Day / Proclamation Day on Fri 26 Dec (every state and territory).
Is 31 December a public holiday in 2026?
Thursday 31 December 2026 is not a public holiday anywhere in Australia, although New Year's Eve is a part-day holiday in SA and NT. The nearest public holidays are Boxing Day (additional day) / Proclamation Day (observed) / Boxing Day (observed) on Mon 28 Dec (every state and territory).
Is 31 December a public holiday in 2027?
Friday 31 December 2027 is not a public holiday anywhere in Australia, although New Year's Eve is a part-day holiday in SA and NT. The nearest public holidays are Boxing Day (additional day) / Proclamation Day (additional day) on Tue 28 Dec (every state and territory).
Is 31 December a public holiday in 2028?
Sunday 31 December 2028 is not a public holiday anywhere in Australia, although New Year's Eve is a part-day holiday in SA and NT. The nearest public holidays are Boxing Day / Proclamation Day on Tue 26 Dec (every state and territory).
Looking for the whole year? Every 2026 public holiday by state