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Is 5 October a public holiday?

Yes Monday 5 October 2026 is Labour Day in NSW, SA and ACT and King's Birthday in QLD. It is a normal working day everywhere else.

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 5 October looks like in every published year.

  1. Sunday 5 October 2025 Working day

    No public holiday in any state or territory.

  2. Monday 5 October 2026 Public holiday

    A Monday, so it makes a three-day weekend in NSW, SA, ACT and QLD. The long weekend planner shows what a few days of leave either side would add.

  3. Tuesday 5 October 2027 Working day

    No public holiday in any state or territory.

  4. Thursday 5 October 2028 Working day

    No public holiday in any state or territory.

The holidays that fall on 5 October

  • Labour Day

    Labour Day commemorates the eight-hour working day, won by Melbourne stonemasons in April 1856 after a march from the University of Melbourne site to Parliament House. Sydney stonemasons had secured similar terms the year before. "Eight hours labour, eight hours recreation, eight hours rest" became the slogan of the trade union movement, and the anniversary was celebrated with processions long before it became a public holiday. Tasmania still calls its holiday Eight Hours Day. Because each colony marked its own anniversary, Labour Day never settled on a single national date, and the differences have only grown as states shuffled holidays to spread them through the year.

    More about Labour Day

  • King's Birthday

    The King's Birthday holiday does not fall on King Charles III's birthday, which is 14 November, and the Queen's Birthday holiday before it never fell on Queen Elizabeth II's birthday either. The June date comes from King George V, whose birthday was 3 June. When he died in 1936 Australia kept the June holiday rather than moving it for each new monarch. The holiday was renamed King's Birthday after the Queen's death in September 2022, with the first King's Birthday holidays taken in 2023. The King's Birthday Honours list, which recognises Australians for service in every field, is announced on the June long weekend regardless of which date a state observes the holiday.

    More about King's Birthday

October in the public holiday calendar

October starts with a cluster on the first Monday: Labour Day in NSW, South Australia and the ACT, and the King's Birthday in Queensland. That single Monday is a public holiday in four jurisdictions and a working day in the other four, one of the clearest examples of how the state calendars differ. Later in the month Tasmania's show holidays fall by municipality, with the Royal Hobart Show on a Thursday in the fourth week. Victoria, Western Australia and the Northern Territory have no October holiday.

How public holidays are decided, and what you are owed

5 October FAQ

Is 5 October a public holiday in 2025?

Sunday 5 October 2025 is not a public holiday anywhere in Australia. The nearest public holidays are Burnie Show on Fri 3 Oct (parts of TAS), and Labour Day / King's Birthday on Mon 6 Oct (NSW, QLD, SA and ACT).

Is 5 October a public holiday in 2026?

Monday 5 October 2026 is Labour Day in NSW, SA and ACT and King's Birthday in QLD. It is a normal working day everywhere else.

Is 5 October a public holiday in 2027?

Tuesday 5 October 2027 is not a public holiday anywhere in Australia. The nearest public holidays are Labour Day / King's Birthday on Mon 4 Oct (NSW, QLD, SA and ACT), and Royal Launceston Show on Thu 7 Oct (parts of TAS).

Is 5 October a public holiday in 2028?

Thursday 5 October 2028 is not a public holiday anywhere in Australia. The nearest public holidays are Labour Day / King's Birthday on Mon 2 Oct (NSW, QLD, SA and ACT), and Burnie Show on Fri 6 Oct (parts of TAS).

Looking for the whole year? Every 2026 public holiday by state