Anzac Day 2026 falls on Saturday 25 April 2026. There is **no single, uniform national substitute public holiday on Monday 27 April 2026** that applies to all employees across Australia. Whether an employee gets an additional Monday public holiday depends on the law of the State or Territory in which they work, because public holidays are set by State and Territory legislation, not by a single national rule.

## The key point: Anzac Day is treated differently from most public holidays

Anzac Day is unusual. In most jurisdictions, the relevant legislation does **not** create a substitute weekday holiday when Anzac Day falls on a weekend. This is a deliberate policy choice: Anzac Day is commemorated on 25 April itself, regardless of the day of the week. This is the opposite of the usual "substitute Monday" treatment that applies to holidays like Christmas Day, Boxing Day and New Year's Day when they fall on a weekend.

So for Anzac Day specifically, a Saturday occurrence does **not** generally generate a following-Monday holiday.

## Jurisdiction by jurisdiction (FY2025-26)

- **No substitute Monday for Anzac Day on a Saturday** in the majority of jurisdictions. Across NSW, Victoria, Queensland, Tasmania, the ACT and the Northern Territory, Anzac Day is the gazetted public holiday on 25 April only. When it falls on a Saturday, there is generally no additional substitute public holiday on the following Monday.
- **Western Australia is the notable exception.** WA's public holiday arrangements do provide for a substitute public holiday when Anzac Day falls on a weekend, so WA employees may receive an additional holiday (the Monday) that employees in other States and Territories do not.
- **South Australia** treats a part of Anzac Day (the afternoon/evening) differently and its arrangements should be checked against the SA gazette, but it does not deliver a uniform Monday substitute equivalent to the ordinary weekend-substitution rule either.

Because the precise gazetted public holidays change year to year and are confirmed by each government's annual public-holiday gazettal, the payroll officer should confirm against each relevant jurisdiction's **official gazetted public holiday list for 2026** before processing pay.

## What the answer turns on

1. **The jurisdiction** in which each employee works (their State or Territory), since public holidays are legislated separately in each.
2. **The specific treatment of Anzac Day** in that jurisdiction's legislation, which (unlike Christmas/Boxing/New Year) usually does not roll over to the next weekday.
3. **The annual gazettal** for 2026 in each relevant jurisdiction, which is the authoritative source.

## Practical payroll consequence

A national employer cannot apply one blanket "substitute Monday" public holiday to all staff. WA-based employees are the group most likely to have an additional Monday public holiday entitlement; employees in the eastern States, the ACT and the NT generally will not. Public holiday penalty rates, leave loading and substitute-day entitlements under the relevant award, enterprise agreement, or the National Employment Standards must be applied on a per-jurisdiction basis, confirmed against each government's 2026 gazetted list.