No. Easter Saturday is not a public holiday uniformly across Australia. Its status is not national; it is set jurisdiction by jurisdiction under each state's and territory's public holidays legislation, and it differs between them. So the correct answer to the payroll officer is: "it depends on which state or territory the employee works in."

By contrast, Good Friday and Easter Monday are public holidays in every Australian state and territory. Easter Saturday (the Saturday between Good Friday and Easter Sunday, which in 2026 falls on 4 April 2026) is the day where jurisdictions diverge, and Easter Sunday diverges similarly.

Easter Saturday status in 2026, by jurisdiction:

- New South Wales - public holiday. (Easter Saturday is a declared public holiday under the Public Holidays Act 2010 (NSW).)
- Victoria - public holiday (Saturday before Easter Sunday).
- Queensland - public holiday (Easter Saturday).
- South Australia - public holiday.
- Australian Capital Territory - public holiday.
- Northern Territory - public holiday.
- Western Australia - NOT a public holiday. WA does not gazette Easter Saturday as a public holiday (WA's Easter public holidays are Good Friday and Easter Monday only).
- Tasmania - NOT a public holiday statewide. Tasmania does not declare Easter Saturday as a statewide public holiday (its Easter public holidays are Good Friday and Easter Monday; Easter Tuesday is observed in some sectors).

What an employee's answer turns on:

1. The state or territory in which the employee works (the place of work governs which public holidays legislation applies), because Easter Saturday is a public holiday in NSW, VIC, QLD, SA, ACT and NT, but is not a statewide public holiday in WA or Tasmania.
2. Whether the employee is in a jurisdiction where it is gazetted/declared for the relevant year - public holiday declarations are made annually by each jurisdiction, so the position should be confirmed against the official gazetted list for 2026 in that state or territory.
3. The terms of the applicable industrial instrument (award, enterprise agreement) or contract - entitlements such as penalty rates, public holiday pay, or substitute days flow from the National Employment Standards combined with the instrument that applies, and some instruments or local arrangements treat additional days (or substitute days) as holidays.

Practical guidance for the payroll officer: do not apply a single national rule. Treat Easter Saturday public holiday entitlements on a per-jurisdiction basis - turn it on for employees working in NSW, VIC, QLD, SA, ACT and NT, and off for those working in WA and Tasmania (statewide), and verify against each jurisdiction's official 2026 public holiday gazette and the relevant award or agreement.