# Anzac Day 2026 (Saturday 25 April): is there a substitute Monday public holiday everywhere?

**Short answer: No. There is no single, uniform national "substitute Monday" public holiday for Anzac Day when it falls on a Saturday. Anzac Day itself (25 April) is a public holiday in every state and territory, but whether an *additional* substitute holiday is observed on the following Monday is decided jurisdiction by jurisdiction, and the rules differ. So the answer for a given employee turns on which state or territory's public holiday laws apply to them.**

## Why there is no automatic national substitute

Public holidays in Australia are not set by a single national law. The Fair Work Act 2009 (s 115) lists a set of national public holidays (including Anzac Day, 25 April) and then says that any *additional* day declared or gazetted as a public holiday under a State or Territory law is also a public holiday for employees in that place. The Act does **not** create a generic "if it falls on a weekend, the next Monday is a holiday" rule. That substitution only happens where the relevant State/Territory law (or a gazettal) provides for it.

Importantly, Anzac Day is treated differently from most other holidays. Many jurisdictions deliberately do **not** substitute Anzac Day when it lands on a weekend, because the date itself (25 April) is the day of commemoration. Other holidays (e.g. Christmas Day, Australia Day) commonly do get a substitute weekday, but Anzac Day frequently does not.

## How it generally breaks down when Anzac Day is on a Saturday

The treatment of a Saturday Anzac Day is **not** consistent across the country. Broadly:

- In several jurisdictions, when Anzac Day (25 April) falls on a **Saturday**, the holiday is simply observed on the Saturday and **no extra Monday is added**. The Saturday is the public holiday; there is no substitute day.
- Some jurisdictions and some instruments (and certain awards/enterprise agreements) do provide additional or substitute arrangements, but these are not uniform, and the precise rule varies between states/territories and can change from year to year by gazettal.

Because of this, you cannot tell a payroll officer "everyone in Australia gets the Monday off". Some employees will not get any substitute Monday at all; whether any do depends entirely on the gazetted/declared public holidays in their jurisdiction.

## What the answer actually turns on

For any individual employee, the correct answer depends on:

1. **Which State or Territory's public holiday law applies** to that employee (generally the place where they work). Each of the eight jurisdictions sets and gazettes its own public holidays.
2. **The official public holiday declaration/gazettal for 2026** in that jurisdiction, which is the authoritative source for whether a Monday substitute is observed for a Saturday Anzac Day that year.
3. **Any applicable award or enterprise agreement** terms, which can deal with substitution or with a "day in lieu" for employees who would otherwise work, even where the general law does not add a Monday.

## Practical guidance for the payroll officer

- Treat **Saturday 25 April 2026 (Anzac Day)** as a public holiday for all employees nationally - that part *is* uniform.
- Do **not** assume a national substitute public holiday on Monday 27 April 2026. There is no such uniform entitlement.
- For each jurisdiction where you have employees, **check that jurisdiction's official 2026 public holiday gazettal/declaration** to confirm whether the Monday is observed as an additional/substitute public holiday there, and then check the relevant **award or enterprise agreement** for any extra substitution or in-lieu terms.

In other words: the Saturday Anzac Day holiday is national; the "extra Monday" is **jurisdiction-specific and not guaranteed anywhere by a single national rule**, so each employee's position must be confirmed against their own state/territory's gazetted public holidays (and their industrial instrument).