## Short answer

No. There is no single, uniform national substitute public holiday on Monday 27 April 2026 that applies to every employee across Australia. Whether an employee gets an additional public holiday on the Monday turns on **which state or territory's public holiday law applies to that employee**, not on a national rule. Anzac Day public holidays are declared separately by each state and territory, and they handle a Saturday Anzac Day differently. So the correct answer is jurisdiction-specific.

## Why it is not national

Public holidays in Australia are set by each state and territory, not by the Commonwealth. The Fair Work Act 2009 (s 115) lists Anzac Day (25 April) as a national public holiday, but it does **not** create a national substitute day when 25 April falls on a weekend. Any additional/substitute day comes from the relevant state or territory's own public holidays legislation or gazettal. Because those laws differ, a Saturday Anzac Day produces different outcomes depending on where the employee is based.

## The key point about Anzac Day specifically

Anzac Day is treated differently from most other public holidays. In several jurisdictions, when 25 April falls on a weekend, **Anzac Day itself stays fixed on 25 April and there is NO substitute weekday holiday** - unlike, for example, Australia Day or Christmas Day, which are commonly substituted to the following Monday. So for Anzac Day 2026 (Saturday 25 April), the default expectation in many states is that there is no extra Monday holiday at all.

The jurisdictions that do provide an additional day when Anzac Day falls on a Saturday are the exception, and they are the reason the answer cannot be a flat "no" either. As at FY2025-26, the position is broadly:

- **Western Australia and the ACT**: legislation provides that when Anzac Day falls on a weekend, an additional public holiday is observed on the following Monday. In these jurisdictions an employee would get a Monday 27 April 2026 public holiday.
- **South Australia**: provides for an additional Anzac Day public holiday in lieu when 25 April is a Saturday or Sunday (typically the following Monday). An SA employee would generally get the Monday.
- **New South Wales, Victoria, Queensland, Tasmania, and the Northern Territory**: Anzac Day is fixed on 25 April and is NOT substituted to a weekday when it falls on a weekend. Employees in these jurisdictions would generally **not** get an additional Monday public holiday for Anzac Day 2026.

(Jurisdictions should be confirmed against the official public holiday gazettal/declaration for 2026, as dates and arrangements are formally fixed by each government each year. Anzac Day arrangements are also sometimes governed by Anzac Day-specific Acts rather than the general public holidays Act.)

## What the employee's answer turns on

An individual employee's entitlement to the Monday turns on:

1. **Which state or territory's public holiday law applies** - generally where the employee is ordinarily based/works, since public holidays are declared per jurisdiction. This is the decisive factor.
2. **That jurisdiction's treatment of a weekend Anzac Day** - whether its law substitutes/adds a Monday for a Saturday Anzac Day (WA, ACT, SA: yes) or keeps Anzac Day fixed on 25 April with no substitute (NSW, VIC, QLD, TAS, NT: no).
3. **The official 2026 gazettal/declaration** for that jurisdiction, which is the authoritative source and should be checked, plus any applicable award, enterprise agreement, or contract terms that deal with substitute days.

## Payroll takeaway

Do not pay or roster a uniform national Monday 27 April 2026 public holiday for all employees. Determine each employee's jurisdiction and apply that jurisdiction's gazetted Anzac Day arrangement: an additional Monday public holiday in WA, the ACT and SA, and (subject to the official 2026 declarations) no additional Monday in NSW, VIC, QLD, TAS and the NT, where Anzac Day stays on Saturday 25 April. Always verify against the official 2026 public holiday declarations for each relevant state and territory.