No. Easter Saturday is not a public holiday uniformly across Australia. There is no single national answer: whether an employee gets a public holiday for Easter Saturday in 2026 depends on which state or territory their work is located in. Public holidays in Australia are set under each jurisdiction's own legislation (not by the Fair Work Act, which simply picks up whatever days each state and territory gazettes), so the status of Easter Saturday genuinely changes between jurisdictions.

In 2026, Easter Saturday falls on 4 April (Good Friday is 3 April, Easter Sunday is 5 April, Easter Monday is 6 April).

Whether Easter Saturday is a public holiday for a given employee turns on the state or territory in which they work:

- New South Wales: Easter Saturday is a public holiday.
- Victoria: Easter Saturday is a public holiday.
- Queensland: Easter Saturday is a public holiday.
- South Australia: Easter Saturday is a public holiday (note that in SA it is a part-day arrangement at the higher penalty/loading level, but it is recognised).
- Australian Capital Territory: Easter Saturday is a public holiday.
- Northern Territory: Easter Saturday is a public holiday.
- Western Australia: Easter Saturday is NOT a public holiday. WA does not gazette the Saturday before Easter Sunday as a public holiday.
- Tasmania: Easter Saturday is NOT a (statewide) public holiday. Tasmania gazettes Good Friday and Easter Monday (and Easter Tuesday is observed in some sectors), but not Easter Saturday generally.

So the payroll answer is jurisdiction-dependent. For most states and territories (NSW, VIC, QLD, SA, ACT, NT) Easter Saturday 2026 is a public holiday and the usual public-holiday entitlements apply (a paid day off for those who would normally work that day, or public-holiday penalty rates/loadings under the relevant award or agreement for those who do work). In Western Australia and Tasmania it is an ordinary Saturday for public-holiday purposes, so no public-holiday entitlement arises by virtue of it being Easter Saturday.

Two further points a payroll officer should confirm rather than assume:
1. The correct test is generally where the employee works (the place where the work is performed), not where the business is headquartered, so a national employer must apply each location's public-holiday list separately.
2. Always check the specific modern award, enterprise agreement, or employment contract, because penalty rates, loadings, and any additional contractual holidays can vary on top of the statutory public-holiday list, and the official gazetted dates for each jurisdiction should be verified for the relevant year.

Bottom line: do not treat Easter Saturday as a uniform national public holiday. It is a public holiday in NSW, VIC, QLD, SA, ACT and NT, but not in WA or Tasmania, so the entitlement depends on the jurisdiction in which the employee works.