How To Make The Most Of Your Leave In 2026

Key public holidays in 2026 (national + many states)

Some of the big ones to take your leave around:

• 1 Jan, Thursday - New Year’s Day  

• 26 Jan, Monday - Australia Day  

• Easter long weekend: Good Friday 3 April, Easter Monday 6 April  

• Anzac Day 25 April (falls Saturday in 2026)  

• King’s Birthday (for many states) - 8 June (Monday)  

• Labour / Long Weekends in various states - e.g. Labour Day / Adelaide Cup 9 March in SA etc.  

• Labour / King’s Birthday in October / special state holidays (e.g. 5 October is a public holiday in some states)  

• Christmas holiday season: 25 Dec (Friday) and Boxing Day 26 Dec (Saturday) with observed holidays moving to Monday 28 Dec etc.  

Because Anzac Day falls on a Saturday in 2026, its observance might be Monday in some states (so check your state’s version).

Suggested blocks to take leave

Below are some “leave booking windows” where you use a relatively small number of your annual leave days to get a long stretch off. Some will work for all states; others depend on your state’s own holiday calendar. I’ll show approximate “leave days used vs days off achieved”.

When to take leave (book these dates) How many leave days used Total days off (including weekends & public holidays)

New Year / January Book leave on Fri 2 Jan → Tue 6 Jan (i.e. 2, 5, 6 Jan) ~3 days 7 days (Thu 1 – Wed 7 Jan) You already get Thu 1 Jan off; weekend; then leave Fri, Mon–Wed gives you 7 in a row for 3 days leave

Australia Day long weekend Book Tue 27 Jan → Fri 30 Jan (4 days) 4 days 9 days (Sat 24 – Sun 1 Feb) Because Monday 26 is public holiday, you can stretch surrounding it

Easter / Anzac Book Tue 7 Apr → Fri 10 Apr (4 days) 4 days 10 days (Sat 3 – Mon 13 Apr) You get Good Friday (3 Apr) and Easter Monday (6 Apr), also weekend before and after

King’s Birthday / June Book Tue 9 Jun → Fri 12 Jun (4 days) 4 days 9 days (Sat 6 – Sun 14 Jun) Monday 8 Jun is public holiday for many states, helps extend

Late winter / August-September In NT there’s “Picnic Day” etc — but more modest returns Varies Modest extension This depends heavily on your state’s mid-year holidays

October / Spring If your state has a public holiday in October (e.g. Labour Day / King’s Birthday moves) you can thread leave 3–4 days ~8–9 days E.g. in SA, NSW, ACT etc Labour Day 5 Oct is holiday  

Christmas / New Year end of year Book Mon 21 → Thu 24 Dec and Tue 29 → Wed 30 Dec (total ~7 days) 7 days ~16 days (Sat 19 Dec → Sun 3 Jan) Because 25 Dec is Friday, 26 Dec is Saturday (so observed holiday on Mon 28 Dec), plus New Year’s etc.