The Easter weekend provides many Australians with a rare four-day weekend thanks to Good Friday and Easter Monday.
Sydney's Royal Easter Show.
Rides at Sydney’s Royal Easter Show. The Easter long weekend provides many Aussies with four days off. (Edwina Pickles)

Do I get a public holiday for Easter?

Yes. Actually, to be more correct, you actually get more than one: every state and territory in Australia observes both Good Friday, which falls on Friday, April 7, and Easter Monday, which this year is on April 10.

With the Saturday and Sunday in between, that makes for a four-day weekend for many workers, however there are some slight variations from state to state about how the weekend days are treated.

Hot Cross Buns are traditionally eaten on Good Friday. (Getty Images/iStockphoto)

Is Easter Sunday a public holiday?

Most governments consider Easter Sunday – which falls on April 9 this year – to be a public holiday. This applies to the ACT, NSW, Northern Territory, Queensland, Victoria and Western Australia.

The two exceptions are Tasmania and South Australia, which don’t consider the Sunday an official public holiday.

Western Australia had, for a long time, taken the same approach as Tasmania, but it changed tack last year and adopted Easter Sunday as a public holiday in 2022. Queensland was also a slight latecomer, declaring it a public holiday in 2017.

Easter eggs photo
Many children get to enjoy an Easter egg hunt on the Sunday. (Getty Images/iStockphoto)

Is Easter Saturday a public holiday?

Again, for the most part the answer to this question is yes: Easter Saturday (or, if you’re in Queensland, “the day after Good Friday”) is an official public holiday in the ACT, NSW, Northern Territory, Queensland, South Australia and Victoria.

In 2023, Easter Saturday falls on April 8.

Again, Tasmania is an exception, as is Western Australia; both treat it as a regular Saturday.

However, Tasmania is the one state that has a public holiday no one else does: in the Apple Isle, Easter Tuesday is observed (this year on April 11) – although it usually just applies to state government public servants.

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