If you’re looking to work smarter, not harder in 2025, listen up. We’ve figured out how to maximise your holiday time next year by turning 20 days of annual leave into more than 50. Australia enjoys between eight and ten national public holidays each year, with some states and territories scoring a bonus one or two. So, lock in your leave ASAP (before your colleagues beat you to it).
Christmas 2024 and New Year’s 2025
You can turn just seven days of annual leave into a 16-day holiday by making the most of public holidays over the holiday season. By taking leave on December 23-24, 27, 30-31 and January 2-3, you’ll score an epic 16-day break from Saturday, December 21 to Sunday, January 5.
Days off: 16 days (December 21, 2024 - January 5, 2025)
Leave used: Seven days
January 26 public holiday 2025
Whether you call it Invasion Day, Survival Day or Australia Day, January 26 is on a Sunday in 2025, so the public holiday will land on Monday, January 27. If you take the Friday before or the Tuesday after off, you could swing a long four-day weekend. Alternatively, take leave from Tuesday, January 28 to Friday, January 31 for a glorious nine-day break.
Days off: Nine days (January 25-February 2)
Leave used: Four days
Easter and Anzac Day 2025
Easter falls in mid-April next year, with Anzac Day landing just one week after. You could score a ten-day break from Good Friday on April 18 to April 27 – at the price of only three days of leave from April 22-24. Talk about #winning!
Days off: Ten days (April 18-27)
Leave used: Three days
King’s Birthday 2025
All states/territories except QLD and WA
You can once again turn the King’s Birthday public holiday (Monday, June 9) into a four-day weekend by taking just one day of leave on Friday, June 6 or Tuesday, June 10. But we suggest going all out and taking four days of annual leave from Tuesday, June 10 to Friday, June 13 for an epic nine-day holiday. Euro-summer anyone?
Days off: Nine days (June 7-15)
Leave used: Four days
Note: WA’s King’s Birthday public holiday is on Monday, September 29, while QLD’s is on Monday. October 6. We’ll let you work out the holiday math.
Labour Day 2025
Labour Day offers another ‘buy one, get four off’ situation. While the date varies by state, all Labour Day public holidays fall on a Monday. Simply take off the Tuesday to Friday after to be rewarded with nine days off. Dates to look out for include:
- WA: March 3
- VIC and TAS: March 10
- NT and QLD: May 5
- ACT, NSW and SA: October 6
Days off: Nine days (varies)
Leave taken: Four days
Christmas 2025 and New Year 2026
For the planners among us, we’ve also got hacks for the 2025/26 festive period. With Christmas Day on Thursday and Boxing Day on Friday, you only need to take three days of leave to be rewarded with a much longer (11-day) break from Thursday, December 25 to Sunday, January 4. Plus, those in NT, QLD and SA get an extra day off with Christmas Eve as a public holiday, and NT and SA also score New Year’s Eve as a public holiday.
Days off: 11-12 days (December 25 - January 4)
Leave taken: Three days
You can find out when your state or territory gets bonus public holidays here.