As we get to the final months of the year, you may already find yourself dreaming of your 2026 adventures. If that sounds like you, them you’ll want to know everything about the 2026 public holidays calendar in Australia.
Well, you’re in luck! Because not only have we put together a useful list of dates for you, so you can have them all in one handy guide, but Queensland will have five long public holiday weekends among 12 public holiday dates in 2026. Keep in mind that the Queensland Government may update this calendar before the end of the year if there are any changes. Here are the public holidays for 2026 in Australia in general, and Queensland specifically.
Queensland Public Holidays 2026
Australia at large will observe 11 public holidays while, in addition, the Brisbane area will celebrate Ekka in August. This comes to a total of 12 public holidays (and a half day for Christmas Eve) with five long public holiday weekends for you take advantage of, be that by travelling far and wide, or exploring closer to home. Here are the public holidays for 2026 in Queensland:
- Thursday, January 1 — New Year’s Day
- Monday, January 26 — Australia Day
- Friday, April 3 — Good Friday
- Saturday, April 4 — The day after Good Friday
- Sunday, April 5 — Easter Sunday
- Monday, April 6 — Easter Monday
- Saturday, April 25 — Anzac Day
- Monday, May 4 — Labour Day
- Wednesday, August 12 — Royal Queensland Show/Ekka (Brisbane area only)
- Monday, October 5 — King’s Birthday
- Thursday, December 24 — Christmas Eve (from 6pm to midnight)
- Friday, December 25 — Christmas Day
- Saturday, December 26 and Monday, December 28 — Boxing Day
The five long weekends will be courtesy of Australia Day, Good Friday and Easter Monday (which means an extra long weekend!), Labour Day, the King’s Birthday, and Christmas Day and Boxing Day (another long one).
With so many public holidays to help maximise your annual leave, it’ll be the perfect time to reconnect with nature, relax on a beach, or luxuriate in a staycation, just to give you some ideas.