Payment for Public Holidays

Australian National Public Holidays are New Year's Day, Australia Day, Good Friday, Easter Monday, Anzac Day, Christmas Day and Boxing Day.

All other public holidays such as Queen's Birthday and Labour Day are individually declared by the state and territory governments.

Under the Fair Work Act, employees don’t have to work on a public holiday. However, an employer can ask an employee to work on a public holiday if the request is reasonable. An employee may refuse a request to work if they have reasonable grounds.

Employees who are governed under a Modern Award or enterprise agreement may have other entitlements for working on public holidays whether that be extra pay (i.e., public holiday penalty rates), substituting the public holiday for another day off or perhaps even having an extra day off or extra annual leave. Please note that some Modern Awards specify that if the employee agrees to take the time worked on a public holiday as time off in lieu you may have to give the employee time off at the overtime rates e.g., employee worked 3 hours but will be entitled to 4.5 hours off as the overtime rate was time and a half.

Sometimes public holidays may fall on the weekend. For example, this year, Christmas Day (25 December) falls on a Sunday so this means that businesses will need to accommodate for an additional public holiday day on the following Tuesday. Employers need to be aware that if their employees are under a Modern Award, penalty rates will apply for both the actual public holiday and the substituted public holiday.