Maximise Annual Leave in New South Wales
Plan annual leave around New South Wales public holidays with the current official dates, practical bridge opportunities and a calculator that applies the NSW calendar.
Observes the Bank Holiday (not all workers) and the standard national set. Labour Day is the first Monday in October. Below are every New South Wales public holiday for 2026 and 2027, drawn from the Fair Work Ombudsman and the New South Wales government, followed by the dates worth spending leave on.
New South Wales public holidays, 2026 & 2027
| Date | Public holiday | Type |
|---|---|---|
| Thu 1 Jan 2026 | New Year's Day | National |
| Mon 26 Jan 2026 | Australia Day | National |
| Fri 3 Apr 2026 | Good Friday | National |
| Sat 4 Apr 2026 | Easter Saturday | State/Territory |
| Sun 5 Apr 2026 | Easter Sunday | State/Territory |
| Mon 6 Apr 2026 | Easter Monday | National |
| Sat 25 Apr 2026 | Anzac Day | National |
| Mon 8 Jun 2026 | King's Birthday | National |
| Mon 5 Oct 2026 | Labour Day | State/Territory |
| Fri 25 Dec 2026 | Christmas Day | National |
| Sat 26 Dec 2026 | Boxing Day | National |
| Mon 28 Dec 2026 | Additional public holiday (Boxing Day) (Boxing Day falls on Saturday) | State/Territory |
| Fri 1 Jan 2027 | New Year's Day | National |
| Tue 26 Jan 2027 | Australia Day | National |
| Fri 26 Mar 2027 | Good Friday | National |
| Sat 27 Mar 2027 | Easter Saturday | State/Territory |
| Sun 28 Mar 2027 | Easter Sunday | State/Territory |
| Mon 29 Mar 2027 | Easter Monday | National |
| Sun 25 Apr 2027 | Anzac Day | National |
| Mon 14 Jun 2027 | King's Birthday | National |
| Mon 4 Oct 2027 | Labour Day | State/Territory |
| Sat 25 Dec 2027 | Christmas Day | National |
| Sun 26 Dec 2027 | Boxing Day | National |
| Mon 27 Dec 2027 | Additional public holiday (Christmas Day) (Christmas Day falls on Saturday) | State/Territory |
| Tue 28 Dec 2027 | Additional public holiday (Boxing Day) (Boxing Day falls on Sunday) | State/Territory |
Public-holiday dataset rechecked 20 July 2026 against the release source register. Regional holidays may vary within New South Wales; confirm before booking.
How to maximise New South Wales public holidays
If you are searching for how to maximise New South Wales public holidays, begin with the dates that fall on a Tuesday, Wednesday, or Thursday, then test the days either side of each holiday. For New South Wales workers, the first scan should usually check Australia Day, Easter, Anzac Day, the October Labour Day long weekend, and the Christmas-New Year shutdown window. The calculator then ranks those options against your leave balance rather than assuming every long weekend is equally valuable.
What makes New South Wales different
New South Wales has a relatively conventional statewide calendar, so the biggest gains come from combining national holidays rather than chasing many local extras. The August Bank Holiday is not a general public holiday for all NSW workers; it principally affects banks and certain financial institutions. Regional local holidays can also differ. Sydney workers should use the statewide table as the baseline, then check an applicable award, enterprise agreement, and council area before treating a local date as paid time off.
The complete ranked leave bridges
These tables are generated from the same public-holiday data and bridge-finding rules used by the calculator. Every single, double, and triple bridge accepted by the optimiser is shown, ranked first by calendar days off per leave day, then by break length. Equal-looking rows can use different holiday anchors or leave dates.
2026 complete ranked bridge table
| Rank | Break | Book these working days | Leave | Days off | Efficiency | Holiday anchors |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Thu 1 Jan 2026 to Sun 4 Jan 2026 | Fri 2 Jan 2026 | 1 | 4 | 4.0× | New Year's Day |
| 2 | Sat 28 Mar 2026 to Mon 6 Apr 2026 | Mon 30 Mar 2026, Tue 31 Mar 2026, Wed 1 Apr 2026, Thu 2 Apr 2026 | 4 | 10 | 2.5× | Good Friday, Easter Saturday, Easter Sunday, Easter Monday |
| 3 | Fri 3 Apr 2026 to Sun 12 Apr 2026 | Tue 7 Apr 2026, Wed 8 Apr 2026, Thu 9 Apr 2026, Fri 10 Apr 2026 | 4 | 10 | 2.5× | Good Friday, Easter Saturday, Easter Sunday, Easter Monday |
| 4 | Sat 19 Dec 2026 to Mon 28 Dec 2026 | Mon 21 Dec 2026, Tue 22 Dec 2026, Wed 23 Dec 2026, Thu 24 Dec 2026 | 4 | 10 | 2.5× | Christmas Day, Boxing Day, Additional public holiday (Boxing Day) |
| 5 | Sat 24 Jan 2026 to Sun 1 Feb 2026 | Tue 27 Jan 2026, Wed 28 Jan 2026, Thu 29 Jan 2026, Fri 30 Jan 2026 | 4 | 9 | 2.2× | Australia Day |
| 6 | Sat 6 Jun 2026 to Sun 14 Jun 2026 | Tue 9 Jun 2026, Wed 10 Jun 2026, Thu 11 Jun 2026, Fri 12 Jun 2026 | 4 | 9 | 2.2× | King's Birthday |
| 7 | Sat 3 Oct 2026 to Sun 11 Oct 2026 | Tue 6 Oct 2026, Wed 7 Oct 2026, Thu 8 Oct 2026, Fri 9 Oct 2026 | 4 | 9 | 2.2× | Labour Day |
| 8 | Sat 17 Jan 2026 to Mon 26 Jan 2026 | Mon 19 Jan 2026, Tue 20 Jan 2026, Wed 21 Jan 2026, Thu 22 Jan 2026, Fri 23 Jan 2026 | 5 | 10 | 2.0× | Australia Day |
| 9 | Sat 30 May 2026 to Mon 8 Jun 2026 | Mon 1 Jun 2026, Tue 2 Jun 2026, Wed 3 Jun 2026, Thu 4 Jun 2026, Fri 5 Jun 2026 | 5 | 10 | 2.0× | King's Birthday |
| 10 | Sat 26 Sep 2026 to Mon 5 Oct 2026 | Mon 28 Sep 2026, Tue 29 Sep 2026, Wed 30 Sep 2026, Thu 1 Oct 2026, Fri 2 Oct 2026 | 5 | 10 | 2.0× | Labour Day |
| 11 | Thu 1 Jan 2026 to Sun 11 Jan 2026 | Fri 2 Jan 2026, Mon 5 Jan 2026, Tue 6 Jan 2026, Wed 7 Jan 2026, Thu 8 Jan 2026, Fri 9 Jan 2026 | 6 | 11 | 1.8× | New Year's Day |
| 12 | Sat 18 Apr 2026 to Sun 26 Apr 2026 | Mon 20 Apr 2026, Tue 21 Apr 2026, Wed 22 Apr 2026, Thu 23 Apr 2026, Fri 24 Apr 2026 | 5 | 9 | 1.8× | Anzac Day |
| 13 | Sat 25 Apr 2026 to Sun 3 May 2026 | Mon 27 Apr 2026, Tue 28 Apr 2026, Wed 29 Apr 2026, Thu 30 Apr 2026, Fri 1 May 2026 | 5 | 9 | 1.8× | Anzac Day |
2027 complete ranked bridge table
| Rank | Break | Book these working days | Leave | Days off | Efficiency | Holiday anchors |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Sat 23 Jan 2027 to Tue 26 Jan 2027 | Mon 25 Jan 2027 | 1 | 4 | 4.0× | Australia Day |
| 2 | Sat 20 Mar 2027 to Mon 29 Mar 2027 | Mon 22 Mar 2027, Tue 23 Mar 2027, Wed 24 Mar 2027, Thu 25 Mar 2027 | 4 | 10 | 2.5× | Good Friday, Easter Saturday, Easter Sunday, Easter Monday |
| 3 | Fri 26 Mar 2027 to Sun 4 Apr 2027 | Tue 30 Mar 2027, Wed 31 Mar 2027, Thu 1 Apr 2027, Fri 2 Apr 2027 | 4 | 10 | 2.5× | Good Friday, Easter Saturday, Easter Sunday, Easter Monday |
| 4 | Sat 23 Jan 2027 to Sun 31 Jan 2027 | Mon 25 Jan 2027, Wed 27 Jan 2027, Thu 28 Jan 2027, Fri 29 Jan 2027 | 4 | 9 | 2.2× | Australia Day |
| 5 | Sat 12 Jun 2027 to Sun 20 Jun 2027 | Tue 15 Jun 2027, Wed 16 Jun 2027, Thu 17 Jun 2027, Fri 18 Jun 2027 | 4 | 9 | 2.2× | King's Birthday |
| 6 | Sat 2 Oct 2027 to Sun 10 Oct 2027 | Tue 5 Oct 2027, Wed 6 Oct 2027, Thu 7 Oct 2027, Fri 8 Oct 2027 | 4 | 9 | 2.2× | Labour Day |
| 7 | Sat 18 Dec 2027 to Tue 28 Dec 2027 | Mon 20 Dec 2027, Tue 21 Dec 2027, Wed 22 Dec 2027, Thu 23 Dec 2027, Fri 24 Dec 2027 | 5 | 11 | 2.2× | Christmas Day, Boxing Day, Additional public holiday (Christmas Day), Additional public holiday (Boxing Day) |
| 8 | Fri 1 Jan 2027 to Sun 10 Jan 2027 | Mon 4 Jan 2027, Tue 5 Jan 2027, Wed 6 Jan 2027, Thu 7 Jan 2027, Fri 8 Jan 2027 | 5 | 10 | 2.0× | New Year's Day |
| 9 | Sat 5 Jun 2027 to Mon 14 Jun 2027 | Mon 7 Jun 2027, Tue 8 Jun 2027, Wed 9 Jun 2027, Thu 10 Jun 2027, Fri 11 Jun 2027 | 5 | 10 | 2.0× | King's Birthday |
| 10 | Sat 25 Sep 2027 to Mon 4 Oct 2027 | Mon 27 Sep 2027, Tue 28 Sep 2027, Wed 29 Sep 2027, Thu 30 Sep 2027, Fri 1 Oct 2027 | 5 | 10 | 2.0× | Labour Day |
| 11 | Tue 26 Jan 2027 to Sun 31 Jan 2027 | Wed 27 Jan 2027, Thu 28 Jan 2027, Fri 29 Jan 2027 | 3 | 6 | 2.0× | Australia Day |
| 12 | Sat 16 Jan 2027 to Tue 26 Jan 2027 | Mon 18 Jan 2027, Tue 19 Jan 2027, Wed 20 Jan 2027, Thu 21 Jan 2027, Fri 22 Jan 2027, Mon 25 Jan 2027 | 6 | 11 | 1.8× | Australia Day |
| 13 | Sat 17 Apr 2027 to Sun 25 Apr 2027 | Mon 19 Apr 2027, Tue 20 Apr 2027, Wed 21 Apr 2027, Thu 22 Apr 2027, Fri 23 Apr 2027 | 5 | 9 | 1.8× | Anzac Day |
| 14 | Sat 24 Apr 2027 to Sun 2 May 2027 | Mon 26 Apr 2027, Tue 27 Apr 2027, Wed 28 Apr 2027, Thu 29 Apr 2027, Fri 30 Apr 2027 | 5 | 9 | 1.8× | Anzac Day |
| 15 | Sat 16 Jan 2027 to Sun 31 Jan 2027 | Mon 18 Jan 2027, Tue 19 Jan 2027, Wed 20 Jan 2027, Thu 21 Jan 2027, Fri 22 Jan 2027, Mon 25 Jan 2027, Wed 27 Jan 2027, Thu 28 Jan 2027, Fri 29 Jan 2027 | 9 | 16 | 1.8× | Australia Day |
| 16 | Sat 23 Jan 2027 to Sun 7 Feb 2027 | Mon 25 Jan 2027, Wed 27 Jan 2027, Thu 28 Jan 2027, Fri 29 Jan 2027, Mon 1 Feb 2027, Tue 2 Feb 2027, Wed 3 Feb 2027, Thu 4 Feb 2027, Fri 5 Feb 2027 | 9 | 16 | 1.8× | Australia Day |
NSW 2027 dates use the published Eastern Division vacation dates; Western Division has a later summer return. School-holiday dates apply to government schools and can differ for non-government schools.
How to plan your New South Wales leave
The four strategies in the calculator suit different goals. Maximum Days Off chases raw efficiency; Longest Break stacks leave into one big trip; Balanced Year spreads breaks across the seasons; and Long Weekends turns single leave days into frequent three- and four-day weekends. Parents can switch on the school-holidays option to line breaks up with New South Wales school terms.
Related guides
By holiday: Easter · Christmas & New Year · King's Birthday · Anzac Day · Labour Day · Australia Day.
Other states: Victoria · Queensland · Western Australia · South Australia · Tasmania · Australian Capital Territory · Northern Territory.
Start with the complete strategy guide.