The Easter weekend is drawing ever closer, providing many Australians with an upcoming rare four-day weekend thanks to Good Friday and Easter Monday.
However, while each state and territory does recognise the long weekend, there are some differences in what public holidays each jurisdiction grants.
Here's a state-by-state (and territory) guide to the Easter weekend public holidays in Australia.
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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.
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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.
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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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