Australian workers are approaching the summer break with a massive holiday stockpile, collectively holding 209 million days of accrued annual leave, according to new data from research company Roy Morgan.
This near-record total is a legacy of the pandemic years, when workers were prevented from travelling overseas and even interstate.
The total leave figure is up 9 million days - a 4.5 per cent rise - compared to two years ago and a substantial 60 million days (39.5 per cent) increase from five years ago.
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However, the steady growth in the annual leave stockpile has recently come to a halt, driven by a shift in the nation's employment make-up.
This year saw a fall in full-time employment, which generates the majority of leave entitlements. The reduction has been offset by a rise in part-time and casual employment.
Roy Morgan CEO Michele Levine highlighted the changing nature of the labour market and the enduring financial pressures on workers.
"The annual leave Australians have accrued soared from 2020-2023 and has continued to rise during 2023-2025 during a protracted cost of living crisis for many Australians," Levine said.
"Only recently have the increases in annual leave days due stalled – due to a change in employment composition."
The data shows that 7.6 million Australians (51 percent of paid workers) have at least two weeks of leave due, but a large cohort of 5.2 million workers (34.7 percent) have no annual leave accrued at all.
When this "no leave" group is removed, the average annual leave owed to the remaining workers rises sharply to approximately 20 days - equivalent to a four-week holiday.
Despite the slowdown in overall growth, the enormous reserve of leave remains a powerful economic driver. Approximately 1.5 million workers are still sitting on more than five weeks of annual leave.
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