Easter 2027 public holidays by state
Easter Sunday 2027 is 28 March, so Good Friday is 26 March and Easter Monday 29 March. Each row below lists the Easter days that state treats as public holidays. Victoria calls the Saturday the Saturday before Easter Sunday and Queensland the day after Good Friday.
| State or territory | 2027 |
|---|---|
| NSW | Good Friday Easter Saturday Easter Sunday Easter Monday |
| VIC | Good Friday Saturday before Easter Sunday Easter Sunday Easter Monday |
| QLD | Good Friday The day after Good Friday Easter Sunday Easter Monday |
| WA | Good Friday Easter Sunday Easter Monday |
| SA | Good Friday Easter Saturday Easter Sunday Easter Monday |
| TAS | Good Friday Easter Monday |
| ACT | Good Friday Easter Saturday Easter Sunday Easter Monday |
| NT | Good Friday Easter Saturday Easter Sunday Easter Monday |
Tasmania also lists Easter Tuesday (30 March), but generally only for the Tasmanian Public Service, so it is left out of the table. Most Tasmanian private-sector workers work it at ordinary rates unless their award or agreement says otherwise.
Easter pay rates
On each Easter day that is a public holiday in your state, your award's public holiday rate applies to every hour worked. Retail and hospitality pay 225% of the base rate to full-time and part-time staff and 250% to casuals. Across the 14 awards on this site the permanent range is 200% to 250% and the casual range 225% to 312.5%.
Road Transport day workers get a higher rate on Good Friday than on other public holidays: 250% of the weekly wage rate for full-time and part-time day workers and 275% for casuals, the same as on Christmas Day. If your award singles out Good Friday or Easter Sunday, the clause is in the award's public holiday section.
Where Easter Saturday or Easter Sunday is a public holiday in your state, your award's public holiday row is the rate to check for hours worked that day. SCHADS says in terms that public holiday pay replaces weekend rates and shift loadings (cl 34.2(b)); for any other award, read its public holiday clause.
What you're paid for working Good Friday
Enter your base hourly rate (the permanent rate from your payslip or award, before any casual loading), the hours you work on the day and your award. The award rate is read from the award’s own penalty table.
- Public holiday rate (225%)
- $62.57/h
- Pay for 8 hours on the public holiday
- $500.56
- Same hours on an ordinary weekday
- $222.48
- Extra for working the public holiday
- $278.08
- If you don't work it and would normally be rostered
- $222.48
Full-time and part-time employees who normally work that day are paid their base rate for their ordinary hours even when they have the day off (Fair Work Act s 116).
Before tax. Minimum shift lengths, overtime and allowances are not included. All General Retail Award rates · Take-home pay after tax
Prefilled for a permanent employee under the General Retail Award. Change the award, rate and hours to match your payslip.
Worked example: an 8-hour shift on Good Friday 2027
Entry-level adult rates from 1 July 2026, 8 hours worked on Friday 26 March 2027, compared with the same hours on an ordinary weekday. Any increase from the next annual wage review will lift both columns.
| Award and employment | Base rate | Holiday rate | Pay for 8 hours | Same hours, ordinary day | Day off, not working |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| General Retail AwardFull-time or part-time | $27.81/h | 225%$62.57/h | $500.56 | $222.48 | $222.48 |
| General Retail AwardCasual | $27.81/h | 250%$69.52/h | $556.16 | $278.08 | $0.00 |
| Hospitality AwardFull-time or part-time | $26.44/h | 225%$59.49/h | $475.92 | $211.52 | $211.52 |
| Hospitality AwardCasual | $26.44/h | 250%$66.10/h | $528.80 | $264.40 | $0.00 |
Before tax. Excludes overtime, allowances and minimum shift lengths.
Paid for Easter days you don't work
A full-time or part-time employee is paid their base rate for the ordinary hours they would have worked on any Easter public holiday that falls on a day they normally work. For a Monday-to-Friday worker that means Good Friday and Easter Monday. For someone who normally works Saturdays or Sundays it also covers Easter Saturday or Easter Sunday in the states where those are public holidays, and nothing in the states where they are not.
Casuals are not paid for Easter public holidays they don't work, so a four-day Easter weekend can be a four-day drop in pay for a casual who isn't rostered. If you are a casual, check your roster early.
Refusing Easter shifts
Employers can ask you to work an Easter public holiday, but the request has to be reasonable and you can refuse if you have reasonable grounds. The Fair Work Ombudsman's factors are the nature of the workplace and your role, your personal circumstances, including caring responsibilities, whether you could expect to be asked, how much notice you were given, and any penalty rates or other payments on offer.
Taking annual leave around Easter
Annual leave over Easter costs fewer days than it looks. The public holidays are paid as public holidays and are not deducted from your balance when they fall on a day you would normally work. Taking Tuesday 30 March to Friday 2 April 2027 off gives a ten-day break from Good Friday to Sunday 4 April. It costs four days of leave for a Monday-to-Friday worker (Tuesday to Friday), and the Good Friday and Easter Monday public holidays cost nothing.
More holiday pay guides
Every public holiday is paid by the same rules, but the dates, extra days and part-day windows differ. The public holiday pay guide has the full 14-award rate table, and each state page lists that state’s own days.
Easter public holiday pay questions
How this page is sourced▼
Every date was read from the relevant state or territory government’s own public holidays page on 24 September 2026 and checked against the Fair Work Ombudsman’s 2026 and 2027 public holiday lists on 5 October 2026. Each date is stored with the text the government prints, and automated tests check the day, month and weekday.
Public holiday pay rates are read from the site’s award constants (Fair Work Commission award texts, rates from the first full pay period on or after 1 July 2026). Rights when not working come from the Fair Work Ombudsman and the Fair Work Act 2009 ss 114–116. Check your own award or enterprise agreement before relying on a figure.
Sources & References
- 12027 public holidays— Fair Work Ombudsman
- 2NSW public holidays 2026 to 2027— NSW Government
- 3Victorian public holidays 2026— Business Victoria
- 4Queensland public holidays— Queensland Government
- 5Public holidays in Western Australia— Government of Western Australia
- 6Public holidays— SafeWork SA
- 7Public holidays— WorkSafe Tasmania
- 8Public holidays, school terms and daylight saving— ACT Government
- 9NT public and regional holidays— Northern Territory Government
- 10Not working on public holidays— Fair Work Ombudsman
- 11Public holiday penalty rates— Fair Work Ombudsman
- 12Public holidays (working outside your state or region)— Fair Work Ombudsman
- 13Fair Work Act 2009, sections 114–116— Federal Register of Legislation
Last verified: 5 October 2026. Our content is based on the latest information from official Australian government sources.
Anita Bell
AuthorFounder & Senior Bookkeeper
Accountancy degree (2015); certified in Xero, QuickBooks Online, MYOB, Saasu, Zoho and Reckon One
Anita Bell earned her accountancy degree in 2015 and has worked as a senior bookkeeper with Prime Bookkeeping for over 5 years. This built her skills in Australian and New Zealand tax legislation and industry regulations. She is certified in Xero, QuickBooks Online, MYOB, Saasu, Zoho and Reckon One, and works with payroll and rostering software including Gusto, Deputy, Tsheets and KeyPay. She has strong experience in hospitality, building and construction, financial services, real estate, ecommerce, and medical and health services.
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