New Year's Eve and New Year's Day by state
New Year's Day 2027 falls on a Friday, so no state needs an extra weekday. The only state-by-state difference is the evening. South Australia and the Northern Territory make New Year's Eve a part-day public holiday from 7pm to midnight, in 2026 and again in 2027.
| State or territory | 2026 | 2027 |
|---|---|---|
| NSW | – | New Year's Day |
| VIC | – | New Year's Day |
| QLD | – | New Year's Day |
| WA | – | New Year's Day |
| SA | New Year's Eve | New Year's Day New Year's Eve |
| TAS | – | New Year's Day |
| ACT | – | New Year's Day |
| NT | New Year's Eve | New Year's Day New Year's Eve |
This page covers New Year's Eve 2026 and 2027 and New Year's Day 2027. New Year's Day 2028 is not covered here.
What New Year's Day pays
New Year's Day carries the same public holiday rate as any other public holiday under your award: 225% of the base rate for full-time and part-time retail and hospitality staff and 250% for casuals, with the 25% casual loading already inside the casual figure. The permanent range across the 14 awards on this site is 200% to 250%; the casual range is 225% to 312.5%.
Because 1 January 2027 is a Friday, it is the ordinary working day for most full-time employees who work Monday to Friday. If you are one of them and you have the day off, you are paid your base rate for your ordinary hours (Fair Work Act s 116), and if you are on annual leave around the holiday it is not deducted from your balance.
New Year's Eve: who gets a public holiday and from when
Only two jurisdictions treat New Year's Eve as a public holiday, and only for the evening: South Australia and the Northern Territory, from 7pm to midnight. In the other six states and territories, New Year's Eve is an ordinary day, so a late shift is paid at whatever your award sets for a weekday evening (Thursday 31 December 2026, Friday 31 December 2027) and the public holiday rate starts at midnight when 1 January begins.
That midnight boundary is the part people miss. A hospitality worker in Adelaide who finishes at 1am is paid public holiday rates for the whole stretch from 7pm: five hours before midnight under the New Year's Eve rule and one hour after midnight under the New Year's Day rule. A worker in Sydney with the same roster is paid public holiday rates only for the hour after midnight.
What you're paid for working New Year's Day
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 (250%)
- $66.10/h
- Pay for 8 hours on the public holiday
- $528.80
- Same hours on an ordinary weekday (incl. 25% loading)
- $264.40
- Extra for working the public holiday
- $264.40
- If you don't work it and would normally be rostered
- $0.00 (casual)
Casuals are paid only for public holidays they work. The casual rate shown already includes the 25% loading — it is not added again.
For New Year's Eve in SA and the NT, enter only the hours worked from 7pm to midnight plus any hours after midnight; earlier hours are paid at your usual rate for that time.
Before tax. Minimum shift lengths, overtime and allowances are not included. All Hospitality Award rates · Take-home pay after tax
Prefilled for a casual employee under the Hospitality Award. Change the award, rate and hours to match your payslip.
Worked example: an 8-hour shift on New Year's Day 2027
Entry-level adult rates from 1 July 2026, 8 hours worked on Friday 1 January 2027, compared with the same hours on an ordinary weekday.
| 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.
A New Year's Eve shift in South Australia or the NT: 6pm to 1am
A casual on the Hospitality Award entry rate of $26.44 an hour works 6pm Thursday 31 December 2026 to 1am Friday 1 January 2027 in Adelaide or Darwin: 1 hour outside the public holiday window and 6 hours inside it.
- 6 public holiday hours at 250% ($66.10/h) = $396.60
- 1 other hour at a plain weekday rate of $33.05/h would be $33.05. Your award may pay evening loadings on top, so check the rate for that time.
The hour from 6pm to 7pm is outside the New Year's Eve window, so it is paid at the usual weekday evening rate. The five hours from 7pm to midnight are public holiday hours, and the hour from midnight to 1am is on New Year's Day, a full public holiday, so six hours in total are paid at the public holiday rate.
New Year's Eve in the other states
In New South Wales, Victoria, Queensland, Western Australia, Tasmania and the ACT there is no New Year's Eve public holiday. Queensland's part-day holiday is on Christmas Eve, not New Year's Eve. Your pay for a New Year's Eve shift is whatever your award or agreement sets for that day and time, for example a Friday night rate in 2027 or a late-night loading, and the public holiday rate only starts at midnight.
Hospitality, venue and event staff are the people most likely to work across midnight, so it is worth checking the rate on the payslip line that covers the first hour of January separately from the rest of the shift.
Casuals and New Year
A casual who works New Year's Day is paid the casual public holiday rate, which already includes the 25% casual loading. A casual who is not rostered on is not paid for the day. Whether you can refuse a request to work depends on the Fair Work Ombudsman's reasonableness factors, which include whether you are full-time, part-time or casual, your personal circumstances and the notice you were given.
Paid for New Year's Day when you don't work
A full-time or part-time employee whose normal week includes Friday is paid their base rate for their ordinary hours on Friday 1 January 2027. Your employer can't change your roster to avoid paying it. Part-timers who don't normally work Fridays get nothing for it. Overtime, penalty rates and allowances are not part of the base rate that is paid.
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.
New Year's Day and Eve 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
- 12026 public holidays— Fair Work Ombudsman
- 22027 public holidays— Fair Work Ombudsman
- 3Rules and entitlements during the end-of-year holiday season— Fair Work Ombudsman
- 4NSW public holidays 2026 to 2027— NSW Government
- 5Victorian public holidays 2026— Business Victoria
- 6Queensland public holidays— Queensland Government
- 7Public holidays in Western Australia— Government of Western Australia
- 8Public holidays— SafeWork SA
- 9Public holidays— WorkSafe Tasmania
- 10Public holidays, school terms and daylight saving— ACT Government
- 11NT public and regional holidays— Northern Territory Government
- 12Not working on public holidays— Fair Work Ombudsman
- 13Public holiday penalty rates— Fair Work Ombudsman
- 14Public holidays (working outside your state or region)— Fair Work Ombudsman
- 15Fair 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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