SA public holidays 2026
Every public holiday in South Australia for 2026, as published by the SafeWork SA. Additional days such as Additional holiday (Proclamation Day) on Monday 28 December 2026 are public holidays for pay too.
| Public holiday | Date 2026 | Applies |
|---|---|---|
| New Year's Day | Whole state | |
| Australia Day | Whole state | |
| Adelaide Cup Day | Whole state | |
| Good Friday | Whole state | |
| Easter Saturday | Whole state | |
| Easter Sunday | Whole state | |
| Easter Monday | Whole state | |
| Anzac DayNo substitute or additional day when it falls on a weekend. | Whole state | |
| King's Birthday | Whole state | |
| Labour Day | Whole state | |
| Christmas Eve | 7pm to midnight | Part day |
| Christmas Day | Whole state | |
| Proclamation Day holiday | Whole state | |
| Additional holiday (Proclamation Day)26 December falls on a Saturday. | Additional day | |
| New Year's Eve | 7pm to midnight | Part day |
SA public holidays 2027
| Public holiday | Date 2027 | Applies |
|---|---|---|
| New Year's Day | Whole state | |
| Australia Day | Whole state | |
| Adelaide Cup Day | Whole state | |
| Good Friday | Whole state | |
| Easter Saturday | Whole state | |
| Easter Sunday | Whole state | |
| Easter Monday | Whole state | |
| Anzac DayNo substitute or additional day when it falls on a weekend. | Whole state | |
| King's Birthday | Whole state | |
| Labour Day | Whole state | |
| Christmas Eve | 7pm to midnight | Part day |
| Christmas Day | Whole state | |
| Proclamation Day holiday and Boxing Day | Whole state | |
| Additional holiday (Christmas Day)Christmas Day falls on a Saturday. | Additional day | |
| Additional holiday (Proclamation Day)26 December falls on a Sunday. | Additional day | |
| New Year's Eve | 7pm to midnight | Part day |
What you’re paid on a SA public holiday
The state decides which days are public holidays. Your award or enterprise agreement decides the rate. If you work the day, every hour is paid at the public holiday rate below. If you don’t work it and it falls on a day you normally work, a full-time or part-time employee is paid their base rate for their ordinary hours. Casuals are paid only for hours they work.
| Award | Full-time / part-time | Casual | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Aged Care AwardMA000018 · cl 23, 26.1 and 29.2 | 250% | 275% | Permanent employees can elect each year to have the hours added to annual leave instead of the extra 150% (cl 29.2(b)). |
| Building and Construction AwardMA000020 · cl 30.1 and cl 12.5–12.6 | 250% | 275% | |
| Cleaning AwardMA000022 · cl 20.2, Table 7 | 250% | 275% | Part-time employees are paid 265% because their 15% part-time allowance applies too (cl 10.2). |
| Clerks AwardMA000002 · cl 24 and Schedule B.3.1 | 250% | 275% | Paid for at least 4 hours when required to work a public holiday (cl 24.4(d)). |
| Commercial Sales AwardMA000083 · cl 19, cl 25.3–25.4 and Schedule A | 250% | 275% | |
| Electrical AwardMA000025 · cl 20.4 and Schedule B.2.1 / B.3.1 | 250% | 312.5% | |
| Fast Food AwardMA000003 · cl 21, Table 6 | 225% | 250% | Casuals 250% (the 225% plus the 25% loading). |
| General Retail AwardMA000004 | 225% | 250% | |
| Hair and Beauty AwardMA000005 · cl 23, Tables 14 and 15 | 250% | 250% | Casuals are paid 250% — the same as permanent staff. The 25% loading is not added (Table 15). |
| Health Professionals AwardMA000027 · cl 26, cl 33.2 and Schedule C | 250% | 275% | Casuals are paid 275%, the 250% plus the 25% loading (Schedule C.2.3). |
| Horticulture AwardMA000028 · cl 13.2, 13.3(d) and 27.3–27.4, and Schedule B.2–B.3 | 200% | 225% | |
| Hospitality AwardMA000009 · cl 29.2(b), Table 14 | 225% | 250% | |
| Legal Services AwardMA000116 · cl 21.3 and 21.4, Schedule B.1 and B.2 | 250% | 275% | |
| Live Performance AwardMA000081 · cl 21.5, cl 63.3(c) and cl 63.4 | 200% | 225% | |
| Manufacturing AwardMA000010 · cl 33 | 250% | 312.5%(250% of casual rate) | Casual rate is 250% of the casual hourly rate (cl 33), which is 312.5% of the minimum rate. Minimum 3 hours for day workers. |
| Mining AwardMA000011 · cl 21 and Schedule B.1.3 / B.2.3 | 250% | 312.5%(250% of casual rate) | Casual rate is 250% of the casual hourly rate (Schedule B.2.3), which is 312.5% of the minimum rate. |
| Miscellaneous AwardMA000104 · cl 20 and Schedule A.1.1 / A.2.1 | 250% | 250% | |
| Nurses AwardMA000034 · cl 20.2, 21 and 28.2 | 200% | 250%(200% of casual rate) | Casual rate is 200% of the casual hourly rate (cl 28.2), which is 250% of the minimum rate. Christmas Day on a weekend attracts an extra 50% in 7-day businesses (cl 28.2(b)). |
| Pastoral AwardMA000035 · cl 35.5 and Schedule B.2.1 / B.2.4 | 200% | 225% | |
| Pharmacy AwardMA000012 · cl 22.3, Table 6 | 225% | 250% | |
| Plumbing AwardMA000036 · cl 23 and Schedules C.1.3–C.1.7, D.1.3–D.1.7 | 250% | 275% | |
| Real Estate AwardMA000106 · cl 25.3 and Schedule B.1.1 / B.2.2 | 200% | 250%(200% of casual rate) | |
| Restaurant AwardMA000119 · cl 24.2, Table 8 | 225% | 250% | By agreement a permanent employee can take 125% plus a day added to annual leave or a day off within 28 days instead (cl 24.4(d)). Minimum engagement 4 hours (permanent) or 2 hours (casual). |
| Road Transport AwardMA000038 · cl 22.3, 22.8, 22.10, 23 and Schedule C | 250% | 275% | Day workers get 150% on top of the weekly wage for hours worked (effectively 250%), and 200% on top (300%) on Good Friday and Christmas Day; casual day workers 275% and 325% (cl 23.2). |
| SCHADS AwardMA000100 · cl 34.2 | 250% | 275% | The award says "double time and a half". Public holiday pay replaces weekend rates and shift loadings (cl 34.2(b)). |
| Security AwardMA000016 · cl 20.2, Table 7 | 250% | 275% | |
| Timber AwardMA000071 · cl 27 and Schedule D | 250% | 275% | Casual 275% is tabulated for the General Timber stream only (cl 27.1(d)); the award prints no casual public holiday rate for the other two streams. Minimum 3 hours. |
You can refuse a request to work a public holiday if the request is unreasonable or you have reasonable grounds. The public holiday pay guide covers refusals, leave and substitute days in full.
What you're paid for working New Year's Eve (from 7pm) in SA
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 4 hours on the public holiday
- $264.40
- Same hours on an ordinary weekday (incl. 25% loading)
- $132.20
- Extra for working the public holiday
- $132.20
- 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 Christmas Eve and New Year's Eve, enter only the hours worked from 7pm to midnight; earlier hours are ordinary hours.
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.
Christmas Eve and New Year's Eve: public holiday rates from 7pm
SafeWork SA states that anyone who works between 7pm and midnight on Christmas Eve or New Year's Eve is entitled to the public holiday rates in their award or enterprise agreement. That still applies when those days fall on a Saturday or Sunday. Hours before 7pm are paid at the usual rate for that day. A 3pm to 11pm hospitality shift on Thursday 31 December 2026 is 4 hours at the Thursday rate and 4 hours at the public holiday rate.
The National Employment Standards apply during the part-day window, just as on a whole-day public holiday. A full-time or part-time employee who would normally work that evening and is given it off is paid their base rate for those hours. Check your award for any part-day rules of its own.
Proclamation Day and the extra December days
South Australia's Proclamation Day is 28 December, but the holiday is observed on 26 December. When 26 December is a Saturday, that day and the following Monday are both public holidays. When it falls on a Sunday or Monday, that day and the following Tuesday are. When Christmas Day or New Year's Day falls on a weekend, that day and the following Monday are public holidays.
That is why SA has an extra Monday on 28 December 2026, and extra holidays on both Monday 27 and Tuesday 28 December 2027. Each of those days is paid at the public holiday rate if you work it.
All four Easter days, and no extra Anzac Day
Since 1 January 2024 Easter Sunday has been a public holiday in SA, so Good Friday, Easter Saturday, Easter Sunday and Easter Monday all attract public holiday rates. Easter Saturday is still a normal Saturday for shop trading in the Greater Adelaide Shopping District. That affects opening hours, not your pay rate. Anzac Day is a public holiday on 25 April whatever the day, with no substitute when it falls on a weekend.
Who handles SA public holiday pay questions
SafeWork SA administers the holiday dates, but the Fair Work Ombudsman has jurisdiction over pay for the South Australian private sector. Questions about what you were paid for working a public holiday go to the Fair Work Ombudsman on 13 13 94.
Your SA pay, leave and payslip
Public holiday pay is taxed as ordinary income with the rest of your pay. To see what a pay period with a public holiday shift leaves you after tax, use the SA pay calculator. Long service leave is set by SA law, not the National Employment Standards; the SA long service leave calculator works out your entitlement. To check the public holiday line on your payslip, the payslip guide explains each line, and the back pay calculator totals an underpayment.
SA public holiday pay questions
Public holidays in other states
How this page is sourced▼
Every date was read from the SafeWork SA’s own public holidays page on 24 September 2026. Each date is stored alongside the text the government prints, and automated tests check the day, month and weekday against it. Where the government has not yet published a date, the page says so instead of estimating it.
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.
Sources & References
- 1Public holidays— SafeWork SA
- 2Public Holidays Act 2023 (SA)— South Australian Legislation
- 3Not working on public holidays— Fair Work Ombudsman
- 4Public holiday penalty rates— Fair Work Ombudsman
- 5Public holidays (working outside your state or region)— Fair Work Ombudsman
- 6Fair Work Act 2009, sections 114–116— Federal Register of Legislation
Last verified: 24 September 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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