Ask most Australians and they will tell you Easter is a four-day weekend. In Perth, it is three days. In Hobart, the extra day is on Tuesday—and only if your award says so.
Good Friday and Easter Monday are public holidays everywhere. The middle two days are where things fall apart. For rule detail, see the Public Holidays info page. For practical scenarios, see Use Cases.
The Easter weekend, state by state
| Day | Public holiday? | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Good Friday | All states | Universal |
| Easter Saturday | All except WA and TAS | WA has never observed it |
| Easter Sunday | All except TAS | Progressively added 2016–2022; WA was last |
| Easter Monday | All states | Universal |
| Easter Tuesday | TAS only | Restricted—applies to state public servants and some awards, not universally |
That table is the whole story. The rest of this article is about why it matters and where it bites.
WA: Easter Sunday but not Easter Saturday
Western Australia is the only state with Easter Sunday as a public holiday but not Easter Saturday. Easter Sunday was added in 2022 under amendments to the Public and Bank Holidays Act 1972, part of a broader campaign by retail unions. Easter Saturday was never added.
The result: a Perth retail worker gets public holiday penalty rates on Sunday but not Saturday. If you are running payroll for a WA team and treat the entire weekend as either "all public holiday" or "all normal," you will be wrong one way or the other.
Tasmania's Easter Tuesday twist
Tasmania skips Easter Saturday and Easter Sunday. Instead, it has Easter Tuesday—but with a significant catch.
Easter Tuesday is a restricted public holiday under the Statutory Holidays Act 2000 (TAS). It applies to state public servants and some award-covered employees, but it is not universal. Most private-sector workers in Tasmania do not get Easter Tuesday off unless their specific award or enterprise agreement provides for it.
That gives Tasmania a pattern unlike anywhere else in the country:
- Good Friday: public holiday
- Easter Saturday: normal Saturday
- Easter Sunday: normal Sunday
- Easter Monday: public holiday
- Easter Tuesday: restricted public holiday (check your award)
Tasmania adopted Easter Tuesday decades ago and has never changed it. There is no serious push to harmonise.
Penalty rates
The split creates a penalty-rate patchwork across the long weekend:
| Day | Public holiday rates apply | Normal rates |
|---|---|---|
| Easter Saturday | NSW, VIC, QLD, SA, NT, ACT | WA, TAS |
| Easter Sunday | NSW, VIC, QLD, SA, WA, NT, ACT | TAS (Sunday penalty rates under awards may still apply) |
Awards and enterprise agreements can go beyond state legislation, so always check the relevant instrument. A WA hospitality award might provide enhanced rates on Easter Saturday even though the day is not a public holiday.
Multi-state businesses
You cannot apply a single Easter policy nationally. Payroll systems must be configured by state. Rosters need to reflect different public holiday entitlements. A retail chain with stores in Melbourne and Perth has different penalty rate obligations on Easter Saturday—same company, same weekend, different rules.
Easter Sunday has trading restrictions in many states, and in most states it is now both a public holiday and a restricted trading day. Good Friday restrictions are widespread. Retail and hospitality employers need to check state trading laws and award provisions separately from pay obligations.
Easter in 2026
Easter falls early in 2026:
- Good Friday: Friday 3 April 2026
- Easter Saturday: Saturday 4 April 2026 (not a public holiday in WA or TAS)
- Easter Sunday: Sunday 5 April 2026 (public holiday in all states except TAS)
- Easter Monday: Monday 6 April 2026
- Easter Tuesday: Tuesday 7 April 2026 (Tasmania only, restricted)
With Anzac Day just three weeks later (Saturday 25 April), Q2 starts with two holiday-heavy stretches for many states.
How we treat Easter in the calculator
Select your state or territory, and the calculator applies the correct Easter rules automatically:
- WA: excludes Easter Saturday, includes Easter Sunday
- Tasmania: excludes both Easter Saturday and Easter Sunday, includes Easter Tuesday
- All other states: includes both Easter Saturday and Easter Sunday
If you are counting business days for contracts or payroll, always select the correct state.
FAQ
Q: Is Easter Saturday a public holiday in Perth? A: No. Western Australia does not observe Easter Saturday as a public holiday, though Easter Sunday has been a public holiday since 2022.
Q: Why does Tasmania have Easter Tuesday instead of Easter Saturday? A: Tasmania's public holiday legislation adopted Easter Tuesday decades ago and has retained it. Easter Tuesday is a restricted public holiday—it applies to state public servants and some awards, not universally. Most private-sector workers do not get it off.
Q: Do I get penalty rates for Easter Sunday? A: In all states except Tasmania, yes—Easter Sunday is a public holiday and public holiday penalty rates apply. In Tasmania, Easter Sunday is not a public holiday, but many awards still provide Sunday penalty rates.
Q: If Easter Saturday is not a public holiday in my state, can I refuse to work? A: There is no automatic right to refuse under the NES. Check your award or enterprise agreement for any special provisions.
