Uneven Easter Holiday Schedule: Why Public Holidays Vary Across Australia in 2023

However, not all states and territories share the same public holiday schedule for the Easter long weekend.

Here’s a breakdown of how each region across the country will celebrate the holiday.

Across Australia, Good Friday and Easter Monday are recognized as public holidays in every state and territory.

This means the majority of Australians can enjoy an extended four-day weekend during Easter.

We say “majority” because some areas have unique rules regarding Easter Saturday and Sunday observances.

Is Easter Saturday a public holiday?

Not all states and territories observe the Easter Saturday public holiday, which is bad news for retail and hospitality staff who miss out on public holiday rates.

The jurisdictions that don’t consider it a public holiday are Tasmania and Western Australia.

New South Wales, Victoria, Queensland, South Australia, the Australian Capital Territory, and the Northern Territory do honour the Saturday public holiday.

What about Easter Sunday?

All but one Australian jurisdiction recognises the Easter Sunday public holiday.

Tasmania is the unlucky state that ignores the Sunday holiday and instead observes “Easter Tuesday” on the day after Easter Monday.

Unfortunately for Tassie locals, it pretty much exclusively applies to public servants.

Is there anything else different this year?

Clocks will go back by one hour from 3am to 2am this Sunday, April 5 at 3am Eastern Daylight Time (AEDT) in all but three states and territories.

NSW, Victoria, South Australia, Tasmania, and the ACT will get an extra hour of sleep on Sunday morning.

Queensland, Western Australia, and the Northern Territory don’t observe daylight saving time, so there’s no change in those areas.

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