If you work on a public holiday, your award or enterprise agreement usually sets a higher pay rate. Under the Clerks Private Sector Award and the Banking, Finance and Insurance Award it is 250% of the minimum hourly rate, with at least 4 hours' pay. If you take the day off and would normally work that day, you are paid your base pay rate for the ordinary hours you would have worked.
Updated 27 October 2026.
Public holiday pay at a glance
| Employee | Not working, on a day you normally work | Working it under the Clerks award | Working it under the Banking award |
|---|---|---|---|
| Full-time | Base pay rate for the ordinary hours you would have worked | 250% of the minimum hourly rate, at least 4 hours' pay, $77.78 an hour at Level 3 | 250% of the minimum hourly rate, at least 4 hours' pay if you are available for 4 hours, $77.78 an hour at Level 3 |
| Part-time | Base pay rate for the ordinary hours you would have worked, nothing if the holiday falls on a day you don't work | 250% of the minimum hourly rate, at least 4 hours' pay, $77.78 an hour at Level 3 | 250% of the minimum hourly rate, at least 4 hours' pay if you are available for 4 hours, $77.78 an hour at Level 3 |
| Casual | Not paid | 275% of the minimum hourly rate, which includes the casual loading, $85.55 an hour at Level 3 | 275% of the minimum hourly rate, which includes the casual loading, $85.55 an hour at Level 3 |
The award rows are Level 3 rates from 1 July 2026. Other awards set their own public holiday rates, and if no award or agreement covers you the law only guarantees your base pay rate for the hours you work.
Do you have to work on a public holiday?
No, not automatically. Every employee has a right to be away from work on a public holiday. Your employer can ask you to work, and the request has to be reasonable. You can refuse if you have reasonable grounds or the request is unreasonable.
The Fair Work Ombudsman lists what goes into deciding whether a request is reasonable
- the nature of the workplace, and your role and the type of work you do
- your personal circumstances, including caring responsibilities
- whether you are full-time, part-time or casual
- whether you could expect to be asked to work the public holiday
- any overtime, penalty rates or other payment you would get
- how much notice you were given
Your employer can require you to work only if they made a reasonable request and you refused it unreasonably.
What are you paid if you have the day off?
If a public holiday falls on a day you normally work, you are paid your base pay rate for the ordinary hours you would have worked. That applies to full-time and part-time employees. Casual employees aren't paid for a public holiday they don't work.
Your base pay rate leaves out bonuses, incentive payments, loadings, allowances, overtime and penalty rates. Fair Work's example is a full-time employee who usually works overtime on Wednesdays: when New Year's Day falls on a Wednesday she is paid for her ordinary hours, not the overtime.
If you don't normally work on the day the public holiday falls, you aren't paid for it. A part-time employee who works Monday to Wednesday isn't paid for a Boxing Day that falls on a Friday. Your employer can't change your roster to avoid paying for a public holiday.
What is the pay rate for working a public holiday?
The Fair Work Ombudsman says employees are paid at least their base pay rate for all hours worked on a public holiday. Any higher rate comes from your award, enterprise agreement or contract.
The Clerks award pays 250% of the minimum hourly rate for hours worked on a public holiday, and at least 4 hours' pay if you are required to work. The Banking award also pays 250% of the minimum hourly rate, with at least 4 hours' pay if you are available to work 4 hours. Here are the Clerks award rates for Level 3, from 1 July 2026
| Clerks award Level 3, per hour | Monday to Friday | Public holiday |
|---|---|---|
| Full-time and part-time | $31.11 | $77.78 |
| Casual (includes the 25% casual loading) | $38.89 | $85.55 |
For a casual employee the Clerks award public holiday rate is 275% of the minimum hourly rate.
Awards and agreements can also give you an extra day off or extra annual leave for working a public holiday, and can set a minimum shift length. Check yours, or use the Fair Work Ombudsman's Pay and Conditions Tool.
If you are on a salary, your employer may use it to cover penalty rates through an annualised wage or a contract that offsets award entitlements. The overall amount you are paid has to be at least what you would get under your award or agreement. Our guide to unpaid overtime for salaried employees covers how that works.
If you are award and agreement free, no law sets a public holiday penalty rate for you. Your pay for working one comes from your contract, and it must be at least your base pay rate.
Can you swap a public holiday for another day?
Yes, if you and your employer agree. Under both the Clerks and Banking awards, an employer and employee can agree to substitute another day, or part-day, for a public holiday. If you work both the public holiday and the substitute day, the public holiday rate is paid on one of them, and under both awards you choose which.
What if a public holiday falls during your leave?
If a public holiday falls during paid annual leave or sick leave, on a day you would normally work, you are paid for the public holiday and it isn't taken from your leave balance. Fair Work's example is an employee who takes 10 days of annual leave over Anzac Day, which falls on a Monday she normally works: only 9 days come off her balance.
If a public holiday falls during unpaid leave, such as unpaid parental leave or unpaid carer's leave, you aren't paid for it. Long service leave depends on your state or territory's long service leave law.
Over Christmas, check how the public holidays are counted if your workplace shuts down. Our guide to annual leave over a Christmas shutdown covers that, and our annual leave guide covers how leave builds up.
Which public holidays apply if you are working interstate?
You get the public holidays where your job is based, not where you happen to be working that day. In Fair Work's example, an employee based in Melbourne who is sent to Sydney in November still gets the Melbourne Cup public holiday.
What are the next public holidays?
These are the public holidays from mid October 2026 to 1 January 2027, from the Fair Work Ombudsman's list
| Date | Public holiday | Where |
|---|---|---|
| Thursday 22 October | Royal Hobart Show | Parts of Tasmania, including Hobart |
| Monday 2 November | Recreation Day | Parts of Tasmania that don't observe the Royal Hobart Regatta |
| Tuesday 3 November | Melbourne Cup | Victoria (some regional areas hold it on another date) |
| Thursday 24 December | Christmas Eve, part-day | Queensland from 6 pm, and the Northern Territory and South Australia from 7 pm, to midnight |
| Friday 25 December | Christmas Day | All states and territories |
| Saturday 26 December | Boxing Day (Proclamation Day holiday in South Australia) | All states and territories except Tasmania |
| Monday 28 December | Additional public holiday for Boxing Day (for Proclamation Day in South Australia) | All states and territories except Tasmania, where Monday 28 December is Boxing Day |
| Thursday 31 December | New Year's Eve, part-day | The Northern Territory and South Australia, from 7 pm to midnight |
| Friday 1 January | New Year's Day | All states and territories |
Do you get paid for public holidays?
Yes, if you are full-time or part-time and the public holiday falls on a day you normally work. You get your base pay rate for the ordinary hours you would have worked, without working them. Casuals aren't paid for a public holiday they don't work, and nobody is paid for a public holiday that falls on a day they don't normally work.
What is the pay rate on public holidays?
At least your base pay rate for every hour you work, under the National Employment Standards. Your award or enterprise agreement usually adds a penalty rate, and the Clerks and Banking awards both pay 250% of the minimum hourly rate for full-time and part-time employees and 275% for casuals. The Fair Work Ombudsman's Pay and Conditions Tool gives the rate for your award.
What are the public holiday rates in NSW?
The same rules apply in NSW as everywhere else, because base pay comes from the National Employment Standards and penalty rates come from your award or agreement, neither of which changes at a state border. What changes is which days are public holidays. From Fair Work's list, the next ones in NSW are Christmas Day on Friday 25 December, Boxing Day on Saturday 26 December, the additional public holiday on Monday 28 December and New Year's Day on Friday 1 January.
Is holiday pay the same as public holiday pay?
People often say holiday pay to mean what they are paid while on annual leave. Pay for a public holiday is separate, and if a public holiday falls during your annual leave you are paid for the holiday and it isn't taken from your leave balance. Our annual leave guide covers the first kind.
This is general information, not legal or financial advice. Awards and agreements differ, so check the one that covers you.
Sources
- Fair Work Ombudsman, Public holidays (upcoming public holidays by state and territory, the right to be absent, working outside your state, content last updated 15 October 2026, read 10 October and again 27 October 2026)
- Fair Work Ombudsman, Not working on public holidays (reasonable requests and refusals, base pay rate and what it leaves out, rosters, the overtime and part-time examples, public holidays during paid and unpaid leave, the Anzac Day example, content last updated 15 October 2026, read 10 October and again 27 October 2026)
- Fair Work Ombudsman, Public holiday penalty rates (at least the base pay rate for hours worked, what awards and agreements can add, content last updated 10 August 2026, read 10 October and again 27 October 2026)
- Fair Work Ombudsman, Penalty rates (annualised wages, contracts and other arrangements must pay at least the award amount, read 10 October 2026)
- Clerks Private Sector Award 2020 (clause 24.4 public holiday rate of 250% and the 4 hour minimum, clause 37.3 substitution, clause 11.1 casual loading, Schedule B Level 3 rates of $31.11, $77.78, $38.89 and $85.55 including the 275% casual public holiday rate, rates operative from 1 July 2026, consolidated to 26 October 2026, read 10 October and again 27 October 2026)
- Banking, Finance and Insurance Award 2020 (clause 27 substitution, the 250% public holiday rate and the 4 hour minimum, Schedule B Level 3 rates of $31.11 and $77.78 for full-time and part-time employees and $38.89 and $85.55 for casuals at 275%, consolidated to 1 July 2026, read 10 October and again 27 October 2026)
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