Australia Day – Australia

The next Australia Day is on Tuesday, January 26, 2027 – in 133 days.

Australia Day on January 26 marks the arrival of the First Fleet in 1788 and is celebrated with community events, citizenship ceremonies and fireworks. In Australia it's a public holiday, so schools, government offices and most businesses close.

When is it? Australia Day falls on the same date every year, January 26. The date itself never changes, but the day of the week does, and that decides whether you get a long weekend out of it. If it falls at the weekend you get a substitute day on the next free weekday, and the calendars here show that substitute day rather than the original. Next time round is Tuesday, January 26, 2027, 133 days from now.

Which weekday does it land on? Across the eleven years in the table, Australia Day lands twice on a Saturday, twice on a Friday, twice on a Wednesday and twice on a Monday. In four of those it sits next to a weekend, turning it into a three-day break. Those are the years to book early. You can open the printable calendar for any year in the table and see the date in context.

What to expect on the day. Banks, government offices and schools close. Supermarkets and larger shops usually open on reduced hours, smaller independents often don't bother, and public transport tends to run a Sunday timetable. Post isn't collected or delivered. If you need something from a council, a bank or a doctor's surgery, the working day before it is the one to aim for, and it will be busier than usual for exactly that reason. In 2027 it falls in January, which also holds New Year's Day on the 1st. Worth seeing them together before you commit to dates.

Putting it in your own calendar. You don't need to. Every calendar on this site already shows Australia Day for whichever country you've selected. What's worth adding is everything around it: the travel, the cover arrangements, who's visiting when. Open the month, click the days and type. Keep a free account and the notes stay with you between devices, and you can send someone a read-only link so you're both working from the same dates.

Every date here is worked out from the official rule rather than copied off a list, so the later years are as reliable as this one. If a date looks wrong for your region, please say so. Regional holiday rules do change, and we'd rather fix the rule than leave it.

Australia Day dates 2026–2036