Public Holiday Pay (AU)
Updated November 2026 · Free · No sign-up
Calculate Australian public holiday pay — the NES right to be absent on your base pay when the holiday falls on a working day, award penalty rates of 225-250% for working it, and reasonable-refusal rights.
Quick answer: The NES: a public holiday on your normal working day = paid absence at base rate (permanents). Working it: award penalties — commonly 225% (permanent) / 250% (casual, loading folded in). You may REFUSE unreasonable requests to work — refusal rights are the Australian distinctive.
The Two Rights
| Scenario | Entitlement |
|---|---|
| Holiday on your working day, absent | Base-rate pay for the ordinary hours (permanents; casuals get nothing unless working) |
| Working it | Award penalty — typically 225% permanent / 250% casual (or substitution/additional-leave options in some awards) |
| Asked to work | The request must be REASONABLE (notice, role, personal circumstances, pay) — and you may reasonably refuse; CFMMEU v OS MCAP made employers ASK, not roster by default |
| Holiday during annual leave | Doesn’t burn a leave day |
Worked Examples
Example 1 — absent permanent. $27 × 7.6 ordinary hours = $205.20 for staying home.
Example 2 — working permanent. 7.6 hrs × $60.75 (225%) = $461.70 — $256 more than absence; the differential is the incentive to volunteer.
Example 3 — casual. Not rostered: $0 (no absence right). Rostered 8 hrs at 250%: $540 — holiday shifts are casual gold.
Which Days
National: New Year’s, Australia Day, Good Friday, Easter Monday, ANZAC, Christmas, Boxing Day + state days (Labour Day varies, Melbourne Cup in VIC, picnic days NT...) — 10-13 by state, with substitution when they fall on weekends (state-gazetted). Part-day holidays (Christmas/NYE evenings in SA) exist too.
Compliance Notes
Salaried staff: holidays are inside the salary, but annualized arrangements must still reconcile penalty-rate value for holiday WORK; "all-inclusive" salaries that underpay holiday workers fail the award’s better-off test. Rosters deliberately avoiding holiday-day patterns for permanents attract general-protections scrutiny. Rates: your award governs — the penalty-rates page and the FWO’s P.A.C.T. have the grids.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do I get paid for a public holiday I don’t work?
Permanents whose ordinary hours fall on the day: yes, base-rate pay for those hours under the NES; casuals: no payment unless they work.
What does working a public holiday pay?
Award penalties — commonly 225% for permanents and 250% for casuals (loading folded in); some awards offer substitute days or extra leave instead.
Can I refuse to work a public holiday?
Yes, if the refusal is reasonable (and the request must be reasonable first) — notice, your circumstances, role needs, and compensation all weigh; default rostering without asking breaches the Act.
What if the holiday falls during my annual leave?
It doesn’t deduct from your leave balance — the day counts as the public holiday.
How many public holidays are there?
10-13 depending on state/territory — 7 national plus state days, with weekend substitutions gazetted locally.
✓ Formula verified • Last updated: November 3, 2026