Public and bank holidays in South Australia are prescribed by the Holidays Act 1910.

South Australia's public holidays

Download the 2020-2023 public holiday dates

Download the public holiday dates since 2007

Download iCalendar 2020-2024 public holiday dates

* Since 2006 the Adelaide Cup public holiday needs to be changed each year by Proclamation (by the SA Government) from the third Monday in May to the second Monday in March to coincide with the change in date of the horse race.

Note: The dates in this calendar are the days the public holiday is observed.

Note: School holiday dates are added for reference only and are not under SafeWork SA jurisdiction.

Bank holidays

• All public holidays are also a bank holiday and all authorised deposit-taking institutions will be closed on bank holidays.

Saturdays

• When 1 January, 26 January, 25 December & 26 December fall on a Saturday the public holiday transfers to the following Monday (or Tuesday in the case of 26 December) however the Saturday is still a bank holiday.

Sundays

• The Holidays Act 1910 (SA) prescribes every Sunday to be a public holiday.
• When New Year’s Day, Australia Day, Anzac Day and Christmas Day fall on a Sunday there is an additional public holiday on the following Monday.
• When 26 December falls on a Sunday the additional Boxing Day/Proclamation Day public holiday is observed on the following Tuesday (due to the Christmas Day public holiday occupying the Monday).
  • The Sunday is still deemed to be a public holiday in these instances by virtue of all Sundays being prescribed as a public holiday.
• For industrial purposes, the Sunday provisions contained in an Award or Enterprise Agreement will generally prevail over the public holiday provisions unless stated otherwise (eg some Awards and Agreements contain special provisions for when Christmas Day falls on a weekend).

Part-day public holidays

• A person who works between the hours of 7pm and 12 midnight on Christmas Eve and New Year’s Eve is entitled to the public holiday rates provided by the relevant Award or Enterprise Agreement. This is still the case when those days fall on a Saturday or a Sunday.
• As with other public holidays for workers covered by the national workplace relations system, the Public Holidays National Employment Standard applies during the times of a part-day public holiday.
• Individuals should check their award/agreement for further details on part-day public holidays.

Impact on shop trading hours

• The definition of public holiday under the Shop Trading Hours Act 1977 (SA) does not include a Sunday.
• There are however certain trading restrictions applicable to Easter Sunday and when 25 December, 26 December and 1 January fall on a Saturday or Sunday in any year. Refer to Holiday trading arrangements for more details.
• The Christmas Eve and New Year’s Eve part-day public holidays do not affect prescribed trading hours relevant to the day they fall in a given year.

Extended shop trading hours over public holidays

The Government may announce exemptions to shop trading hours in the lead up to Christmas and over the Christmas/New Year period. An important condition of the exemptions is that all employees working during these extended hours will do so on a strictly voluntary basis (that is, the worker must choose to do so).

Any worker who feels they are being made to work during hours to which exemptions apply can contact SafeWork SA on 1300 365 255 for assistance and advice.

Enquiries relating to rates of pay and entitlements for working on public holidays should be directed to the Fair Work Ombudsman.

Industrial relations

The Fair Work Ombudsman has industrial jurisdiction for the South Australian private sector workforce. Enquiries relating to rates of pay and entitlements for working on public holidays should be directed to the Fair Work Ombudsman.