By Zaynab Aly

We all look forward to public holidays for a variety of different reasons, but they can creep up on us when we’re at our busiest. With the festive season just around the corner, it can be hard to keep track of what the different public holidays are in each State, and if you’re a retailer, what trade restrictions will apply.

In this article, I’ve put together a quick-reference guide to help you navigate this busy period. Below is a table of the public holidays in each jurisdiction.

Public holiday States recognised
Friday 24 Dec QLD (6 pm-midnight)

SA & NT (7 pm-midnight)

Saturday 25 Dec NSW, VIC, QLD, WA, NT, TAS & ACT
Sunday 26 Dec NSW, VIC, QLD, WA, SA & ACT
Monday 27 Dec Additional Day (25 Dec) NSW, VIC, QLD, WA, NT, TAS & ACT

Substitute Day (25 Dec) SA

Tuesday 28 Dec Additional Day (26 Dec) NSW, VIC, QLD, WA, SA & ACT

Substitute Day (26 Dec) NT

Friday 31 Dec SA & NT (7 pm-midnight)
Saturday 1 Jan NSW, VIC, QLD, WA, NT & ACT
Monday 3 Jan Additional Day (1 Jan) NSW, VIC, QLD, WA, NT, ACT

Substitute Day (1 Jan) SA & TAS

Trade restrictions

If you’re in the retail industry, you may be subject to restricted trading over the Christmas period. Here’s a quick overview of these rules:

  Trading Restrictions
NSW Non-exempt shops must remain closed on Christmas Day.

All shops are permitted to trade on Boxing Day if employees freely elect to work.

VIC Non-exempt shops must remain closed on Christmas Day.
QLD Non-exempt shops and independent retail shops must remain closed after 6 pm on Christmas Eve and all-day Christmas Day.

Additionally, there are extended trading hours for non-exempt shops from 28 November 2021 to 24 December 2021.

WA General retail shops in the Perth metropolitan area must remain closed on Christmas Day.

General retail shops outside of the Perth metropolitan area must remain closed on all Sundays and public holidays (subject to specific LGA exemptions).

SA Non-exempt shops must remain closed on Christmas Day.

Additionally, there are extended trading hours for non-exempt shops from 26 November 2021 if employees freely elect to work.

NT No trading hours restrictions.
TAS Large shops (those which employ 250 employees or more including franchise groups) must remain closed on Christmas Day.
ACT No trading hours restrictions.

Generally, other than in the ACT and NT, most large shops are restricted from trading on Christmas Day unless they have a valid exemption.We appreciate that trading restrictions can be difficult to get your head around, and the definition of ‘exempt’ shops differs between jurisdictions, so we encourage you to reach out to us if you would like to discuss your circumstances. The above table is intended as guidance only and doesn’t include each trading restriction that may be relevant to your store.

How to pay your employees

With all the different public holidays in each State, it gets confusing to keep up with how you need to pay your employees. The first thing to remember is that under s114 of the Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth), the default position is that employees are entitled to be absent on public holidays. An employer can request an employee to work on a public holiday, but only where that request is reasonable, and the employee’s refusal (if any) isn’t reasonable.

If an employee does perform work on a public holiday, most modern awards and enterprise agreements impose penalty rates. This will usually apply to all additional or substitute public holidays as well. If an employee is award or agreement-free or paid by way of a salary that incorporates public holiday rates into its value, you may not be required to pay any additional remuneration for work on a public holiday. However, you should check any contract of employment or other terms and conditions of employment to identify if any additional entitlements are owed, such as a day in lieu.

Permanent employees who aren’t required to work on a public holiday but would otherwise have ordinary hours on that day are entitled to be paid at their base rate.

For example, if an employee in South Australia works Saturday 25 December 2021 to Tuesday 28 December 2021 over Christmas, they would receive penalty rates for working on Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday, and be paid at their ordinary rate (plus Saturday penalties) for the Saturday.

If you have any questions about public holidays or other information mentioned in this article, please reach out to our 24/7 Telephone Advisory Service.

Not an HR Assured client and need advice surrounding public holidays? Contact us today for a confidential, no-obligation phone call.

Please note that this article is for National System Employers only (the majority of employers in Australia, excluding certain government employers, and non-constitutional corporations in WA).

Zaynab Aly is a Workplace Relations Consultant at HR Assured. She has a particular interest in the retail industry and regularly provides advice on workplace matters to find solutions for clients.