New year, new adventures! It’s time to start daydreaming about your future holidays next year, whether it’s a long-awaited trip overseas, a quick escape around the state, or simply a relaxing break at home. And thankfully, there’s a list of official public holidays in Melbourne and Victoria in 2026, so you can start planning. Take advantage of a long weekend to spread your leave further, or keep these dates in mind so you’ll know which busy holiday periods to avoid. Let’s take a look!
Public holidays in Melbourne and Victoria for 2026
Unlike other states around Australia, Victoria has a few extra public holidays for us to enjoy, like the Friday before the AFL Grand Final, and Melbourne Cup Day. This gives us a little more time off to play with.
- New Year’s Day – Thursday January 1
- Australia Day – Monday January 26
- Labour Day – Monday March 9
- Good Friday – Friday April 3
- Saturday before Easter Sunday – Saturday April 4
- Easter Sunday – Sunday April 5
- Easter Monday – Monday April 6
- ANZAC Day – Saturday April 25
- King’s Birthday – Monday June 8
- Friday before AFL Grand Final – Subject to AFL schedule, usually the last Friday in September
- Melbourne Cup – Tuesday November 3
- Christmas Day – Friday December 25
- Boxing Day – Saturday December 26 and Monday December 28
As Boxing Day will take place on the Saturday, we get a holiday on the following Monday to make up for it. However, as ANZAC Day is recognised on the day it falls, we don’t get a replacement holiday if it takes place on the weekend. Learn more about it here.
The six long weekends are courtesy of Australia Day, Labour Day, Good Friday and Easter Monday, King’s Birthday, the AFL Grand Final and Christmas Day and Boxing Day.
You could book time off for yourself on a few other dates, like Friday January 2 or the Monday before the Melbourne Cup to score some even more long weekends.
For another sense of when things might be busy, here are the dates for the Victorian school holidays:
- Saturday December 20, 2025 to Wednesday January 28, 2026
- Friday April 3 to Sunday April 19
- Saturday June 27 to Sunday July 12
- Saturday September 19 to Sunday October 4
- Saturday December 19 to Tuesday January 26, 2027 (or Wednesday January 27 for government schools)
Need some inspiration? Explore coastal towns, pretty towns, natural wonders, national parks and more!
