NSW public holidays 2027: the 14 days a Sydney venue pays public holiday rates, and the two four-day runs to roster for now

NSW has 14 public holidays in 2027, one more than this year, and ten of them sit in three runs: four days at Easter (Friday 26 to Monday 29 March), two at Anzac Day (Sunday 25 and Monday 26 April) and four at Christmas (Saturday 25 to Tuesday 28 December). On each of them a Level 2 casual on the Hospitality Award costs $67.70 an hour, double the $33.85 of an ordinary weekday shift.

The pages that rank for this search list the dates. This one prices them against what the same shift would cost anyway, because a Sunday that becomes a public holiday adds less than a Tuesday that does, and that gap is the number the roster turns on.

Quick answer: NSW's 14 public holidays in 2027 are Fri 1 Jan, Tue 26 Jan, Fri 26 to Mon 29 Mar, Sun 25 and Mon 26 Apr, Mon 14 Jun, Mon 4 Oct and Sat 25 to Tue 28 Dec. The Bank Holiday on Mon 2 Aug is not one of them. Under the Hospitality Award a casual is paid 250% of the minimum rate on all 14 and a full-time or part-time employee 225%. General information, not legal or financial advice: check the NSW Government list and the award or agreement that covers your staff.

Why there are 14, and why both halves of each weekend count

Christmas Day and Boxing Day both land on the weekend, so the Public Holidays Act 2010 adds a public holiday on the following Monday and Tuesday, and the Saturday and Sunday stay public holidays as well. It isn't a substitution: all four days pay holiday rates, which is why the Fair Work Ombudsman's 2027 list shows the Christmas block as four lines for NSW.

The other extra is Anzac Day. It falls on a Sunday, and NSW had no additional day for a weekend Anzac Day until 15 February 2026, when the Premier announced one for the Monday after it in 2026 and 2027, with a review from 2027 on whether it becomes permanent. The Monday pays holiday rates but isn't a restricted trading day; Anzac Day itself is, though restaurants, cafes, take-away shops and hotel or small bar licensees are exempt from the Retail Trading Act anyway.

The 2027 cost calendar for a Level 2 casual

Level 2 is where most bar and floor staff sit (our guide to the award levels has the rest). The rates are the Hospitality Award's from 1 July 2026 with the casual loading built in: $33.85 on a weekday between 7am and 7pm, $40.62 on a Saturday, $47.39 on a Sunday and $67.70 on a public holiday. Only the highest penalty applies, so the holiday rate replaces the weekend rate rather than stacking on it.

One Level 2 casual working eight hours on all 14 days costs $3,357.92 more than the same 14 shifts on ordinary days, before super.

The weekend holidays are the cheaper ones: Easter Sunday, Anzac Day and Boxing Day add $162.48 to an eight-hour shift because you'd be paying the Sunday rate anyway, while a Tuesday Australia Day adds $270.80. Five of the 14 fall after 1 July 2027, when the Fair Work Commission's annual wage review usually takes effect, so the Labour Day and Christmas rows are at 2026-27 rates and will rise before you pay them (last year's increase shows how far one review can move a roster). Super at 12% sits on top of all of it.

Easter: Friday 26 to Monday 29 March

The Friday and Monday are the expensive days: a Level 2 casual's eight hours cost $541.60 instead of $270.80 on each. Easter Saturday and Easter Sunday are public holidays in NSW too, which not every state declares (Tasmania has neither, Western Australia only the Sunday), so the weekend is dearer than a normal one, but by less.

Take a five-person floor and bar team doing 40 paid hours a day. Over the four days that's 160 hours at $67.70, or $10,832 in wages, against $6,228.40 for the same roster on an ordinary Friday to Monday: $4,603.60 more before super, about $5,156 with it. The catch is Good Friday. A standard hotel licence serves liquor from noon to 10pm with no takeaway that day, and the same window applies on Christmas Day, with liquor served only with a meal in a dining area. A cafe or restaurant can open all day; check your own licence conditions before you build the Friday.

Christmas: Saturday 25 to Tuesday 28 December, at rates that don't exist yet

This year's Christmas block is Friday, Saturday and Monday. In 2027 it's all four days from Saturday to Tuesday, because Christmas Day and Boxing Day both land on the weekend and each gets an additional day, and the extra Monday and Tuesday are weekday holidays, the costly kind. At today's rates the run adds $4,603.60 on the same 40-hour-a-day roster, the same as Easter, since both hold one Saturday, one Sunday and two weekday-type days (our December staffing plan costs the 2026 version). Budget it on today's rates and leave a margin for the July review; neither the extra Monday nor the Tuesday is a restricted trading day.

What to lock in now

1. Decide the open days first, licence in hand. Good Friday and Christmas Day carry liquor hours; the extra Mondays and the Tuesday don't. A closed day costs nothing in casual wages, but a permanent employee who'd normally work it is still paid base for those hours under the National Employment Standards.
2. Ask early, in writing. Staff should be given the choice to work a public holiday, your request has to be reasonable, and the notice you gave is part of what makes it so. Collect Easter availability by the end of February and Christmas availability by the end of October, and keep the replies.
3. Roster permanents onto the holidays they'd normally work. A part-timer who's off on a holiday they'd usually work is paid base for it anyway, so putting them on the floor costs 125% of base on top: $33.85 an hour at Level 2, what a casual costs on an ordinary Tuesday. Our guide to who gets paid what has the full-timer rules.
4. Mind the minimums. A casual who works a public holiday is paid for at least two hours and a permanent for at least four, so a 90-minute top-up on Easter Monday is paid as two or four hours at the holiday rate.
5. Check your roster's calendar has 14 days and no Bank Holiday. A calendar copied forward from 2026 has the wrong Easter and Christmas dates and only 13 entries, a list built for another state can differ on the Easter weekend, and Monday 2 August is a holiday for banks and certain financial institutions, not a public holiday, so it pays no penalty.

Where Shiftly fits

Fourteen dates is a calendar problem before it's a cost problem, and most public holiday overpayments and underpayments start with a wrong date. Shiftly is free workforce management for Australian venues: rostering plus award-aware timesheets that help you estimate what a public holiday shift should cost before you approve it, with holidays worked out from each location's state. It's a calculation tool, not a payroll provider, and the business stays responsible for verifying each rate against the Fair Work pay guide.

The reason to have it running before Easter is the part that fills the gaps: Shiftly is the roster that fills itself. When a casual drops Easter Monday on the Thursday night, Shiftly On-Demand will let you post that shift to local hospitality workers, engaged directly by your venue as independent contractors, who see the venue, hours and pay before they accept, with Shiftly facilitating the match rather than acting as employer or agency. It's coming soon, starting in Sydney, with the waitlist open now. Get started with Shiftly.

Frequently asked questions

How many public holidays does NSW have in 2027?

Fourteen on the NSW Government list: New Year's Day (Fri 1 Jan), Australia Day (Tue 26 Jan), Good Friday to Easter Monday (26 to 29 Mar), Anzac Day (Sun 25 Apr) and its additional day (Mon 26 Apr), King's Birthday (Mon 14 Jun), Labour Day (Mon 4 Oct), Christmas Day (Sat 25 Dec), Boxing Day (Sun 26 Dec) and additional days on Mon 27 and Tue 28 Dec. The same list has 13 for 2026; the Bank Holiday on Mon 2 Aug is not a declared public holiday.

Is Monday 26 April 2027 a public holiday in NSW?

Yes. Anzac Day falls on a Sunday, and NSW has added a public holiday on the following Monday in 2026 and 2027, with a review from 2027 on whether it stays. Both days pay public holiday rates under the Hospitality Award: 250% of the minimum rate for casuals, 225% for full-time and part-time staff. Anzac Day is a restricted trading day for retail shops; the Monday isn't.

Is Australia Day 2027 a public holiday?

Yes. Australia Day falls on Tuesday 26 January 2027 and is a public holiday on that day; the Public Holidays Act only moves it to a Monday when 26 January lands on a weekend, so there's no long weekend. For a venue it's a weekday holiday, the expensive kind: $67.70 an hour for a Level 2 casual against $33.85 on an ordinary Tuesday.

What are the Easter 2027 public holidays in NSW?

Good Friday 26 March, Easter Saturday 27 March, Easter Sunday 28 March and Easter Monday 29 March 2027, all four at public holiday rates. Good Friday and Easter Sunday are restricted trading days for retail shops, though restaurants, cafes, take-away shops and hotel or small bar licensees are exempt, and a standard hotel licence serves liquor from noon to 10pm on Good Friday with no takeaway.