Public holidays attract the highest penalty rates in Australian employment, commonly 225 to 250% of the ordinary rate, and working holiday makers are entitled to them on the same terms as anyone else.
Which public holidays apply everywhere?
Seven are observed nationally, the rest state by state: New Year's Day on 1 January, Australia Day on 26 January, Good Friday and Easter Monday on dates that move each year, Anzac Day on 25 April, Christmas Day on 25 December and Boxing Day on 26 December.
The King's Birthday is national in name but not in date. Most states observe it on the second Monday in June; Queensland and Western Australia observe it at other times.
What does each state add?
Enough that a backpacker working across three states in a year will meet holidays they have never heard of, each paying penalty rates.
- Victoria: Melbourne Cup Day on the first Tuesday in November, and the Friday before the AFL Grand Final
- New South Wales: the August Bank Holiday, which applies to banks rather than generally
- Queensland: the Royal Queensland Show, observed in the Brisbane area
- South Australia: Adelaide Cup Day and Proclamation Day
- Western Australia: WA Day on the first Monday in June
- Tasmania: Royal Hobart Show Day and Eight Hours Day
Labour Day also falls on different dates in different states. Check the calendar for where you are working, not where you were last month.
What are you paid for working one?
Between 225 and 250% of the ordinary rate in most awards, double time and a quarter to double time and a half, applying to every hour worked on the day rather than to hours beyond a threshold. For a casual, the loading and the holiday penalty interact according to the award rather than simply adding.
On a $25 ordinary rate, 225% is $56.25 an hour and 250% is $62.50. Across a full shift that gap beats any other roster decision a casual makes, which is why volunteering for the shifts locals avoid lifts a month's earnings.
What if you do not work the holiday?
For permanent full time and part time employees, a public holiday falling on a day you would normally work is paid at your base rate as a day off. No penalty applies because no work was done, but the day is not unpaid.
Casuals get nothing for a public holiday they do not work. That is part of what the 25% loading compensates for, and a casual who does work the day should see a clearly higher rate on the payslip.
Can your employer make you work it?
An employer can request it, and you can refuse if the request is unreasonable. Reasonableness takes account of the nature of the business, the notice you were given, your personal circumstances and whether the role ordinarily involves holiday work.
Refusing an unreasonable request is not lawful grounds for termination. A casual declining a public holiday shift rarely creates a problem; a permanent employee in hospitality refusing Christmas Day is a harder argument, because holiday trade is intrinsic to the industry.
Does overtime stack on top?
Generally not. The public holiday rate is already at the top of the penalty structure and usually absorbs overtime rather than compounding with it, so a long shift on a holiday is paid at the holiday rate throughout.
Some awards handle this differently, and a few provide additional treatment beyond a certain number of hours. It is worth reading the actual award clause.
What should the payslip show?
The public holiday hours separated out at their own rate, not folded into the week's total at a flat figure. That separation is what makes the penalty verifiable, and its absence is the clearest sign it was not paid.
Substituted days count too. Where a holiday falls on a weekend and is observed on the following Monday, the penalty attaches to the substituted day. Our guide to an employer not paying correctly covers what to do when the numbers do not match the roster.
Were you rostered on the days that pay?
Which holidays you get and what they pay are decided by your job rather than by a national rule.
- Which state you are working in, since more than half the calendar is state specific.
- Which award or enterprise agreement covers the venue, because 225% and 250% are both common.
- Whether you are casual or permanent, which decides both the unworked day and how the loading interacts.
- Whether the day was substituted from a weekend, since the penalty follows the observed day.
- Whether the payslip separates holiday hours at their own rate or shows a flat figure.
- Whether you are engaged under an ABN, in which case no award applies and none of this is owed to you.
Holiday earnings are taxed like the rest of your wages at the working holiday rate, and you can estimate your tax refund from your year to date figures.