Only the ACT and WA will observe a public holiday on the Monday following Anzac Day in 2026. Photo: AWM.
The ACT will be an outlier next year after declaring an “extra” Anzac Day holiday to compensate for the fact that ‘the one day of the year’ falls on a Saturday in 2026.
The Canberra Business Chamber had urged the ACT Government to stay in line with all the other states (except WA), arguing the decision would increase business costs and hurt productivity.
But the government went ahead and declared Monday, 27 April, an official holiday, transferring pay loadings from Saturday.
Chamber Chief Executive Greg Harford said the decision was disappointing, particularly given the economic environment businesses were struggling with.
Mr Harford said business was under real and sustained pressure with the cost of doing business escalating, particularly in hospitality.
“There’s new portable long service leave requirements which effectively are going to slug hospitality businesses with another tax on top of their payroll every week, coming in from 1 July,” he said.
Mr Harford said people working on the Saturday would get the standard weekend penalty rates and public holiday rates on the Monday if they are on.
He said the public holiday would be a cost to businesses that close with no revenue coming in, or if they opened, they would face reduced custom and incur public holiday rates for their staff.
“It’s a productivity cost for business, it’s an actual cost for business,” Mr Harford said.
“And it seems odd given that Anzac Day is in fact the 25th of April.”
Mr Harford expected businesses to observe the Anzac Day protocol and close in the morning and open after lunch.
He expected retail and some hospitality probably to open on the Monday, but many service industries would probably close.
The big beneficiaries would be businesses across the border that would be open.
“What I have heard actually is some positive news from businesses across the border because they’re quite excited about the fact that ACT residents will be likely out and about in NSW on the Monday, spending at restaurants and bars and cafes, while things are closed in Canberra,” Mr Harford said.
He said at least the government had given businesses notice so they could plan.
The ACT Government said Anzac Day remained a National Day of Significance on 25 April and all commemorative activities would occur on the Saturday.
The change brought Anzac Day into alignment with the way public holidays were observed in relation to other national days of significance, including Christmas and New Year’s Day.
“Moving the observance of the public holiday to the Monday is an administrative change that doesn’t change the meaning of Anzac Day and moves it in line with other days of national significance,” Industrial Relations and Workplace Safety Minister Michael Pettersson said.
