NSW to get extra Anzac Day public holiday for 2026 and 2027; Why did the state government make the move? All you need to know about the new change and the significance of the day

Chris Minns, New South Wales (NSW) Premier, has announced that the state will get an extra Monday public holiday for Anzac Day in 2026 and 2027. He has called the decision “important”. The decision from the NSW government comes as Anzac Day falls on a Saturday (April 25) in 2026 and on a Sunday in 2027. The additional public holiday for 2026 will be on the following Monday, April 27, 2026.

The decision has not gone down well with the hospitality sector, which has previously voiced its concerns about covering wage bills and penalty rates on another public holiday, according to News.com.au. The retail sector is also worried about losing a day of trade.

Remembrance services are held nationwide on April 25, 2026, but previously, only people in WA and ACT had been granted an additional public holiday on April 27, 2026, as reported by SBS Australia.


In an announcement, the ACT said that it would transfer the public holiday to Monday and that all commemorative activities would take place on the Saturday as usual, according to the online news portal. In Western Australia, the government has designated both Saturday and Monday as public holidays.

Prior to the latest decision, there were no additional public holidays declared in NSW when Anzac Day fell on a weekend. This is a case unlike New Year's Day, Christmas Day and Boxing Day. Other states already had this rule in place, and now the southeastern Australian state does too.

NSW now has 12 public holidays

The decision gives NSW 12 public holidays this year. The NT and South Australia have 15, the ACT, Queensland and Victoria have 14, WA has 13 and Tasmania now lags with 11. The state government will also begin a review of the public holiday regime next year.

What is ANZAC Day?

Anzac Day falls on the 25th of April each year. ANZAC stands for Australian and New Zealand Army Corps. April 25 was officially named Anzac Day in 1916.

On the 25th of April 1915, Australian and New Zealand soldiers formed part of the allied expedition that set out to capture the Gallipoli peninsula, according to the Australian Army website. These became known as Anzacs, and the pride they took in that name continues to this day. The Anzacs landed on Gallipoli and met fierce resistance from the Ottoman Turkish defenders.

At the end of 1915, the Allied forces were evacuated. Both sides suffered heavy casualties and endured great hardships. Over 8,000 Australian soldiers were killed.

The meaning of Anzac Day today includes the remembrance of all Australians killed in military operations. Commemorative services are held at war memorials at dawn, the time of the original landing in Gallipoli. Later in the day, current and former servicemen and women meet to take part in marches.