How to maximise your annual leave in 2026 and get more days off
Boost your annual leave days for the coming year and get the most out of your time off.
Here’s how to strategically use 19 days of annual leave, in combination with weekends and public holidays, to get a very solid 47 days’ worth!
Why it’s important to take annual leave
Most full-time workers in Australia are entitled to four weeks of paid annual leave a year. When used wisely, this time off can reap huge rewards for you both personally and professionally. In fact, 80% of people feel that taking a holiday helps them feel more energised for work and aids productivity.
Get the most out of your annual leave by joining it with public holidays
While some public holidays may differ between Australian states, the major holidays (Australia Day, Easter, ANZAC Day and Christmas & New Years) all offer an opportunity to boost your days off.
Christmas and New Year 2025-26
If you have a little extra leave leftover for the year or need to use up some leave before the end of 2025, you can look forward to a 13-day break by taking just six days off.
- Saturday 20 December: Weekend
- Sunday 21 December: Weekend
- Monday 22 December: Annual Leave (Take day off)
- Tuesday 23 December: Annual Leave (Take day off)
- Wednesday 24 December: Annual Leave (Take day off)
- Thursday 25 December: Christmas Day public holiday
- Friday 26 December: Boxing Day public holiday
- Saturday 27 December: Weekend
- Sunday 28 December: Weekend
- Monday 29 December: Annual Leave (Take day off)
- Tuesday 30 December: Annual Leave (Take day off)
- Wednesday 31 December: Annual Leave (Take day off)
- Thursday 1 January: Public Holiday
Australia Day 2026
You can get a four-day break by taking a day off on January 23.
- Friday 23 January: Annual Leave (Take day off)
- Saturday 24 January: Weekend
- Sunday 25 January: Weekend
- Monday 26 January: Australia Day public holiday
Easter 2026
You can get a ten-day break (April 3 - April 12) by taking off four days in April.
- Friday 3 April: Good Friday public holiday
- Saturday 4 April: Weekend
- Sunday 5 April: Easter Sunday (weekend)
- Monday 6 April: Easter Monday public holiday
- Tuesday 7 April: Annual Leave (Take day off)
- Wednesday 8 April: Annual Leave (Take day off)
- Thursday 9 April: Annual Leave (Take day off)
- Friday 10 April: Annual Leave (Take day off)
- Saturday 11 April: Weekend
- Sunday 12 April: Weekend
King’s Birthday 2026 (Public holiday held on different dates in QLD & WA)
You can get a four-day break by taking one day off.
- Friday 5 June: Annual Leave (Take day off)
- Saturday 6 June: Weekend
- Sunday 7 June: Weekend
- Monday 8 June: King’s Birthday public holiday
Christmas and New Year 2026-27
If you want to get really organised for 2026, you can look forward to a 16-day break over the silly season by taking just seven days off.
- Saturday 19 December: Weekend
- Sunday 20 December: Weekend
- Monday 21 December: Annual Leave (Take day off)
- Tuesday 22 December: Annual Leave (Take day off)
- Wednesday 23 December: Annual Leave (Take day off)
- Thursday 24 December: Annual Leave (Take day off)
- Friday 25 December: Christmas Day public holiday
- Saturday 26 December: Boxing Day (Weekend)
- Sunday 27 December: Weekend
- Monday 28 December: Additional public holiday for Boxing Day
- Tuesday 29 December: Annual Leave (Take day off)
- Wednesday 30 December: Annual Leave (Take day off)
- Thursday 31 December: Annual Leave (Take day off)
- Friday 1 January: Public holiday
- Saturday 2 January: Weekend
- Sunday 3 January: Weekend
This still leaves three days of annual leave to use as you wish. You could use them together or spread them out over a few weekends to get a few bigger breaks during the year. If you’re in Victoria, for example, the Melbourne Cup on Tuesday 3 November could be a prime time to take a Monday for an extra-long weekend. Check out Fair Work Ombudsman to find out more.
Annual leave allows you to take a proper break from work and return feeling refreshed. It can also give you time and space to think about new directions for your career or new ways of doing things.
By looking at all the public holidays coming up in the next year, you can build an annual leave plan that maximises the chance to recharge your batteries.
Source: Independent research conducted by Nature of behalf of SEEK, interviewing 12,000 Australians annually. Published November 2025.
