- Feedback invited on the potential opportunities and impacts of updating State's public holiday schedule
- Potential reforms are being considered to better align public holidays with the rest of the nation, support economic activity and productivity, and help the community celebrate WA's spirit, diverse culture and achievements
- Consultation Paper released with feedback open until 8 August 2025
The Western Australian Government is inviting feedback from the community, businesses and peak bodies on the potential changes to WA's public holiday schedule.
The four-week public consultation, which opens today, is part of a review of WA's public holiday schedule which aims to maintain a good spread of breaks throughout the year and better align WA with other states and territories to reduce scheduling conflicts for businesses, organisations and government agencies working with the eastern states.
WA currently has the lowest number of public holidays in the nation with 11, fewer than Victoria, Northern Territory and the Australian Capital Territory which each have 13, while Tasmania, Queensland and South Australia have 12 full days and additional worker entitlements.
WA is currently the only mainland state not to recognise Easter Saturday as a public holiday, meaning WA workers do not receive the higher rate of pay if working on the Saturday.
The existing State public holidays that are under consideration for change are Labour Day (currently in March), WA Day (currently in June) and the King's Birthday (currently in September). The King's Birthday is held in June in most eastern states, with Labour Day observed on other days across the nation.
National holidays, such as Anzac Day, Australia Day, Christmas and Boxing Day, are not in scope of this process.
There are three changes the WA Government is seeking feedback on:
- moving existing public holidays to align with other jurisdictions;
- moving WA Day to avoid the winter season; and
- the addition of a new public holiday(s).
A Consultation Paper has been released to assist in the consultation process, with feedback on the reforms open until 8 August 2025.
The State Government will also write to stakeholders to invite direct feedback, and the Premier's Parliamentary Secretary Daniel Pastorelli will meet directly with key stakeholders to further discuss the potential changes.
Any changes to public holidays are proposed to come into effect in 2027 or 2028.
To learn more and to provide feedback, visit the Public Holiday Review web page .
As stated by Premier Roger Cook:
"Western Australia is the engine room of the national economy, and I want to keep it that way.
"This is why we are considering aligning WA public holidays with other states and territories to boost productivity and make life easier for WA businesses.
"It's also important that WA workers receive similar benefits to what workers receive in other states, because that's the right thing to do.
"There is a lot to celebrate about WA, including our spirit, diverse culture and achievements, so we are keen to hear from the community about any new opportunities to do this.
"We recognise that any decision to reform the State's public holiday schedule needs to include consideration of the impact of the change, be that to the private and public sectors or the WA community.
"That's why we're inviting feedback from people across WA, and I encourage everyone to have their say."
