In a country that takes downtime as seriously as it takes deadlines, Australians have long treated annual leave as a national sport. And in 2026, the fixture list is shaping up beautifully. Corporate Traveller, the small-to-medium business arm of Flight Centre Travel Group, has crunched the numbers and discovered that, with a bit of foresight, workers can parlay their standard 20 days of annual leave into what amounts to a sabbatical.
For West Australians, the haul is almost comical: 31 leave days can add up to a staggering 71 days away from the office, a result that would make even the most hardened HR manager raise an eyebrow.
Corporate Traveller has mapped every national and state public holiday for 2026, identifying clusters that allow employees to take lengthy breaks without leaving businesses scrambling. The message is simple: time your leave with precision, and the year will stretch generously in your favour.
Tom Walley, the company’s Global Managing Director, says the 2026 calendar is unusually accommodating.
“Public holidays in 2026 are well spaced for extended getaways,” he says. “By locking in leave requests now, employees can secure the best fares and accommodation, and employers can plan resourcing well in advance. Everybody wins.”
He adds another point that will ring true with frequent flyers and remote-working wanderers alike:
“Given Australia is the global leader in bleisure travel, the placement of public holidays in 2026 can also help businesses to encourage this practice, enabling Australians to tack leisure breaks onto their work trips, and ultimately plan for international trips more effectively.”
Those sentiments sit neatly with the way Australians increasingly blend laptop time with beach time, a cultural phenomenon that predates the term “bleisure” by several decades.
Where the wins appear
Corporate Traveller’s analysis reveals five major windows that form the backbone of the year’s leave-maximising opportunities:
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Christmas–New Year
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Australia Day
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Easter
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The King’s Birthday long weekend
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Labour Day (or its state-equivalent holiday)
Together, these holiday clusters give every full-time Australian the ability to turn 20 annual leave days into up to 53 consecutive days off nationwide, and substantially more in states with extra holidays.
Below is the calendar decoded as a 2026 playbook for squeezing every last drop of value from next year’s public holidays.
Christmas-New Year: 16 days off for 7 days’ leave
The festive season is once again the crown jewel. With public holidays falling on 25 December, 26 December and 1 January, employees who book seven leave days from 22–24 December, 29–31 December and 2 January can enjoy a 16-day summer stretch from 20 December 2025 to 4 January 2026.
Corporate Traveller’s booking data also suggests a hint for the crowd-averse: flying on Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, or New Year’s Day can help travellers dodge the usual airport crush.
Australia Day: A 9-day break for 4 days of leave
With the Monday holiday on 26 January, workers who take leave from 27–30 January will enjoy nine uninterrupted days from 24 January to 1 February. For many, it is the perfect mid-summer circuit breaker.
Easter: 10 days off for just 4 days’ leave
Good Friday falls on 3 April, and Easter Monday on 6 April. Taking four leave days across 7–10 April unlocks a 10-day window from 3–12 April. For Tasmanian public service employees, Easter Tuesday is an additional public holiday, reducing their leave requirement to a mere three days.
It is one of the year’s easiest wins and a perennial favourite for families, tour operators and anyone in need of a proper reset before winter sets in.
Mid-year long weekends: Easy wins all round
Most states mark the King’s Birthday on 8 June, except Queensland (5 October) and Western Australia (28 September). With four leave days wrapped around any of those Mondays, travellers can fashion nine days off without denting their annual leave balance dramatically.
Labour Day holidays around the country, 2 March in WA, 9 March in Victoria and Tasmania, 4 May in Queensland and the Northern Territory, and 5 October in NSW, ACT and South Australia — offer similarly tempting opportunities to replicate the hack.
The states: where the real advantage lies
While the national clusters form the backbone of the strategy, each state’s public holiday quirks stack additional opportunities on top of the base model.
Below is Corporate Traveller’s state-by-state breakdown.
New South Wales – 53 days off for 23 days’ leave
The nation’s largest workforce doesn’t receive additional state holidays, but the core clusters still convert 23 leave days into 53 days off, which remains an enviable tally.
Victoria – 60 days off for 24 days’ leave
Victoria’s holiday calendar is a festival unto itself. Add AFL Grand Final Eve (date to be confirmed) and Melbourne Cup Day on 3 November, and Victorians can lock in around 60 days off.
A single leave day on 2 November turns Cup Day into a neat four-day mini-break, nudging the annual leave total to 24 days.
Queensland – 58 days off for 25 days’ leave
Queenslanders follow the national blueprint and then gather extra value from the Royal Queensland Show (Ekka) on 12 August. With just two additional leave days, they turn it into a five-day winter escape, bringing the total to 58 days away for 25 leave days.
Western Australia – 71 days off for 31 days’ leave
The unambiguous winner. With WA Day (1 June) and the state’s unique Monday-in-lieu for ANZAC Day (27 April), alongside the late-spring King’s Birthday on 28 September, West Australians can carve out 71 days away for 31 leave days.
It’s a triumph of calendar geometry and no doubt a catalyst for packed flights out of Perth.
South Australia – 62 days off for 27 days’ leave
South Australians gain extra breathing room thanks to Adelaide Cup Day on 9 March, lifting the total to 62 days off while requiring 27 leave days.
Tasmania – 50 days off for just 19 days’ leave
Tasmania’s public holiday repertoire is impressively generous. Workers benefit from Royal Hobart Regatta (9 February), Recreation Day (2 November), Eight Hours Day (9 March), and the semi-exclusive Easter Tuesday holiday (7 April).
Together, they allow Tasmanians to shave four leave days off the national playbook, producing 50 days off for only 19 leave days.
Australian Capital Territory – 55 days off for 23 days’ leave
The ACT quietly excels. Canberra Day (9 March) and Reconciliation Day (1 June) slot seamlessly into the national clusters, giving workers 55 days off for 23 leave days.
Northern Territory – 50 days off for 19 days’ leave
Territorians trade the typical October Labour Day for May Day (4 May) and pick up Picnic Day (3 August) as well. Those two Mondays pad out the year nicely, bringing the total to 50 days away for 19 leave days.
The takeaway: 2026 rewards the early planner
If there is a thread running through Corporate Traveller’s research, it is this: next year will reward those with a diary, a pen and an appetite for strategic leisure. The clusters fall kindly, business travel trends are shifting, and Australians continue to embrace that uniquely national blend of work discipline and holiday ambition.
With leave calendars filling earlier each year and airfares still dancing to their own rhythm, Walley’s advice is timely. Locking in dates now doesn’t just help employers; it ensures households, teams and small businesses can plan with clarity.
Whether you’re chasing a mid-winter break, a spring reset or a proper end-of-year breather, the 2026 calendar offers something rare: the chance to turn the ordinary into the exceptional simply by circling a few Mondays.
In a country where “long weekend” is practically a term of endearment, 2026 may be the year Australians perfect the art of it.
By Susan Ng – (c) 2025
Read Time: 7 minutes.
About the Writer
With the polish of an international hotel professional and the heart of a born storyteller, Susan Ng has spent years behind reception desks, in banquet halls, and among linen carts, learning what genuine hospitality feels like, not just looks like. From the first greeting to the last goodnight, she understands that excellence lives in the small, unshowy gestures that linger long after checkout.
Away from the bustle, Susan’s curiosity found another front desk: the blank page. Her candid, thoughtful, sometimes wry blog pieces drew a quiet but loyal readership who sensed the truth behind her words. Today she’s turning that same eye for grace and imperfection toward the written world, offering stories rich in empathy, insight and lived detail. Every time, expect warm, genuine and polished writing like the perfect check-in.
