Marking the days to the next public holiday
Public holidays are a great time to relax, recharge and spend some extra time with family and friands. While we all look forward to a public holiday, as an employer in WA you need to be mindful of your obligations and stay up to date with employee entitlements.
These will depend on your business type and industry. And there are certain public holidays that will affect all Aussie businesses.
If you’re unsure of your public holiday obligations or employee wage rates, call and speak to a specialist adviser at Peninsula.
List of WA Public Holidays for 2025
| Holiday | Date in 2025 |
|---|---|
| New Year’s Day | Wednesday 1 January |
| Australia Day | Monday 27 January |
| Labour Day | Monday 3 March |
| Good Friday | Friday 18 April |
| Easter Sunday | Sunday 20 April |
| Easter Monday | Monday 21 April |
| ANZAC Day | Friday 25 April |
| Western Australia Day | Monday 2 June |
| King’s Birthday | Monday 29 September |
| Christmas Day | Thursday 25 December |
| Boxing Day | Friday 26 December |
When New Year’s Day, ANZAC Day, or Christmas Day falls on a Saturday or Sunday the next following Monday is also a public holiday. When Boxing Day falls on a Saturday the next following Monday becomes a public holiday, when Boxing Day falls on a Sunday or Monday the following Tuesday is also a public holiday.
Some regional areas in Western Australia, such as the City of Karratha and Town of Port Hedland, hold the King’s Birthday public holiday on an alternative date. This is usually to coincide with a significant date or event for that area.
The King’s Birthday public holiday that’s observed in the rest of the WA is not a public holiday in these regions.
Special public holidays in Western Australia
Special public holidays can be proclaimed by the Governor for days that are not normally public holidays. Employees covered by a WA modern award or industrial agreement that provides higher rates of pay for working a public holiday are to be paid those higher rates if they’re required to work on a special public holiday.
Is Easter Saturday a public holiday in Western Australia?
Easter Saturday is not a public holiday in Western Australia. Some WA modern awards do recognise Easter Saturday as a public holiday for the purposes of the award, and employees under these awards who work Easter Saturday must be paid public holiday rates. You can find a list of these WA awards here.
Employee entitlements on public holidays in Western Australia
Two systems of employment law operate for the private sector in Western Australia, the state industrial relations system and the national fair work system.
Pay rates and employee entitlements for public holidays are based on which system they are covered by, the employee’s award or agreement coverage, and whether they are full-time, part-time or casual. Many state system employees are covered by a WA award (or an industrial agreement) which requires the employer to pay a higher rate of pay when full time, part time or casual employees are working on a public holiday.
Under the Minimum Conditions of Employment Act 1993, full-time and part-time employees who are not required to work on a day solely because that day is a public holiday are entitled to be paid as if they were required to work on that day. Casual employees who are not required to work are not entitled to be paid on a public holiday.
The entitlement to be paid for a public holiday is based on whether an employee would:
- Ordinarily be required to work on that day.
- But is not working because it is a public holiday.
If the public holiday is a day that the employee would ordinarily work, they would generally still have an entitlement to be paid for the day, if there has been a one-off change to the roster made to avoid the public holiday.
Full-time and part-time employees who are not required to work on a day because it is a public holiday must be paid for the same hours, they would ordinarily work at their usual rate of pay. This applies to all full-time and part-time employees, including apprentices and trainees, employees paid by commission or piece rate, and staff hired by household employers in a private home.
Pay rates for public holidays in Western Australia
There is no minimum entitlement under the Minimum Conditions of Employment Act to payment of a higher rate of pay for working on a public holiday for full-time, part-time or casual employees.
End-to-end HR and H&S Solutions with Peninsula
Navigating public holidays, the various pay rates, and additional leave requests for extra time off can be challenging for business owners and employers in Western Australia.
If you’re a business owner or employer in Western Australia, you need to know all the public holidays and appropriate employee entitlements to ensure you meet your legal obligations.
Peninsula is committed to providing answers to your WA public holiday questions. Call our team for free initial advice 24/7.