Which states get a public holiday today? What event is it?   
Oct 5 2026
ABC News


October 5 is marked with the words "day off".
Some people are set to enjoy a long weekend, but not every state and territory will have a public holiday on Monday.

Many Australians are enjoying a three-day weekend, with half the country having a public holiday today.

But other Australians will have to wait at least a month until their next public holiday.   

Here's a state-by-state breakdown of the public holidays coming up.

Who gets a public holiday today?
The following jurisdictions observe a public holiday on Monday, October 5:

ACT
New South Wales
Queensland
South Australia
The ACT, New South Wales and South Australia have a public holiday for Labour Day.

But in Queensland, it is the King's Birthday public holiday.

The Northern Territory, Tasmania, Victoria and Western Australia do not have a public holiday today.

A map showing the ACT, NSW, Queensland and South Australia have public holidays on October 5
Not everyone have a public holiday on Monday.

What is Labour Day?
It's not a celebration of the political party, but a commemoration of the labour movement, which advocated for rights for workers.

A key date for the movement in Australia was April 21, 1856, when a group of stonemasons in Melbourne protested, demanding an eight-hour workday.

"It was the first of a long, hard-fought series of victories that led to Australia having one of the most progressive labour environments in the world by the early 20th century," the National Museum Australia says.

While this first march led to a victory for some workers in the construction industry, other workers generally worked longer hours and received less pay.

New South Wales and Victoria eventually passed the Eight Hours Act in 1916.

But it wasn't until 1948 that a national 40-hour, five-day working week was approved by the Commonwealth Arbitration Court.

Countries around the world have public holidays commemorating the workers' rights movement, with alternative names like International Workers' Day or May Day.

Workers' unions often hold marches, using the day to continue to advocate for members.


Union members march with banners through Brisbane on Queensland's Labour Day in 2019.

The public holiday is marked on different days depending on where you live in Australia.

Western Australia's Labour Day public holiday was on March 2 this year.

Victoria and Tasmania marked the day a week later on March 9; however, it's called Eight Hours Day in Tasmania.

The Northern Territory and Queensland observed the public holiday on May 4 this year; however, it's called May Day in the Northern Territory.

When is King Charles's actual birthday?
King Charles III was born on November 14.

But many Commonwealth countries designate a day in June to mark the sovereign's birthday.

This doesn't have anything to do with his predecessor — the late Queen Elizabeth II, whose birthday is on April 21.

It comes from the tradition of holding a military parade to honour the sovereign, with weather in the UK generally more favourable for outdoor events in June.

While June is one of the colder months in Australia, it's generally much sunnier in the Northern Hemisphere at that time of the year.

the british royal family in official dress stand on a balcony waving to a crowd
British royals gather at Buckingham Palace in July each year for a military parade, which began as a way to honour the reigning monarch. 

Most Australian states had the King's Birthday public holiday on June 8 this year, with the exception of Queensland and Western Australia.

While most of Western Australia had the public holiday on September 28, the Karratha and Port Hedland local government districts designated the holiday for August 3.

When is the next public holiday?   
After this weekend, there aren't too many public holidays left in the year.   

Might as well enjoy all the leisure time all that technology promised everyone, along with the promises of the finest economic management that would create neo-millionaires out of everyone...

Can't hold back progress, you know... wait until the robots and AI take over all the work and you have complete time for leisure.... on the beach and under the bridges and in the tent cities...

Workers of the world, arise - you have nothing to lose but your comfortable life..... oh ....... wait a minute.... the comfortable life for the many is being daily eroded...... of course you can always arrive here as an Outlander with a suitcase full of cash, and instead of labouring in building in the sun and rain - building houses - you can always go into business and work all the tax perks... if they can even get you that far... get you that close to actually paying tax when you come from somewhere where no tax is paid etc...