Australian school holidays 2026–2028: the dates for every state and territory

Here is the uncomfortable truth about family travel: the calendar decides most of it before you do. Airlines know precisely when the Queensland spring holidays begin, and they price the flights accordingly. So the single most useful thing you can do for next year’s trip is not choosing the destination – it’s knowing, well ahead of everyone else, exactly when the kids are off school.

This is that list: government school holiday periods across all eight states and territories, for 2026, 2027 and 2028. Print it, bookmark it, or just steal the dates. Either way, you’re now planning earlier than most of the country.

Two things that surprise people every year

The first is that the states don’t line up. The eastern states cluster together, but the start and end dates drift by a week or more, and that drift is worth money. If your break overlaps with only two or three other states rather than all of them, the beaches are quieter and the accommodation is cheaper. Cross-border timing is a genuine planning lever, and almost nobody uses it.

The second is that the Northern Territory marches to an entirely different drum. Its big break lands in the middle of the year rather than over summer, with terms two and three separated by a long mid-winter stretch. Tasmania, meanwhile, starts the school year later than everyone else and runs its autumn break a clear week off the mainland. None of this is a scheduling accident to be annoyed by. It’s an opportunity, if you’re paying attention.

The dates: 2026

Government school holiday periods – the gap between one term finishing and the next beginning.

State	Term 1 break	Term 2 break	Term 3 break	Summer (from)
NSW	3 Apr – 21 Apr	4 Jul – 20 Jul	26 Sep – 12 Oct	from 18 Dec
VIC	3 Apr – 19 Apr	27 Jun – 12 Jul	19 Sep – 4 Oct	from 19 Dec
QLD	3 Apr – 19 Apr	27 Jun – 12 Jul	19 Sep – 5 Oct	from 12 Dec
SA	11 Apr – 26 Apr	4 Jul – 19 Jul	26 Sep – 11 Oct	from 12 Dec
WA	3 Apr – 19 Apr	4 Jul – 19 Jul	26 Sep – 11 Oct	from 18 Dec
TAS	18 Apr – 3 May	11 Jul – 26 Jul	3 Oct – 18 Oct	from 19 Dec
NT	3 Apr – 13 Apr	20 Jun – 13 Jul	19 Sep – 5 Oct	from 11 Dec
ACT	3 Apr – 20 Apr	4 Jul – 20 Jul	26 Sep – 12 Oct	from 19 Dec

The dates: 2027

Note how Victoria and Queensland pull forward into late March for their first break, while New South Wales and Western Australia sit a fortnight behind.

State	Term 1 break	Term 2 break	Term 3 break	Summer (from)
NSW	10 Apr – 25 Apr	3 Jul – 18 Jul	25 Sep – 10 Oct	from 21 Dec
VIC	26 Mar – 11 Apr	26 Jun – 11 Jul	18 Sep – 3 Oct	from 18 Dec
QLD	26 Mar – 11 Apr	26 Jun – 11 Jul	18 Sep – 4 Oct	from 11 Dec
SA	10 Apr – 25 Apr	3 Jul – 18 Jul	25 Sep – 10 Oct	from 11 Dec
WA	10 Apr – 25 Apr	3 Jul – 18 Jul	25 Sep – 10 Oct	from 17 Dec
TAS	10 Apr – 25 Apr	3 Jul – 18 Jul	25 Sep – 10 Oct	from 17 Dec
NT	3 Apr – 12 Apr	19 Jun – 12 Jul	18 Sep – 4 Oct	from 10 Dec
ACT	10 Apr – 27 Apr	3 Jul – 19 Jul	25 Sep – 11 Oct	from 18 Dec

The dates: 2028

Tasmania had not published its 2028 calendar at the time of writing; every other jurisdiction is confirmed.

State	Term 1 break	Term 2 break	Term 3 break	Summer (from)
NSW	8 Apr – 23 Apr	8 Jul – 23 Jul	30 Sep – 15 Oct	from 22 Dec
VIC	1 Apr – 17 Apr	1 Jul – 16 Jul	23 Sep – 8 Oct	from 22 Dec
QLD	1 Apr – 17 Apr	24 Jun – 9 Jul	16 Sep – 2 Oct	from 9 Dec
SA	14 Apr – 30 Apr	8 Jul – 23 Jul	30 Sep – 15 Oct	from 16 Dec
WA	8 Apr – 23 Apr	1 Jul – 16 Jul	23 Sep – 8 Oct	from 15 Dec
TAS	to be confirmed	to be confirmed	to be confirmed	to be confirmed
NT	8 Apr – 18 Apr	24 Jun – 17 Jul	23 Sep – 9 Oct	from 15 Dec
ACT	8 Apr – 25 Apr	8 Jul – 24 Jul	30 Sep – 16 Oct	from 23 Dec

A few things worth knowing before you book

These are the dates for government schools. Catholic and independent schools set their own calendars, and while they usually sit within a day or two of the state dates, “usually” is not a word to hang a non-refundable flight on. Check your own school before you pay.

Every school also nominates a handful of pupil-free days – staff development days that fall at the edges of a term and can quietly stretch a break by a day or two. They’re a gift if you plan around them and a nuisance if you don’t. The summer break, listed here as a start date, rolls on into late January of the following year in every state.

And the Northern Territory bears repeating: its rhythm is genuinely different, so if you’re coordinating a trip with family in Darwin, don’t assume the Sydney dates apply. They won’t.

The quiet windows

The reward for reading this far is knowing where the gaps are. The best-value family travel happens in the windows where your state is off and most others are still at their desks – Tasmania’s late-April autumn break, the Territory’s long June stretch, the few days at each term’s edge where the eastern states haven’t quite synchronised. Book into one of those and you get the same beach, the same weather and a smaller crowd, for less. Book into the summer peak with everyone else, and you get the privilege of paying more to queue. The dates are above. The rest is timing.

Dates are for government schools and were correct at the time of writing; always confirm with your own school before booking travel.