Opening your business on public holidays in Australia is allowed, but it's not as simple as unlocking the door and switching the lights on. Australian law imposes real obligations on employers who trade on these days, and getting them wrong can lead to underpayment claims, Fair Work complaints, and back-pay orders that cut deep into your margins. This guide walks through what you're actually required to do, what your employees are entitled to, and how the rules shift depending on the state you're in.
Why public holidays are different from ordinary trading days
Under the Fair Work Act 2009, employees covered by a modern award or enterprise agreement have a right to be absent on a public holiday. That right isn't automatic leave with pay in all cases, but it does mean you can't simply roster someone on a public holiday and expect normal wages to apply. The moment you decide to open, you're stepping into a specific set of legal obligations.
The key principle: employees can refuse to work a public holiday if the request is unreasonable. What counts as unreasonable depends on factors like how much notice you gave, the nature of the work, and the employee's personal circumstances. A request made three days out to a part-time worker with caring responsibilities looks very different to a standing roster communicated months in advance.
Penalty rates and what your award requires
Most modern awards require you to pay a penalty rate when an employee works a public holiday. The rate varies by award, but 225% of the ordinary rate (double time and a quarter) is common across trades, retail, and hospitality. Some awards also allow employees to take a substitute day off instead of the higher rate, but both parties need to agree to that in writing.
Check the specific award that covers your employees. Common ones include:
- General Retail Industry Award: 225% for most employees on public holidays
- Hospitality Industry (General) Award: 225% for full-time and part-time workers
- Building and Construction General On-site Award: 250% for public holiday work
If you're not sure which award covers your workers, the Fair Work Ombudsman's online tool can identify it using industry and job type. Don't guess. An incorrect assumption here is how most underpayment cases start.
State-specific public holidays you need to track
Australia has both national public holidays and state-specific ones, and the distinction matters. National public holidays include Christmas Day, New Year's Day, Australia Day, Anzac Day, Good Friday, Easter Monday, Easter Saturday, and the Queen's Birthday (though the date varies by state). On top of those, each state and territory adds its own.
Queensland observes the Brisbane Show (Ekka) as a local public holiday, but only in the Brisbane metropolitan area. Victoria has the AFL Grand Final Eve. South Australia has Proclamation Day. If your business operates across more than one state, or if you hire workers in a different state to where your entity is registered, you need to track the holiday calendar for each location separately. The Australian Government's official public holidays directory is the most reliable reference for current dates by jurisdiction.
Can you require employees to work on a public holiday?
Yes, but only if the request is reasonable. The Fair Work Act sets out a list of factors for assessing reasonableness, including the type of work, the employer's operational needs, the amount of notice given, and whether the employee could reasonably expect to be asked. A 24/7 hospital worker can more reasonably expect a public holiday shift than an office administrator.
If an employee refuses a reasonable request, you can treat that as an absence. If they refuse an unreasonable one, they're protected. The difference isn't always obvious, so document your reasoning before making the request. If it does go to Fair Work, a clear paper trail showing your operational need and how much notice you gave will carry weight.
Casual employees are slightly different. Casuals aren't entitled to public holiday pay if they don't work, because they don't have guaranteed hours. But if a casual does work, the public holiday penalty rate still applies under their award.
Substitute public holidays
When a public holiday falls on a weekend, governments sometimes declare a substitute weekday holiday. This happened with Christmas Day and Boxing Day in 2021 and 2022 when they fell on weekends. The substitute day carries the same obligations as the original public holiday: penalty rates apply, and employees have the same right to be absent.
Some awards also allow an employer and employee to agree to work the actual public holiday and take a different day off. This is called a substitute day arrangement, and it must be documented in writing. The replacement day is then treated as the public holiday for penalty rate purposes.
What happens if you get it wrong
Underpaying employees on public holidays is wage theft under Australian law. Fair Work inspectors can audit your records, order back payment with interest, and impose civil penalties of up to $16,500 per breach for an individual and $82,500 per breach for a company (figures current under the Fair Work Act as of 2026). Repeat or deliberate underpayments carry higher penalties still.
Beyond the financial risk, underpayment findings are now publicly listed on the Fair Work Ombudsman's website. That visibility can damage relationships with customers and suppliers in ways that are hard to quantify but easy to feel. Getting it right from the start costs less than fixing it later.
If you're expanding your team and thinking about public holiday obligations in the context of taking on staff, the fundamentals of hiring your first employee are worth reviewing before you commit to a roster.
Practical steps before you open on a public holiday
Before you decide to trade, run through this checklist. Confirm which public holiday applies in your state. Identify which award covers each employee working that day. Calculate the correct penalty rate, not the ordinary rate. Give employees reasonable notice in writing. Document any refusals and your assessment of whether they were reasonable. Record hours worked accurately and pay on time.
Payroll software that integrates award conditions can automate the rate calculation, but don't rely on automation alone. A quick manual check against the Fair Work website, especially around substitute holidays or changes to award conditions, takes ten minutes and can prevent an underpayment you don't discover for 18 months.
Getting your accounting process right is equally important here. Tracking penalty rates, tax obligations, and leave entitlements across multiple employees on variable rates is exactly the kind of complexity that catches small business owners off guard. Solid small business accounting habits will help you stay on top of it without scrambling at tax time.
A final word on insurance and risk
Opening on a public holiday can mean operating with a skeleton crew, reduced supervision, or staff who are less experienced than your usual team. That combination raises the chance of workplace incidents. Make sure your workers compensation cover is current, your public liability policy covers your trading hours, and that your safety procedures don't get relaxed just because it's a quieter day. A claim that arises on a public holiday is processed the same way as any other. The insurance company won't ask what day it was.
If your industry involves higher-risk work, like construction, roofing, or trades, the risk calculus on public holiday operations is worth thinking through carefully before you commit to opening at all.