School Term Dates & School Holidays Australia

School holidays by state and territory

Each state page gives a short state overview, official-source notes and links to detailed year pages.

School term dates for 2026 — every state at a glance

A quick side-by-side view of 2026 term dates and today’s status for all eight states and territories. Open a state’s page for the full year’s term and holiday tables.

Current status reflects government-school dates as of 9 September 2026 and is recalculated whenever this page is updated.

Biggest differences between states in 2026

Observations calculated directly from each state’s published 2026 term and holiday dates.

• Earliest and latest start: Victoria, Queensland and South Australia start Term 1 earliest, on 27 January 2026; Tasmania starts latest, on 5 February 2026 — a 9-day spread.
• Summer holiday length: Queensland, South Australia and Northern Territory have the longest 2026–2027 summer holidays among states with a confirmed end date, at 46 days; Victoria has the shortest, at 38 days.
• Instructional time: Victoria runs the most total instructional time in 2026, at 41 weeks — one more week than every other state with published dates, which all run 40 weeks.

See the full 2026 comparison, plus 2027–2030 →

Popular school holiday pages

Start with popular 2026 pages below, or open a state page to browse available years from 2026 to 2030.

Browse available years: 2026, 2027, 2028, 2029 and 2030 pages are available from each state page where official dates are published.

Public holidays by state

Public holiday information is now linked from the main public holidays hub, with quick access to the 2026 public holiday sections for each state and territory.

Planning guides

Original guides that go beyond the raw dates — how the term system works, how to plan around it, and how public holidays interact with school breaks.

View all planning guides →

Australian School Term Dates and Holidays: Your Complete Planning Guide

Welcome to Australia’s most comprehensive, easy to use hub for school term dates and school holidays across every state and territory. Whether you’re a parent coordinating family holidays, booking travel, arranging childcare, or a teacher, tutor or education professional planning ahead, this site brings together all official school term and holiday dates in one convenient place, saving you the trouble of visiting multiple government education department websites.

We know how frustrating it can be hunting down accurate term dates, especially when rules differ between Victoria, New South Wales, Queensland, Western Australia, South Australia, Tasmania, the ACT and the Northern Territory, and dates change from year to year. Our mission is simple: to give you clear, consistent and up to date term dates, holiday schedules and practical planning advice, all in one place, completely free.

Unlike government education websites that publish dates in isolation, we go further. Here you’ll find side by side comparisons between states, notes on public holiday overlaps, explanations of pupil free and curriculum days, and clear guidance on how independent and private school dates may differ from public school schedules. We also make planning easier with downloadable iCal calendars you can import directly into Google Calendar, Outlook or Apple Calendar, plus printable versions you can keep on the fridge or noticeboard, features rarely available on official government sites.

All dates on this site are sourced directly from state and territory education departments and are regularly reviewed and updated. Where dates are still provisional or yet to be officially confirmed, we clearly mark them so you always know how to plan. We cover the current school year and future dates from 2026 all the way through to 2030, so whether you’re organising a quick getaway or planning family trips years in advance, you can plan with confidence.

How this site is structured