Term Dates NZNZ term dates, school holidays and public holidays

2026 public holidays in New Zealand

National public holidays 2026, New Zealand
Public holidayDateWeekdayObserved dateSchool calendar
New Year’s DayThursday ThursdaySame daySummer holidays
Day after New Year’s DayFriday FridaySame daySummer holidays
Waitangi DayFriday FridaySame dayTerm 1 start window (closed if your school has already opened)
Good FridayFriday FridaySame dayTerm 1 holidays
Easter MondayMonday MondaySame dayTerm 1 holidays
Anzac DaySaturday SaturdayFalls on a Saturday. Employees who would normally work that Saturday take it then; for everyone else it is observed on Monday (Holidays Act 2003, section 45A).Term 2 (schools close)
King’s BirthdayMonday MondaySame dayTerm 2 (schools close)
MatarikiFriday FridaySame dayTerm 2 holidays
Labour DayMonday MondaySame dayTerm 4 (schools close)
Christmas DayFriday FridaySame daySummer holidays
Boxing DaySaturday SaturdayFalls on a Saturday. Employees who would normally work that Saturday take it then; for everyone else it is observed on Monday (Holidays Act 2003, section 45).Summer holidays

Add to your calendar (.ics) Calendar dates come from official publications or legislation, with no estimates and a source link for each event.

Key facts

National public holidays
11 public holidays in the year
Weekend holidays
2 holidays fall on a Saturday or Sunday and are Mondayised for employees for whom the weekend day is not an otherwise working day.
Long weekends Calculated
8 long weekends combining public holidays and weekends into breaks of three or more days
Longest gap between holidays Calculated
107 days without a public holiday, between Friday 10 July 2026 (Matariki) and Monday 26 October 2026 (Labour Day)

A fact marked Calculated is worked out from the official dates linked below, rather than quoted from the source.

Find the national public holidays for 2026 with their weekdays, any Mondayised dates and the school period each falls within. These details help distinguish a closure during term from a public holiday already inside a school break. For employees, the actual or transferred date applies according to whether the weekend day would otherwise be a working day. A regional anniversary day is a further public holiday within its own area, rather than across the whole country. Pick your region below for its anniversary day, the rule behind the date and the local observance notes.

Which holiday date applies to you?

Both dates are shown for a weekend holiday that transfers. Employees who would otherwise work that Saturday or Sunday observe the actual day; other employees use the applicable Monday or Tuesday. Employment New Zealand explains how pay works for a public holiday on a weekend; its pages are listed under the sources.

Add your region’s anniversary day

Every region has one more public holiday, its anniversary day. Each region page gives its observed dates, the rule behind them and the long weekend they make.

Rules that apply in 2026

Common questions

Which public holidays fall on a weekend in 2026?
The list of public holidays falling on a Saturday or Sunday in 2026 is: Anzac Day and Boxing Day. Check any Mondayised dates alongside the actual dates in the 2026 calendar, and confirm which observance applies to your usual working days.
Are public holidays also school holidays in 2026?
Schools close for public holidays during term. The last column of the 2026 table identifies the school period, showing whether each holiday interrupts a term or falls within an existing break.
Does my region have an extra public holiday in 2026?
Yes, the relevant provincial anniversary day is a public holiday in that area. Choose a region page in the anniversary day section to see whether its 2026 observance has been published, and read any local notes.

Official sources

Every date here was compared with the official pages on . Should anything differ, the official page is right. How dates are checked.