Public holidays in Hobart

Hobart workers get 11 public holidays in 2026: the statewide Tasmanian dates plus two southern-only holidays, Royal Hobart Regatta and the Royal Hobart Show. Hobart does not get Recreation Day.

The Hobart calendar is not the Tasmanian calendar. Tasmania has nine regional public holidays, more than any other Australian jurisdiction, and they are set by municipal area. Two of them apply in Hobart and seven do not.

Hobart public holidays 2026

HolidayDayDate 2026Scope
New Year's Day
Thursday1 JanuaryStatewide
Australia Day
Monday26 JanuaryStatewide
Royal Hobart Regatta
Monday9 FebruarySouthern Tasmania
Eight Hours Day
Monday9 MarchStatewide
Good Friday
Friday3 AprilStatewide
Easter Monday
Monday6 AprilStatewide
Anzac Day
Saturday25 AprilStatewide
King's Birthday
Monday8 JuneStatewide
Royal Hobart Show
Thursday22 OctoberSouthern Tasmania
Christmas Day
Friday25 DecemberStatewide
Boxing Day substitute
Monday28 DecemberStatewide

Hobart public holidays 2027

HolidayDayDate 2027Scope
New Year's Day
Friday1 JanuaryStatewide
Australia Day
Tuesday26 JanuaryStatewide
Royal Hobart Regatta
Monday8 FebruarySouthern Tasmania
Eight Hours Day
Monday8 MarchStatewide
Good Friday
Friday26 MarchStatewide
Easter Monday
Monday29 MarchStatewide
Anzac Day
Sunday25 AprilStatewide
King's Birthday
Monday14 JuneStatewide
Royal Hobart Show
Thursday21 OctoberSouthern Tasmania
Christmas Day substitute
Monday27 DecemberStatewide
Boxing Day substitute
Tuesday28 DecemberStatewide
Statewide dates and every regional scope description are taken from WorkSafe Tasmania, Public holidays, checked 28 July 2026.

The Tasmanian holidays Hobart does not get

These seven regional holidays are gazetted for other parts of Tasmania. If you are based in Hobart, each of these is an ordinary working day for you.

Holiday20262027
Devonport Cup
Municipal area of Devonport
7 January6 January
Launceston Cup
Municipal areas of Break O'Day, Dorset, George Town, Glamorgan-Spring Bay (north of and including Cranbrook), Launceston excluding Launceston City centre and specified suburbs, Meander Valley excluding certain suburbs, Northern Midlands, Southern Midlands north of but not including Oatlands, West Tamar excluding certain townships.
25 February24 February
King Island Show
King Island only.
3 March2 March
Burnie Show
Municipal areas of Burnie, Waratah-Wynyard and West Coast.
2 October1 October
Royal Launceston Show
Municipal areas of Break O'Day, Dorset, George Town, Launceston, Meander Valley, Northern Midlands, West Tamar.
8 October7 October
Flinders Island Show
Municipal area of Flinders Island.
16 October15 October
Recreation Day
All parts of the state which do not observe Royal Hobart Regatta.
2 November1 November

Why Hobart misses Recreation Day

Recreation Day, on the first Monday in November, is the holiday most often assumed to be statewide. It is not. WorkSafe Tasmania defines it as applying to "all parts of the state which do not observe Royal Hobart Regatta", so it and the Regatta are mutually exclusive. The south takes its day in February and the north takes its day in November. Nobody in Tasmania gets both, and nobody gets neither.

The boundary is drawn geographically rather than by council: south of and including Oatlands and Swansea, but excluding Bronte Park, Catagunya, Strathgordon, Tarraleah, Wayatinah and the West Coast. Those excluded highland and west coast localities sit inside the southern line yet still take Recreation Day, which is the sort of detail worth checking before you book leave.

Working a public holiday in Hobart

If the day is one you would ordinarily work and you take it off, you are paid your base rate for those ordinary hours. That comes from the National Employment Standards and applies whether or not you are award covered.

Fair Work Act 2009, section 116: payment at the base rate of pay for the ordinary hours the employee would have worked. Section 114 gives the right to be absent on a public holiday, subject to a reasonable request to work. Section 89 keeps a public holiday that falls during annual leave out of your leave balance.

Penalty rates for actually working the day come from your award, not the NES. Check yours on the award pay pages, or estimate the day with the public holiday pay calculator. Casual employees are not paid for a public holiday they do not work, because they have no ordinary hours, as explained in the casual versus permanent guide.

The full statewide picture is on Tasmania public holidays, and the two southern holidays have their own pages: Royal Hobart Regatta and, in the north, the Royal Launceston Show. For long-service and leave questions specific to the state, see Tasmanian long service leave.

Q & A

Hobart public holiday questions.

What Hobart workers ask most, including the Recreation Day catch.

How many public holidays does Hobart get in 2026?
A Hobart-based worker gets 11 public holidays in 2026: the 9 statewide Tasmanian holidays plus Royal Hobart Regatta in February and the Royal Hobart Show in October.
Does Hobart get Recreation Day?
No. Recreation Day, on the first Monday in November, applies to all parts of Tasmania that do not observe Royal Hobart Regatta. Hobart observes the Regatta, so it does not get Recreation Day. Launceston and the north get Recreation Day instead of the Regatta.
Is Royal Hobart Regatta a public holiday across Tasmania?
No, it is a southern Tasmanian holiday. WorkSafe Tasmania defines the area as south of and including Oatlands and Swansea, excluding Bronte Park, Catagunya, Strathgordon, Tarraleah, Wayatinah and the West Coast.
Do Hobart workers get the Launceston Show holiday?
No. The Royal Launceston Show holiday covers seven northern municipal areas: Break O’Day, Dorset, George Town, Launceston, Meander Valley, Northern Midlands and West Tamar. Hobart is not among them, and Hobart gets the Royal Hobart Show in October instead.
I live in Hobart but work in Launceston. Which holidays do I get?
You get the Launceston set. Under the Fair Work Act, public holiday entitlements follow the place where you are based for work purposes, not where you live. That means Recreation Day and the Royal Launceston Show, not the Regatta or the Hobart Show.
What am I paid if I work a public holiday in Hobart?
Penalty rates come from your award or enterprise agreement, not the National Employment Standards. Customer-facing awards commonly set public holiday rates between 200% and 250% of the base rate. If you do not work the day and it is one you would ordinarily work, section 116 of the Fair Work Act requires payment at your base rate for those ordinary hours.