Melbourne Cup Day 2026

Melbourne Cup Day falls on Tuesday 3 November 2026. It is a public holiday across all of Victoria unless a non-metropolitan council has arranged an alternative local holiday instead.

Next date: Tuesday, 3 November 2026. Applies to Victoria, with regional substitutions. The first Tuesday in November each year.

Confirmed dates

YearDayDateApplies to
2026
Tuesday3 NovemberVictoria, with regional substitutions
2027
Tuesday2 NovemberVictoria, with regional substitutions
Dates and scope verified against Business Victoria, Victorian public holidays (Business Victoria), checked 28 July 2026.

Who actually gets the day off

This is a regional public holiday, so it does not cover the whole of Victoria. The gazetted scope is:

Melbourne Cup Day is a public holiday across all of Victoria unless alternate local holiday has been arranged by a non-metro council.

The Melbourne Cup has been run on the first Tuesday in November since 1875, and Victoria gazettes the day as a statewide public holiday. It is the only Australian public holiday that a local council can trade away: non-metropolitan councils may substitute a local show day or race day, which is why some regional Victorians work Cup Day and take a different day off instead.

Melbourne Cup Day is a Victorian holiday only. It is not a public holiday anywhere else in Australia, despite the race stopping the nation. If you work outside Victoria, a Cup Day off is your employer being generous, not the NES.

If you are outside that area, your normal Victoria public holiday calendar applies instead, and this day is an ordinary working day for you.

What you are paid

If you do not work the day and it is a day you would ordinarily work, you are paid your base rate for the ordinary hours you would have worked. That obligation sits in the National Employment Standards, not your award, so it applies whether or not an award covers you.

Fair Work Act 2009, section 116: an employer must pay an employee at the employee's base rate of pay for the ordinary hours the employee would have worked had the day not been a public holiday. Section 114 gives the right to be absent, subject to a reasonable request to work.

If you do work it, the penalty rate comes from your award or enterprise agreement rather than the NES. Customer-facing awards commonly set public holiday rates between 200% and 250% of the base rate. Work out what a specific day is worth with the public holiday pay calculator, and check your own award on the modern award pay pages.

Casual employees are the common exception. A casual has no ordinary hours, so there is nothing to be paid for on a day not worked. A casual who does work the day gets the public holiday penalty rate in the award, usually on top of casual loading. The casual versus permanent guide sets out how the two interact.

If it falls during your annual leave

You keep the day. A public holiday that falls inside a period of paid annual leave is not deducted from your balance, so a week of leave containing this holiday costs you four days of leave rather than five.

Fair Work Act 2009, section 89: if a period of paid annual leave includes a day that is a public holiday in the place where the employee is based for work purposes, the employee is taken not to be on paid annual leave on that day.

That phrase, "the place where the employee is based for work purposes", is what makes a regional holiday like this one worth checking. It is your work base that decides the entitlement, not your home address. Model the effect on a balance with the annual leave calculator.

For the full Victoria calendar including every statewide date, see public holidays in Victoria, or start from the Victoria leave calculator for annual leave, long service leave and final pay under VIC rules. For every state at once, see the public holidays hub and public holidays 2027. If you are planning leave around it, the long weekends page shows which dates fall next to a weekend, and a public holiday inside a booked break does not consume your balance: check it on the annual leave calculator.

Q & A

Melbourne Cup Day questions.

The entitlement questions people ask most about this day.

When is Melbourne Cup public holiday in 2026?
Melbourne Cup Day falls on Tuesday, 3 November in 2026. The first Tuesday in November each year.
Who gets Melbourne Cup Day as a public holiday?
This holiday covers Victoria, with regional substitutions. The gazetted scope is: "Melbourne Cup Day is a public holiday across all of Victoria unless alternate local holiday has been arranged by a non-metro council." Under the Fair Work Act the test is the place where you are based for work purposes, not where you live.
Do I get paid if I do not work on Melbourne Cup Day?
Yes, if it is a day you would ordinarily work. Section 116 of the Fair Work Act 2009 requires payment at your base rate of pay for the ordinary hours you would have worked. Casuals are not paid for a public holiday they do not work, because they have no ordinary hours.
What am I paid if I work on Melbourne Cup Day?
Public holiday penalty rates come from your award or agreement, not the National Employment Standards. Rates commonly run between 200% and 250% of the base rate in customer-facing awards. Check your specific award, because the NES sets no penalty rate of its own.
What if Melbourne Cup Day falls during my annual leave?
You do not lose the day. Section 89 of the Fair Work Act says that if a public holiday falls inside a period of paid annual leave, you are taken not to be on annual leave that day, so it is paid as a public holiday and not deducted from your leave balance.
Can my employer make me work on Melbourne Cup Day?
Only if the request is reasonable. Section 114 of the Fair Work Act gives you the right to be absent on a public holiday, but an employer may make a reasonable request for you to work, and you may refuse if that request is unreasonable or your refusal is reasonable. The Act lists the factors, including the nature of the work, your personal circumstances and how much notice you were given.