Townsville Annual Show 2026

The Townsville show holiday fell on Monday 6 July 2026 and applies to the City of Townsville only. It is one of the few Queensland show holidays appointed on a Monday rather than a Friday.

Most recent date: Monday, 6 July 2026. Applies to City of Townsville only. The 2026 date has already passed. The date above is the most recent confirmed occurrence.

Confirmed dates

YearDayDateApplies to
2026
Already passed
Monday6 JulyCity of Townsville only
Future dates are not yet set. The 2027 date is not yet appointed. Queensland appoints show holidays one year at a time. The Townsville day has fallen on the first or second Monday in July in each of the last four years, but that is an observed pattern rather than a rule, so treat any 2027 date published elsewhere as an estimate.

When it has fallen before

With no appointed future date, the run of past appointments is the best guide available. This is evidence of a pattern, not a forecast, and the pattern has broken before.

YearDayDate appointed
2023
Monday3 July
2024
Monday1 July
2025
Monday7 July
2026
Monday6 July
Dates and scope verified against Queensland Government, Show holiday dates (Queensland Government), checked 7 August 2026.

Who actually gets the day off

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

City of Townsville

The Townsville Show has run since 1878. Townsville is one of a small number of Queensland districts whose show holiday is appointed on a Monday, which makes it a long weekend rather than the more common Friday. Neighbouring districts are appointed their own separate days: the Shire of Burdekin takes the Burdekin Annual Show in late June, the Shire of Hinchinbrook takes the Ingham Show, and Charters Towers takes its own day in late July.

The holiday covers the City of Townsville local government area, not the wider north Queensland region. Workers based in Ayr, Home Hill, Ingham or Charters Towers are on their own districts' show days and get nothing on the Townsville date, even though the drive is under two hours.

If you are outside that area, your normal Queensland 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.

Other Queensland show holidays

Queensland appoints 98 district show holidays a year, more than every other state combined, and none of them is statewide. If you work across more than one district, or you are running payroll for sites in several, the Queensland show holidays directory lists every appointed date and district for 2026.

The most commonly confused day is the Royal Queensland Show, the Ekka. It is not Brisbane only: the City of Brisbane takes it on the Wednesday and 15 further districts take it on the Monday. Districts with their own show, including this one, take that instead and get no Ekka day at all.

For the full Queensland calendar including every statewide date, see public holidays in Queensland, or start from the Queensland leave calculator for annual leave, long service leave and final pay under QLD 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

Townsville Annual Show questions.

The entitlement questions people ask most about this day.

When is Townsville show holiday in 2026?
Townsville Annual Show falls on Monday, 6 July in 2026. Appointed annually by the Queensland Government as the show holiday for the City of Townsville. Unusually for Queensland it falls on a Monday rather than the Friday of show week.
Who gets Townsville Annual Show as a public holiday?
This holiday covers City of Townsville only. The gazetted scope is: "City of Townsville" 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 Townsville Annual Show?
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 Townsville Annual Show?
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 Townsville Annual Show 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 Townsville Annual Show?
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.