NZ Public Holidays 2026 to 2035

Quick answer: New Zealand has 11 national public holidays in 2026: New Year's Day (Thursday 1 January), Day after New Year's Day (Friday 2 January), Waitangi Day (Friday 6 February), Good Friday (Friday 3 April), Easter Monday (Monday 6 April), Anzac Day (Saturday 25 April, observed Monday 27 April), King's Birthday (Monday 1 June), Matariki (Friday 10 July), Labour Day (Monday 26 October), Christmas Day (Friday 25 December) and Boxing Day (Saturday 26 December, observed Monday 28 December). Two fall on a weekend in 2026 and are Mondayised under the Holidays Act 2003, so the statutory day off moves to the following Monday or Tuesday. Regional anniversary days are additional and vary by province.

This tool lists every New Zealand public holiday from 2026 to 2035 in one place, so you can plan leave, payroll and business closures years ahead without checking separate calendars. New Zealand has 11 national public holidays each year, shown with both the actual calendar date and the observed date, the day treated as the statutory holiday once the Holidays Act 2003 rule for Mondayisation is applied. Switch between two views: browse By Year to see all 11 holidays for a single year at a glance, or flip to By Holiday and pick a day, such as Waitangi Day or Christmas Day, from the dropdown to track how its date moves across all ten years. Where the observed date differs from the actual date, an observed badge flags the shift, and each row shows the day of the week. Matariki dates are shown as officially gazetted through to 2035, King's Birthday is fixed to the first Monday in June, and Good Friday, Easter Monday and Labour Day are worked out automatically. Regional anniversary days are not included, since they vary by province. Use this page to check when a holiday falls in a future year, confirm whether Mondayisation applies, or plan staffing and pay well ahead of time, then verify critical dates with Employment New Zealand if they affect a legal deadline.

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Updated  Holidays Act 2003. Matariki dates 2026 to 2035 confirmed. King's Birthday confirmed for King Charles III.

New Zealand has 12 public holidays each year (11 national holidays plus one anniversary day that varies by region). This page covers the 11 national public holidays from 2026 to 2035. Where a holiday falls on a Saturday or Sunday, it is observed on the following Monday (or Tuesday in some cases) under the Holidays Act 2003. Regional anniversary days (Auckland, Wellington, Canterbury, Otago, Southland, Hawke's Bay, Taranaki, Marlborough, Nelson, Westland, and Chatham Islands) are not included here as they vary by location.

By Year
By Holiday
HolidayActual DateObserved (Public Holiday)
New Year's Day Thursday 1 January 2026 same as actual
Day after New Year's Day Friday 2 January 2026 same as actual
Waitangi Day Friday 6 February 2026 same as actual
Good Friday Friday 3 April 2026 same as actual
Easter Monday Monday 6 April 2026 same as actual
Anzac Day Saturday 25 April 2026 Monday 27 April 2026observed
King's Birthday Monday 1 June 2026 same as actual
Matariki Friday 10 July 2026 same as actual
Labour Day Monday 26 October 2026 same as actual
Christmas Day Friday 25 December 2026 same as actual
Boxing Day Saturday 26 December 2026 Monday 28 December 2026observed

Where the actual and observed dates differ, employees who would not normally work on the actual calendar date get the observed Monday/Tuesday as their statutory holiday.

About NZ Public Holidays

New Zealand's 11 national public holidays are set by the Holidays Act 2003. They apply to all employees regardless of the type of work. Whether you receive pay for a public holiday depends on whether the day falls on a day you would otherwise have worked.

What is Mondayisation?

Mondayisation is the rule that moves a public holiday to the next Monday (or Tuesday) when it falls on a Saturday or Sunday. It applies to six fixed-date public holidays: New Year's Day (1 January), Day after New Year's Day (2 January), Waitangi Day (6 February), Anzac Day (25 April), Christmas Day (25 December), and Boxing Day (26 December).

Waitangi Day and Anzac Day have been Mondayised since the Holidays (Full Recognition of Waitangi Day and ANZAC Day) Amendment Act 2013 came into force on 1 January 2014. Before that, no substitute day was given when those fell on a weekend.

King's Birthday, Matariki, and Labour Day are already set to a Monday or Friday each year and are not subject to Mondayisation.

King's Birthday

New Zealand observes King Charles III's official birthday on the first Monday of June each year. This is set by the Sovereign's Birthday Observance Act 1952 and associated Orders in Council. The date used is not the monarch's actual birth date.

Matariki

Matariki became a public holiday in 2022. The date is set by the Matariki Advisory Committee using the traditional Maori lunar calendar. It falls on the Friday following the new moon after the rise of the Matariki star cluster in late June or July. The government gazetted the dates for 2022 to 2035, so all dates on this page are officially confirmed.

Good Friday and Easter Monday

Good Friday falls on the Friday two days before Easter Sunday, and Easter Monday falls the day after. Easter Sunday is calculated using the Anonymous Gregorian algorithm. Because Easter is a moveable feast, the dates shift each year between late March and late April.

Labour Day

Labour Day is the fourth Monday in October each year, commemorating the 1840 campaign for an eight-hour working day by Samuel Parnell in Wellington.

Related Calculators

Sources: Holidays Act 2003 (legislation.govt.nz). Employment New Zealand (employment.govt.nz). Te Kāhui o Matariki Advisory Committee gazetted Matariki dates. Sovereign's Birthday Observance Act 1952.

This page covers national public holidays only. Regional anniversary days are not included. Always verify critical deadlines with Employment New Zealand or your legal adviser.