How to maximise your annual leave in 2027

Sydney, Australia, 16 October 2026 - Corporate Traveller, the flagship SME division of Flight Centre Travel Group, has done the research to show how savvy Australians can turn their annual leave into extended breaks in 2027 with the right planning. Its analysis shows that next year, Western Australians and Northern Territorians share the lead, each able to stretch 31 days of annual leave into a remarkable 71 days away in total.

Corporate Traveller mapped every national and state-based public holiday for 2027 and found that, when employees reserve their annual-leave days around the key holiday clusters, they can unlock lengthy blocks of time off without leaving businesses short-staffed.¹

The standout opportunities come from six windows across the 2027 calendar year: Australia Day, Easter, a bonus Anzac Day long weekend new for 2027, the King’s Birthday long weekend, each state and territory’s Labour Day (or equivalent) holiday, and an unusually generous Christmas–New Year break at the end of the year.² Together, these windows transform the full-time leave entitlement of 20 annual-leave days into up to 62 consecutive days away from the office in most states, and up to 71 days where extra state holidays apply.

Tom Walley, Global Managing Director of Corporate Traveller, says thoughtful timing will pay dividends next year.

“Public holidays in 2027 are well spaced for extended getaways, and the new Anzac Day long weekend in several states is a welcome bonus for anyone planning ahead. By locking in leave requests now, employees can secure the best fares and accommodation and employers can plan resourcing well in advance. Everybody wins.”

“Given Australia is the global leader in bleisure travel,³ the placement of public holidays in 2027 can also help businesses to encourage this practice, enabling Australians to tack leisure breaks onto their work trips, and ultimately plan for international trips more effectively.”

Discover how to leverage national public holidays to extend your annual leave using Corporate Traveller's holiday planning hacks

Australia Day offers a nine-day escape with just four days of annual leave

With the public holiday on Tuesday 26 January, employees who take four annual leave days – Monday 25 January and Wednesday 27 to Friday 29 January – will gain nine uninterrupted days off from Saturday 23 January to Sunday 31 January.

Easter creates a 10-day runway with just 4 days' annual leave

Good Friday is 26 March and Easter Monday is 29 March, enabling workers to redeem four leave days from Tuesday 30 March to Friday 2 April and enjoy a 10-day break from 26 March to 4 April. Tasmanian public-service employees have Easter Tuesday (30 March) as a public holiday, trimming their leave requirement to just three days.⁴

New for 2027: a bonus Anzac Day long weekend in five states and territories

Anzac Day falls on Sunday 25 April 2027. Because it lands on a weekend, New South Wales, the ACT, Queensland, Western Australia and the Northern Territory will each observe an additional public holiday on Monday 26 April.⁵

Employees in those jurisdictions who add four leave days (Tue 27–Fri 30 April) can stretch the long weekend into nine consecutive days off, from Saturday 24 April to Sunday 2 May. Victoria, South Australia and Tasmania continue to observe Anzac Day on the Sunday itself only, with no additional weekday public holiday.

Mid-year long-weekend hacks continue

Most states and territories celebrate the King’s Birthday on Monday 14 June (Queensland on 4 October; Western Australia on 27 September). Four leave days either side of those Mondays convert each long weekend into nine consecutive days off.

Labour Day (or its equivalent) allows us to repeat the hack: Monday 1 March in Western Australia; Monday 8 March in Victoria and Tasmania (Eight Hours Day); Monday 3 May in Queensland (Labour Day) and the Northern Territory (May Day); and Monday 4 October in New South Wales, the ACT and South Australia.

Christmas–New Year closes out 2027 with 16 consecutive days off for just 7 days of annual leave

2027 delivers an unusually generous finish: Christmas Day falls on Saturday 25 December and New Year’s Day falls on Saturday 1 January 2028, so substitute public holidays bookend the break on both sides – Monday 27 and Tuesday 28 December 2027 for Christmas and Boxing Day, and Monday 3 January 2028 for New Year’s Day.⁶

Employees who lock in seven days of annual leave (Wed 29–Fri 31 December 2027, and Tue 4–Fri 7 January 2028) can enjoy a 16-day summer break stretching from Saturday 25 December 2027 through to Sunday 9 January 2028. For quicker trips, choose to fly on Christmas Eve, Christmas Day or New Year’s Day and avoid the busiest projected flight days, according to Corporate Traveller’s historic booking data.

Corporate Traveller hacks on how to maximise state and territory-specific public holidays

Some locations will have additional opportunities to take extended holidays – which is good news for employees who have accumulated significant annual leave.

NSW

New South Wales – 62 days off for 27 days’ leave
NSW’s national clusters are joined in 2027 by the state’s new Anzac Day Monday holiday (26 April), confirmed for both 2026 and 2027. Together they let full-timers turn 27 annual-leave days into 62 consecutive days away from the office.⁷
VIC

Victoria – 60 days off for 24 days’ leave
Add Melbourne Cup Day (Tuesday 2 November) and the Friday before the AFL Grand Final (exact date still to be confirmed by the AFL, but always good for a bonus long weekend) to the national hacks and Victorians can lock in up to 60 days off. One extra leave day (Monday 1 November) builds a four-day Cup mini-break, taking the total annual-leave tally to 24 days.⁸
QLD

Queensland – 67 days off for 29 days’ leave
Queenslanders follow the core hacks, pick up the new Anzac Day Monday bonus, and then use Royal Queensland Show (Ekka) Wednesday 11 August to add on a five-day winter escape with two extra leave days (Monday 9 and Tuesday 10 August). The result is 67 days away using 29 leave days.⁹
WA

Western Australia – 71 days off for 31 days’ leave
WA shares the top spot in 2027. The state already holds both WA Day (Monday 7 June) and a Monday-in-lieu for Anzac Day (Monday 26 April). Pair those with the King’s Birthday holiday (Monday 27 September) and the national clusters, and West Aussies can engineer 71 days off for 31 leave days.¹⁰

TAS

Tasmania – 56 days off for 22 days’ leave
Thanks to Eight Hours Day (Monday 8 March), a free long weekend from Royal Hobart Regatta (Monday 8 February) or Recreation Day (Monday 1 November), and the restricted Easter Tuesday holiday (Tuesday 30 March), Tasmanians trim leave days off the standard playbook and still enjoy 56 days out of the office for 22 leave days.¹¹
ACT

Australian Capital Territory – 68 days off for 27 days’ leave
ACT employees automatically gain two extra-long weekends from Canberra Day (Monday 8 March) and Reconciliation Day (Monday 31 May), and now also pick up the new Anzac Day Monday holiday (26 April). Layer those onto the national clusters and you reach 68 days away on 27 leave days.¹²
NT

Northern Territory – 71 days off for 31 days’ leave
The Top End shares WA’s top spot in 2027. May Day (Monday 3 May), Picnic Day (Monday 2 August) and the new Anzac Day Monday holiday (26 April) join the national clusters to give Territorians 71 days off while using 31 leave days.¹³
SA

South Australia – 62 days off for 27 days’ leave
SA’s Adelaide Cup Day (Monday 8 March) joins the national calendar alongside the state’s own October Labour Day, nudging the total to 62 days away while still needing only 27 annual-leave days.¹⁴