Public Holidays Act 2010 (NSW)

Editorial note

The Parliamentary Counsel’s Office is progressively updating certain formatting styles in versions of NSW in force legislation published from 29 July 2019. For example, colons are being replaced by em-rules (em-dashes). Text of the legislation is not affected.

This version has been updated.

An Act to provide for the public holidays to be observed in the State; and for other purposes.

Part 1Preliminary1Name of Act

This Act is the Public Holidays Act 2010.

2Commencement(1)

This Act commences on 31 December 2010, except as provided by subsection (2).

(2)

Schedule 2.2 commences on 31 December 2011.

3Definitions(1)

In this Act—

Director-General means the Director-General of the Department of Services, Technology and Administration.

public holiday means a day or part-day declared to be a public holiday by or under this Act.

(2)

Notes included in this Act do not form part of this Act.

Part 2Public holidays4Standard public holidays

The following public holidays are declared for the whole State—

• (a)

  New Year’s Day

  Public holiday on 1 January.

  When 1 January is a Saturday or Sunday, there is to be an additional public holiday on the following Monday.

• (b)

  Australia Day

  Public holiday on 26 January.

  When 26 January is a Saturday or Sunday, there is to be no public holiday on that day and instead the following Monday is to be a public holiday.

• (c)

  Good Friday

  Public holiday on the Friday publicly observed as Good Friday.

• (d)

  Easter Saturday

  Public holiday on the day after Good Friday.

• (e)

  Easter Sunday

  Public holiday on the Sunday following Good Friday.

• (f)

  Easter Monday

  Public holiday on the Monday following Good Friday.

• (g)

  Anzac Day

  Public holiday on 25 April.

• (h)

  King’s Birthday

  Public holiday on the second Monday in June.

• (i)

  Labour Day

  Public holiday on the first Monday in October.

• (j)

  Christmas Day

  Public holiday on 25 December.

  When 25 December is a Saturday, there is to be an additional public holiday on the following Monday.

  When 25 December is a Sunday, there is to be an additional public holiday on the following Tuesday.

• (k)

  Boxing Day

  Public holiday on 26 December.

  When 26 December is a Saturday, there is to be an additional public holiday on the following Monday.

  When 26 December is a Sunday, there is to be an additional public holiday on the following Tuesday.

s 4: Subst 2010 No 115, Sch 2.2. Am 2022 No 59, Sch 1.32.

5Additional public holidays(1)

The Minister may by order published on the NSW legislation website declare a specified day or part-day in a particular year to be a public holiday. The order must be published at least 7 days before the public holiday.

(2)

The order can declare a public holiday for the whole State or for a specified part of the State.

(3)

The Minister may by order published on the NSW legislation website cancel a public holiday declared under this section. The order must be published at least 7 days before the public holiday.

Note—

Instead of cancelling an additional public holiday declared under this section, the Minister can decide to substitute a different day for the holiday under section 6.

6Substituted public holidays(1)

The Minister may by order published on the NSW legislation website declare that a specified day or part-day in a particular year (the substituted day) is to be a public holiday in substitution for a specified day or part-day in that year (the original day) that would otherwise be a public holiday in a particular year.

(2)

The substituted day is then a public holiday and the original day is not a public holiday.

(3)

The order must be published at least 7 days before the earlier of the original day and the substituted day for the public holiday.

7Employee entitlements on public holidays(1)

The following provisions of the Fair Work Act 2009 of the Commonwealth apply as laws of New South Wales to and in respect of employees and employers in the State—

• •

  section 114 (Entitlement to be absent from employment on public holiday)

• •

  section 116 (Payment for absence on public holiday)

(2)

This section (and the provisions applying under this section as laws of New South Wales) are deemed to be industrial instruments for the purposes of Parts 1 (Breach of industrial instruments) and 2 (Recovery of remuneration and other amounts) of Chapter 7 of the Industrial Relations Act 1996.

Part 3Miscellaneous8Local event days(1)

The Minister may by order made at the request of the council of a local government area declare a specified day or part-day to be a local event day in the local government area or in a specified part of the local government area.

(2)

The Minister is not to declare a local event day unless satisfied that the day or part-day is, and will be observed as, a day of special significance to the community in the area concerned.

(3)

The order declaring a local event day must be published on the NSW legislation website at least 7 days before the local event day.

(4)

The declaration of a local event day does not make the local event day a public holiday.

9Delegations

The Minister may delegate the exercise of any function of the Minister under this Act (other than this power of delegation) to—

• (a)

  the Director-General, or

• (b)

  the holder of any position in the Director-General’s Department that is prescribed by the regulations.

10Regulations

The Governor may make regulations, not inconsistent with this Act, for or with respect to any matter that by this Act is required or permitted to be prescribed or that is necessary or convenient to be prescribed for carrying out or giving effect to this Act.

11Repeal of Banks and Bank Holidays Act 1912 No 43

The Banks and Bank Holidays Act 1912 is repealed.

12Review of Act(1)

The Minister is to review this Act to determine whether the policy objectives of the Act remain valid and whether the terms of the Act remain appropriate for securing those objectives.

(2)

The review is to be undertaken as soon as possible after the period of 5 years from the date of assent to this Act.

(3)

A report on the outcome of the review is to be tabled in each House of Parliament within 12 months after the end of the period of 5 years.

Schedule 1Savings, transitional and other provisionsPart 1General1Regulations(1)

The regulations may contain provisions of a savings or transitional nature consequent on the enactment of the following Acts—

• •

  this Act

(2)

Any such provision may, if the regulations so provide, take effect from the date of assent to the Act concerned or a later date.

(3)

To the extent to which any such provision takes effect from a date that is earlier than the date of its publication on the NSW legislation website, the provision does not operate so as—

• (a)

  to affect, in a manner prejudicial to any person (other than the State or an authority of the State), the rights of that person existing before the date of its publication, or

• (b)

  to impose liabilities on any person (other than the State or an authority of the State) in respect of anything done or omitted to be done before the date of its publication.

Part 2Provisions consequent on enactment of this Act2Additional public holiday for New Year’s Day 2011

Monday 3 January 2011 is declared to be a public holiday for the whole State (in addition to the public holiday on 1 January 2011).

3Anzac Day and Easter Monday 2011

Monday 25 April 2011 is a public holiday for Anzac Day but not for Easter Monday. Tuesday 26 April 2011 is declared to be a public holiday for the whole State for Easter Monday.

4Saving of local public holidays declared under former Act(1)

A day, or part of a day, appointed under section 19 (3) of the former Act to be observed after the repeal of the former Act as a public holiday or half-holiday in a part of the State is taken to have been declared as a public holiday in that part of the State under section 5 of this Act.

(2)

In this clause, former Act means the Banks and Bank Holidays Act 1912.

Schedule 2

(Repealed)

sch 2: Am 1987 No 15, sec 30C. Rep 2012 No 42, Sch 5.

Historical notesTable of amending instruments

Public Holidays Act 2010 No 115. Assented to 29.11.2010. Date of commencement, Sch 2.2 excepted, 31.12.2010, sec 2 (1); date of commencement of Sch 2.2, 31.12.2011, sec 2 (2). This Act has been amended by Sch 2.2 to this Act and as follows—

2012	No 42	Statute Law (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2012. Assented to 21.6.2012. Date of commencement of Sch 5, 6.7.2012, sec 2 (1).
2022	No 59	Statute Law (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act (No 2) 2022. Assented to 26.10.2022. Date of commencement, 13.1.2023, sec 2.

This Act has been amended by sec 30C of the Interpretation Act 1987 No 15.

Table of amendments

Sec 4	Subst 2010 No 115, Sch 2.2. Am 2022 No 59, Sch 1.32.
Sch 2	Am 1987 No 15, sec 30C. Rep 2012 No 42, Sch 5.