Most of the questions people get wrong about NZ public holidays in 2026 are not about the obvious ones. Everyone knows Christmas is on a Friday and ANZAC Day falls on a Saturday. The errors come from the details: which day is actually the legal public holiday when mondayisation applies, which anniversary day applies to which worker, and what exactly happens to a deadline — or a payroll — when two holidays land in the same week.
Here is the complete picture for 2026, including the quirks.
If you only need the substitute-day logic, our Mondayisation Rules guide explains which holidays move and why.
Quick Reference: All 11 National Public Holidays 2026
| Holiday | Date | Day | Mondayised? | Observed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| New Year's Day | 1 January | Thursday | No | 1 January |
| Day after New Year's | 2 January | Friday | No | 2 January |
| Waitangi Day | 6 February | Friday | No | 6 February |
| Good Friday | 3 April | Friday | No | 3 April |
| Easter Monday | 6 April | Monday | No | 6 April |
| ANZAC Day | 25 April | Saturday | Yes | 27 April (Monday) |
| King's Birthday | 1 June | Monday | No | 1 June |
| Matariki | 10 July | Friday | No | 10 July |
| Labour Day | 26 October | Monday | No | 26 October |
| Christmas Day | 25 December | Friday | No | 25 December |
| Boxing Day | 26 December | Saturday | Yes | 28 December (Monday) |
In 2026, two holidays are mondayised: ANZAC Day (Saturday → Monday 27 April) and Boxing Day (Saturday → Monday 28 December).
The Mondayisation Quirks
Quirk 1: The legal public holiday is the observed Monday, not the Saturday
When ANZAC Day is mondayised, the public holiday for working day calculations and for employees who do not normally work weekends is Monday 27 April.
However, for employees who would normally work on Saturday, their public holiday entitlement may apply on the calendar date (25 April) rather than the mondayised Monday. The employee gets one public holiday entitlement — on whichever date is an otherwise working day for them — not two.
For most Monday-to-Friday workers and for working day calculations, the key date is 27 April. The employee required to work Monday 27 April is working a public holiday and is entitled to time and a half plus an alternative holiday (if it is an otherwise working day for them).
Practical takeaway: For working day counts and most payroll purposes, 27 April is the public holiday in 2026. For employees who normally work Saturdays, check whether 25 April is their otherwise working day.
There is one exception: ANZAC Day trading restrictions under the Shop Trading Hours Act apply on 25 April until 1:00 pm, regardless of mondayisation. The trading restriction date and the employment entitlement date are different things.
Quirk 2: Boxing Day is mondayised — but it falls in the dead zone anyway
Boxing Day (Saturday 26 December) is observed on Monday 28 December. Combined with Christmas Day on Friday 25 December, this gives most Monday–Friday workers a four-day stretch: Christmas Friday, weekend, Boxing Monday.
For working day calculations, 25 December and 28 December are excluded. 26 and 27 December are regular weekend days. Any RMA, property, or employment deadline running through this period skips those two days — but should not skip 26 or 27 December (unless those days fall outside the person's working pattern for other reasons).
Quirk 3: Only six holidays can be mondayised — and five of them never need it in 2026
The six mondayisable holidays are: New Year's Day, Day after New Year's, Waitangi Day, ANZAC Day, Christmas Day, and Boxing Day. The other five national holidays are pegged to weekdays by definition — Good Friday (always Friday), Easter Monday (always Monday), King's Birthday (first Monday in June), Matariki (always Friday), Labour Day (fourth Monday in October) — so they never need mondayisation.
In 2026, only ANZAC Day and Boxing Day require it. The other four mondayisable holidays happen to fall on weekdays this year.
Quirk 4: The Tuesday rule for cascading holidays
When two consecutive mondayisable holidays both fall on weekends, the second one moves to Tuesday. The Christmas/New Year cluster is the usual culprit: if Christmas Day falls on Sunday (observed Monday) and Boxing Day falls on Monday — which is now taken — Boxing Day shifts to Tuesday. The New Year pair operates the same way. In 2026 this does not apply, but it is worth knowing for future years.
Regional Anniversary Days: The Traps
New Zealand has 12 regional anniversary days (11 regions plus the Chatham Islands). Most employees get one per year — the one for the region where they work, not where they live. That distinction matters more than most people realise.
Quirk 5: It is the workplace region, not the worker's home region
An employee who lives in Christchurch but works in a Dunedin office is entitled to Otago Anniversary Day (23 March 2026), not Canterbury Anniversary Day (13 November 2026). A remote worker's entitlement is based on the province where they usually work. Each employee is entitled to only one anniversary day, and if there is disagreement, Employment New Zealand guidance points to the province where the employee usually works.
For companies with multi-region offices, this means payroll may need to apply different anniversary days to staff in different locations.
Quirk 6: Southland gets two consecutive non-working days in April
Southland observes its anniversary day on the Tuesday after Easter Monday. In 2026, that is Tuesday 7 April — the day after Easter Monday (6 April). Southland workers therefore have two public holidays in a row: Monday 6 April (Easter Monday) and Tuesday 7 April (Southland Anniversary). For any working day count, those are two consecutive excluded days.
No other region creates this kind of back-to-back public holiday effect as a matter of annual design.
Quirk 7: "Nearest Monday" is a convention, not a statute
Most regional anniversary days are observed on the Monday nearest to the actual anniversary date. This is a historical convention — not a statutory requirement like mondayisation. The anniversary day is not "moved" in a legal sense; it is simply observed on a traditional Monday.
The result is that some observed dates land well before the actual anniversary. Taranaki's actual anniversary is 31 March, but the observed day in 2026 is 9 March — three weeks earlier. Canterbury's actual anniversary is 16 December, but it is observed in November.
2026 Regional Anniversary Dates
| Region | 2026 Date | Day | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wellington | 19 January | Monday | Nearest Monday to 22 January |
| Auckland | 26 January | Monday | Nearest Monday to 29 January |
| Nelson | 2 February | Monday | Nearest Monday to 1 February |
| Taranaki | 9 March | Monday | Nearest Monday to 31 March (observed early by convention) |
| Otago | 23 March | Monday | Nearest Monday to 23 March |
| Southland | 7 April | Tuesday | Tuesday after Easter Monday |
| South Canterbury | 28 September | Monday | Nearest Monday to 29 September |
| Hawke's Bay | 23 October | Friday | Friday before Labour Day |
| Marlborough | 2 November | Monday | Nearest Monday to 1 November |
| Canterbury | 13 November | Friday | Friday before second Monday in November |
| Chatham Islands | 30 November | Monday | Nearest Monday to 30 November |
| West Coast (Westland) | 30 November | Monday | Nearest Monday to 1 December |
Note on Taranaki: The convention for Taranaki produces an observed date in early March despite the actual anniversary being 31 March. This is well-established locally but can surprise anyone applying a mechanical "nearest Monday" calculation. Verify against MBIE's official regional anniversary day schedule.
Working Days in 2026: The Numbers
| Region | Working Days 2026 |
|---|---|
| No anniversary region | 250 |
| Most regions (one anniversary day) | 249 |
Monthly breakdown (national holidays only)
| Month | Working Days | National Holidays |
|---|---|---|
| January | 20 | New Year's Day (1 Jan), Day after New Year's (2 Jan) |
| February | 19 | Waitangi Day (6 Feb) |
| March | 22 | — |
| April | 19 | Good Friday (3 Apr), Easter Monday (6 Apr), ANZAC Day observed (27 Apr) |
| May | 21 | — |
| June | 21 | King's Birthday (1 Jun) |
| July | 22 | Matariki (10 Jul) |
| August | 21 | — |
| September | 22 | — |
| October | 21 | Labour Day (26 Oct) |
| November | 21 | — |
| December | 21 | Christmas Day (25 Dec), Boxing Day observed (28 Dec) |
April is the tightest month — only 19 working days, with Good Friday, Easter Monday, and ANZAC Day observed all falling within 24 days of each other.
Employee Entitlements: The Rules That Catch People Out
"Otherwise working day" is about the individual, not the calendar
The question "is this a public holiday entitlement day?" depends on whether the specific employee would otherwise have worked that day. It is an individual assessment. A roster worker who is not scheduled to work on a given Monday is not entitled to a paid day off if that Monday is a public holiday — because they were not going to work it anyway.
This creates real complexity for variable-hours workers, shift rosters, and anyone with irregular patterns. Where it is genuinely unclear, section 12(2)–(3) of the Holidays Act requires both parties to consider factors including the employment agreement, work patterns, and whether the employer would have offered work on the day. The threshold is low — if the employee would have worked any amount of time, the day is an otherwise working day.
Working on a public holiday: two outcomes, depending on one fact
| Would the employee normally have worked that day? | If they don't work | If they do work |
|---|---|---|
| Yes (otherwise working day) | Normal pay, no leave deducted | Time and a half + alternative holiday |
| No (not otherwise a working day) | No entitlement | Time and a half only (no alternative holiday) |
Public holidays during annual leave: the leave balance does not reduce
If a public holiday falls while an employee is on annual leave, that day is not counted as annual leave. The leave balance is not touched. The employee receives public holiday pay for the day. This applies to both national and regional anniversary public holidays.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q: How many public holidays does New Zealand have?
A: New Zealand has 11 national public holidays plus one regional anniversary day per region, giving most employees 12 public holidays per year. Matariki was added as the 11th national holiday in 2022.
Q: When is Waitangi Day observed in 2026?
A: Friday 6 February 2026 — its actual date. No mondayisation required. It already falls on a weekday.
Q: Which NZ public holidays are mondayised in 2026?
A: Two: ANZAC Day (Saturday 25 April, observed Monday 27 April) and Boxing Day (Saturday 26 December, observed Monday 28 December).
Q: Can regional anniversary days be mondayised?
A: No. Mondayisation is a statutory process that applies only to the six listed national public holidays. Regional anniversary days operate under a separate historical convention — observed on the nearest Monday — which achieves a similar practical effect but through different means.
Q: What is the ANZAC Day trading restriction in 2026?
A: Shops must remain closed until 1:00 pm on 25 April — the actual ANZAC Day, not the mondayised Monday. The trading restriction is tied to the commemorative date, not the employment entitlement date.
Q: What happens if a public holiday falls during annual leave?
A: The public holiday is not counted as annual leave. The employee's leave balance is not reduced for that day. They receive their public holiday entitlement for the day regardless of being on annual leave.
Q: Do regional anniversary days affect property settlement and RMA deadlines?
A: For property transactions under the ADLS/REINZ Agreement for Sale and Purchase, yes — the anniversary day for the region where the property is situated is excluded from working day counts. For RMA timeframes, the position is different: the RMA s2 definition of "working day" does not list regional anniversary days as exclusions.
Q: How are Matariki dates determined?
A: By the Matariki Advisory Committee, based on the rising of the Matariki star cluster and the lunar calendar. The date will always be a Friday, and dates are gazetted in advance. The 2026 date is 10 July.
Sources & Further Reading
- Holidays Act 2003
- Public Holidays — Employment New Zealand (MBIE)
- Te Kāhui o Matariki Public Holiday Act 2022
- Regional Anniversary Days — Employment New Zealand
- Shop Trading Hours Act 1990 — ANZAC Day restrictions
This guide is for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal or employment advice. For specific entitlement questions, contact Employment New Zealand or a qualified employment lawyer.
