New Zealand has 11 nationwide public holidays in 2026. On a Monday-to-Friday calendar, each one removes a working day from the year. ANZAC Day and Boxing Day fall on Saturdays, so the calendar excludes their observed Mondays instead.
National public holidays in 2026
| Holiday | Calendar date | Date excluded from a Monday-to-Friday calendar |
|---|---|---|
| New Year's Day | Thursday 1 January | Thursday 1 January |
| Day after New Year's Day | Friday 2 January | Friday 2 January |
| Waitangi Day | Friday 6 February | Friday 6 February |
| Good Friday | Friday 3 April | Friday 3 April |
| Easter Monday | Monday 6 April | Monday 6 April |
| ANZAC Day | Saturday 25 April | Monday 27 April |
| King's Birthday | Monday 1 June | Monday 1 June |
| Matariki | Friday 10 July | Friday 10 July |
| Labour Day | Monday 26 October | Monday 26 October |
| Christmas Day | Friday 25 December | Friday 25 December |
| Boxing Day | Saturday 26 December | Monday 28 December |
These are the dates in Employment New Zealand's 2026 table. The calculator excludes them automatically when Calendar days is off.
The observed dates matter because the Saturdays already fall outside a standard Monday-to-Friday working week. Monday 27 April and Monday 28 December are the additional dates excluded for those holidays. The NZ Mondayisation Rules guide explains which holidays can move and how the observed date is chosen.
Matariki 2026: Friday 10 July
The Te Kāhui o Matariki Public Holiday Act 2022 sets the observance dates through 2052. Every date in that schedule is a Friday. The 2026 date is Friday 10 July, so no weekend transfer is needed.
Regional anniversary dates in 2026
After the national dates, you can add one of the calculator's 12 regional anniversary calendars. The 2026 dates are:
| Calculator region | 2026 observed date | Day |
|---|---|---|
| Wellington | 19 January | Monday |
| Auckland | 26 January | Monday |
| Nelson | 2 February | Monday |
| Taranaki | 9 March | Monday |
| Otago | 23 March | Monday |
| Southland | 7 April | Tuesday |
| South Canterbury | 28 September | Monday |
| Hawke's Bay | 23 October | Friday |
| Marlborough | 2 November | Monday |
| Canterbury | 13 November | Friday |
| Chatham Islands | 30 November | Monday |
| Westland | 30 November | Monday |
These dates also match Employment New Zealand's 2026 table. That official page warns that its anniversary dates may contain errors and recommends checking with the relevant local council. Local observance can vary within a former province. Employment New Zealand gives specific cautions for Otago, where an employment agreement or established custom may govern, and Westland, where dates vary within the region.
The right calendar depends on the rule, agreement or document that defines the period. It is not always the region where you are working when you make the calculation. The NZ Regional Anniversary Days guide explains the available choices and the points to check before selecting one.
Working-day totals for 2026
There are 250 working days from 1 January to 31 December 2026 when Saturdays, Sundays and the 11 national holidays are excluded. Adding any one of the regional calendars reduces the total by one:
| Calendar | Working days |
|---|---|
| No Anniversary | 250 |
| Any one regional calendar | 249 |
The difference is the regional anniversary day. If you select several regions, the calculator excludes every selected anniversary date. That may be useful for planning across several locations, but it does not establish that a particular rule requires all of those dates to be excluded.
By month, national calendar only
| Month | Working days | National holidays falling on a weekday |
|---|---|---|
| January | 20 | 1 and 2 January |
| February | 19 | Waitangi Day |
| March | 22 | none |
| April | 19 | Good Friday, Easter Monday, ANZAC Day observed |
| May | 21 | none |
| June | 21 | King's Birthday |
| July | 22 | Matariki |
| August | 21 | none |
| September | 22 | none |
| October | 21 | Labour Day |
| November | 21 | none |
| December | 21 | Christmas Day, Boxing Day observed |
April has the lowest total, with 19 working days. Good Friday, Easter Monday and the observed ANZAC Day are all excluded that month.
Checking a count against these totals
To reproduce the national total, select Difference mode and enter 1 January and 31 December 2026. Keep Calendar days off, then select No Anniversary and No Shutdown. The result should be 250 working days. You can open the 2026 national calculation with the dates entered.
Selecting one regional calendar changes the result to 249. A shutdown option reduces it again because the calculator then excludes that additional date window as well as weekends and holidays.
If your count differs from 250, check the excluded dates in the result. For 2026, the dates most easily missed in a manual count are Monday 27 April and Monday 28 December, because the corresponding holidays fall on Saturdays.
Sources
- Employment New Zealand: public holidays and anniversary dates
- Holidays Act 2003, sections 44 to 45A public holidays
- Te Kāhui o Matariki Public Holiday Act 2022
Sources checked 3 August 2026. The annual dates and totals above are covered by executable calculator tests. Employment New Zealand recommends confirming a regional anniversary date with the relevant local council.
