Australian School Holiday Comparison 2026 — All States

A side-by-side comparison of official 2026 school term dates across every Australian state and territory, calculated directly from the term and holiday dates published on each state’s own 2026 page. Use it to see who starts and finishes school earliest, whose holidays run longest, and how much instructional time each state schedules.

How 2026 compares across states

• Earliest school return: Victoria, Queensland and South Australia start Term 1 earliest in 2026, on 27 January 2026.
• Latest school return: Tasmania starts latest, on 5 February 2026 — a 9-day spread across the states with published dates.
• Longest summer holidays: Queensland, South Australia and Northern Territory have the longest 2026–2027 summer break among states with a confirmed end date, at 46 days.
• Shortest summer holidays: Victoria has the shortest, at 38 days.
• Most instructional time: Victoria runs the most total instructional time in 2026, at 41 weeks.
• Least instructional time: New South Wales, Queensland, South Australia, Western Australia, Tasmania, Australian Capital Territory and Northern Territory run the least, at 40 weeks.

Figures are calculated directly from each state’s published term and holiday dates — see the linked state/year pages for the full tables and sources. “Total instructional time” is calendar weeks across the four terms; it is not a count of individual school days.

How the 2026 term break windows overlap between states

School holiday breaks don’t line up neatly across Australia — each state and territory sets its own term dates, so the same named break (autumn, winter or spring) can start more than a week apart depending on where you live. Here is how the 2026 mid-year breaks compare, calculated directly from each state’s own published dates:

Autumn break: Victoria is first to start, on 3 April 2026, while Tasmania starts last, on 18 April 2026 — a 15-day spread in start dates alone. The autumn breaks don’t fully overlap this year: Northern Territory’s break is the shortest and finishes on 13 April, 4 days before Tasmania even starts its break on 18 April, so a single trip can’t land inside every state’s autumn break at once.

Winter break: Northern Territory is first to start, on 20 June 2026, while Tasmania starts last, on 11 July 2026 — a 21-day spread in start dates alone. Every state’s winter break overlaps for at least 2 days, from 11 July to 12 July 2026, so a trip booked inside that window avoids clashing with term time anywhere.

Spring break: Victoria is first to start, on 19 September 2026, while Tasmania starts last, on 3 October 2026 — a 14-day spread in start dates alone. Every state’s spring break overlaps for at least 2 days, from 3 October to 4 October 2026, so a trip booked inside that window avoids clashing with term time anywhere.

These overlap windows are useful for interstate trips, visiting family in another state, or coordinating with relatives whose kids attend school in a different state or territory. Always check the linked state pages for that state’s exact dates before booking, since a school’s own pupil-free days can shift the effective start or end of a break by a day or two.

Open each state’s 2026 page

More comparisons

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