Where the dates come from
Every term date on this site starts from the official calendar published by that state or territory’s own education department, plus the relevant state and national public holiday lists published by government sources. Each state and year page links directly to the specific official source it was built from, so you can check the original figures yourself rather than relying on this site alone.
What we calculate ourselves
Term and holiday dates themselves are official — we don’t estimate or forecast them. On top of those official dates, this site calculates a number of things directly from them, all shown as working figures rather than official statements:
- Total instructional weeks — the sum of calendar weeks across a state’s four terms for a given year.
- Holiday and summer-break length — the number of calendar days between the end of one term and the start of the next, calculated from the official start/end dates.
- Year-over-year comparisons — how a state’s Term 1 start, Term 4 end, and total instructional time compares with the previous or next published year.
- Cross-state comparisons — rankings such as which state returns to school earliest, or which has the longest summer break, calculated across all states with published dates for that year.
- Live term status — which term or break is current today, and how many days remain, calculated against the official dates and today’s date.
Where an official end date hasn’t been published yet (most often a final-year summer holiday that runs into a year not yet confirmed), the page says so directly rather than guessing at a date.
Verification and updates
The “last updated” note near the bottom of each year page reflects when that page was last checked against its official source — not an automated daily timestamp. Dates are rechecked and refreshed as new official calendars are published by each state or territory. Years marked as not yet available are years where the relevant government department has not yet published confirmed dates; this site does not publish estimated or unofficial future dates in their place.
Scope and limitations
Figures on this site are based on government-school term dates for each state and territory. Catholic, independent and private schools frequently set their own pupil-free days and sometimes start or finish a day or two apart from the dates shown here — always confirm directly with your child’s school for anything date-sensitive. This site is independently run and is not an official government website.
Spotted something that doesn’t match the official source?
See the corrections page for how to report it and what happens next.