Why this catches families out
It’s an easy assumption to make: every Australian state runs four school terms and roughly the same length of holidays, so surely the dates are close enough not to matter. In practice they can differ by one to three weeks depending on the state and the specific break, which matters a lot if you’re timing a move, an enrolment, or a removalist booking around what you think is a shared school holiday window.
A real example from the 2026 calendar
In 2026, Victorian government school students return for Term 1 on 27 January, while Tasmanian government school students don’t return until 5 February — a 9-day gap. A family moving from Victoria to Tasmania in late January could easily assume school has started everywhere once their own children are back at their Victorian school, when Tasmanian schools are still on holidays for over a week longer. The reverse also applies: a family leaving Tasmania while its school holidays are still running could arrive in a state where Term 1 is already well underway.
The same mismatch shows up at every break during the year, not just the summer one. Our state comparison hub breaks down exactly how much each break’s start and finish dates vary between states, year by year.
What to check before you move
- Both states’ current term dates, not just the state you’re leaving. Use the individual state pages linked below rather than relying on memory from your previous state.
- Whether your move date falls in term time or a break in the destination state. A date that’s a holiday where you are now might be a normal school day once you arrive.
- Enrolment timing at the new school, directly with that school, since schools generally manage their own enrolment and transfer paperwork rather than the state department doing it centrally.
- Pupil-free days at the new school, which are a separate calendar from term dates and aren’t always published centrally — see our pupil-free days guide for how these are set state by state.
- Vacation care or OSHC availability if you need holiday care in the gap before or after the move — see our vacation care guide.
Government vs Catholic and independent schools
If you’re moving between school sectors as well as states — for example from a government school to a Catholic or independent school, or the other way around — add an extra layer of checking, since non-government schools can set their own dates a day or two apart from the state government calendar shown on this site’s state pages. Contact the new school directly for their exact calendar rather than assuming it matches the government dates.
Related pages
Compare term dates across every state, or check the state you’re moving to or from directly.