NSW school holidays 2026
New South Wales government school holidays in 2026: autumn 3 April to 21 April, winter 4 July to 20 July, spring 26 September to 12 October, summer 18 December to 2 February 2027. Students start Term 1 on Monday 2 February 2026 (staff from Tuesday 27 January) and finish Term 4 on Thursday 17 December 2026. These dates apply in Sydney, Newcastle, Wollongong and the Central Coast and across NSW.
These are the 2026 dates. NSW school holidays 2027
| Period | Starts | Ends | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| Term 1Students start Mon 2 Feb9.4 weeks | Tue 27 Jan | Thu 2 Apr | 9.4 weeks |
| Autumn school holidaysApril holidays2 weeks and 5 days | Fri 3 Apr | Tue 21 Apr | 2 weeks and 5 days |
| Term 2Students start Wed 22 Apr10.7 weeks | Mon 20 Apr | Fri 3 Jul | 10.7 weeks |
| Winter school holidaysJuly holidays2 weeks and 3 days | Sat 4 Jul | Mon 20 Jul | 2 weeks and 3 days |
| Term 3Students start Tue 21 Jul9.7 weeks | Mon 20 Jul | Fri 25 Sep | 9.7 weeks |
| Spring school holidaysSeptember–October holidays2 weeks and 3 days | Sat 26 Sep | Mon 12 Oct | 2 weeks and 3 days |
| Term 4Students start Tue 13 Oct9.6 weeks | Mon 12 Oct | Thu 17 Dec | 9.6 weeks |
| Summer school holidaysChristmas holidays6 weeks and 5 days | Fri 18 Dec | Tue 2 Feb 2027 | 6 weeks and 5 days |
Holidays run from the day after students finish to the day before they return, weekends included. Terms show the department's dates, which can include staff-only days.
- Source
- NSW Department of Education
- Checked
- 26 October 2026
- Status
- Official dates
Western Division
Only Term 1 and the summer holidays differ; Terms 2-4, the other holidays and other School Development Days are the same as the Eastern division. Western summer 2025-26 ran to Monday 2 February 2026.
| Term | Starts | Ends |
|---|---|---|
| Term 1 | Tue 3 Feb 2026 | Thu 2 Apr 2026 |
Pupil-free days in 2026
Schools are open for staff but students don't attend on these days. Days next to a holiday make the break a day longer for children.
- Tuesday 27 January 2026
- Wednesday 28 January 2026
- Thursday 29 January 2026
- Friday 30 January 2026
- Monday 20 April 2026
- Tuesday 21 April 2026
- Monday 20 July 2026
- Monday 12 October 2026
Public holidays during term
These NSW public holidays fall on school days during 2026 terms, so government schools are closed:
- Monday 27 April 2026: Anzac Day additional day
- Monday 8 June 2026: King's Birthday
2026 calendar
January
| M | T | W | T | F | S | S |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | |||
| 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 |
| 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 |
| 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 |
| 26 | 27 | 28 | 29 | 30 | 31 |
February
| M | T | W | T | F | S | S |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | ||||||
| 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 |
| 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 |
| 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 |
| 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 | 27 | 28 |
March
| M | T | W | T | F | S | S |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | ||||||
| 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 |
| 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 |
| 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 |
| 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 | 27 | 28 | 29 |
| 30 | 31 |
April
| M | T | W | T | F | S | S |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | ||
| 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 |
| 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 |
| 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 |
| 27 | 28 | 29 | 30 |
May
| M | T | W | T | F | S | S |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 3 | ||||
| 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 |
| 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 |
| 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 |
| 25 | 26 | 27 | 28 | 29 | 30 | 31 |
June
| M | T | W | T | F | S | S |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 |
| 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 |
| 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 |
| 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 | 27 | 28 |
| 29 | 30 |
July
| M | T | W | T | F | S | S |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | ||
| 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 |
| 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 |
| 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 |
| 27 | 28 | 29 | 30 | 31 |
August
| M | T | W | T | F | S | S |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | |||||
| 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 |
| 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 |
| 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 |
| 24 | 25 | 26 | 27 | 28 | 29 | 30 |
| 31 |
September
| M | T | W | T | F | S | S |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | |
| 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 |
| 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 |
| 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 | 27 |
| 28 | 29 | 30 |
October
| M | T | W | T | F | S | S |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | |||
| 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 |
| 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 |
| 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 |
| 26 | 27 | 28 | 29 | 30 | 31 |
November
| M | T | W | T | F | S | S |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | ||||||
| 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 |
| 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 |
| 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 |
| 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 | 27 | 28 | 29 |
| 30 |
December
| M | T | W | T | F | S | S |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | |
| 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 |
| 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 |
| 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 | 27 |
| 28 | 29 | 30 | 31 |
School holidaysPublic holiday
Catholic and independent schools
These dates are for NSW public schools, set by the NSW Department of Education. Catholic and independent schools set their own term dates, which are usually close to the public school dates but can differ by a day or more, so check with your school. There is no single statewide Catholic calendar: each diocese sets its own dates. One example is Catholic Education in the Archdiocese of Canberra and Goulburn, which publishes dates for its NSW schools at cg.catholic.edu.au. These mostly match the public school student days but differ by a day at some term starts and ends (in 2026, its Term 2 runs 21 April to 2 July, against 22 April to 3 July for public schools).
Questions
When do the NSW school holidays start in 2026?
The first NSW school holidays of 2026 run from Friday 3 April to Tuesday 21 April 2026 (2 weeks and 5 days), after students finish Term 1 on Thursday 2 April 2026.
When does Term 1 start in NSW in 2026?
Term 1 starts on Tuesday 27 January 2026 for staff, and students start on Monday 2 February 2026. It ends on Thursday 2 April 2026.
When does Term 4 end in NSW in 2026?
Term 4 ends on Thursday 17 December 2026. The summer holidays then run until Tuesday 2 February 2027, 6 weeks and 5 days in all.
Are the NSW Easter holidays in 2026 at Easter?
Yes. Easter Sunday is Sunday 5 April 2026, inside the autumn school holidays (Friday 3 April to Tuesday 21 April 2026).
Do Sydney school holidays differ from the rest of NSW?
Sydney uses the main NSW government school dates shown here. Schools in the Western Division follow different dates for part of the year, set out on this page.
Other years
Source: 2026 term dates, NSW Department of Education. Checked 26 October 2026. All official sources.