Select your country to see school holiday dates.
School holidays in Australia are set by each state and territory's education department, which means the dates vary depending on where you live. NSW, Victoria, Queensland, South Australia, Western Australia, Tasmania, the ACT, and the Northern Territory all run on slightly different schedules — and private schools sometimes differ from the state school calendar too. If you're planning family travel, childcare, or anything that depends on when kids are off school, checking the right state's calendar is essential.
Most Australian states run a four-term school year, with terms typically starting in late January or early February and ending in mid-December. The longest break is the summer holidays over Christmas and New Year — usually 6-8 weeks. The other three inter-term breaks run approximately two weeks each, falling around Easter in Term 1, late June/July between Terms 2 and 3, and late September/October between Terms 3 and 4.
International school calendars differ significantly. The UK runs three terms with longer mid-term half-term breaks. The US runs a single long semester system with a summer break typically spanning June through August. New Zealand's four-term calendar is similar to Australia's but offset by the southern hemisphere seasons. This tool covers school holiday dates for Australia, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, the United States, and Canada.
No — each state and territory sets its own school holiday calendar. The dates are broadly similar in structure (four terms with breaks in between) but the exact start and end dates differ. Queensland, for example, often starts Term 1 a week earlier than NSW. Always check the calendar for your specific state.
Not always. Private and independent schools in Australia set their own holiday calendars, which sometimes differ from the state school dates — particularly for the start of Term 1 and the length of mid-year breaks. Check directly with your school for confirmed dates.
Select your state from the options above to see the current year's school holiday dates. Dates are updated annually when each state education department publishes the following year's calendar, usually in the second half of the current year.
The summer/Christmas school holidays in Australia typically run for 6-8 weeks, from mid-December to late January or early February. This is the longest school break of the year and the peak period for family travel, which is reflected in higher prices for flights and accommodation during this window.
UK state schools typically finish for summer in mid to late July and return in early September — a break of approximately 6 weeks. This is shorter than the Australian summer break and significantly shorter than the US summer break, which typically runs from late May or June through to August or September.