Purpose:

An Act to provide for the public holidays to be observed in the State; and for other purposes.

Objectives:

• To declare and define standard public holidays for the entire State of New South Wales.
• To provide for the declaration of additional public holidays and the substitution of existing public holidays.
• To extend certain Commonwealth employee entitlements regarding public holidays to New South Wales.
• To enable the declaration of local event days for areas of special community significance without designating them as public holidays.
• To facilitate the making of regulations for the effective administration of the Act.
• To mandate a review of the Act’s policy objectives and effectiveness after a specified period.

Key Provisions:

• Standard Public Holidays: Declares specific days (e.g., New Year’s Day, Australia Day, Good Friday, Easter, Anzac Day, King’s Birthday, Labour Day, Christmas Day, Boxing Day) as public holidays for the whole State, including rules for when holidays fall on weekends.
• Additional Public Holidays: Empowers the Minister to declare a specified day or part-day as an additional public holiday for the whole or a specified part of the State.
• Cancellation of Additional Public Holidays: Authorises the Minister to cancel an additional public holiday declared under Section 5.
• Substituted Public Holidays: Allows the Minister to declare a specified day or part-day as a public holiday in substitution for an original public holiday.
• Employee Entitlements: Applies sections 114 (Entitlement to be absent from employment on public holiday) and 116 (Payment for absence on public holiday) of the Fair Work Act 2009 of the Commonwealth as laws of New South Wales, and deems them industrial instruments for the purposes of Parts 1 and 2 of Chapter 7 of the Industrial Relations Act 1996.
• Local Event Days: Permits the Minister to declare a specified day or part-day as a local event day within a local government area, provided it is of special significance to the community, but clarifies that such a day is not a public holiday.
• Delegations: Allows the Minister to delegate any function under the Act (except the power of delegation) to the Director-General or other prescribed departmental positions.
• Regulations: Grants the Governor power to make regulations necessary or convenient for carrying out or giving effect to the Act.
• Repeal of Banks and Bank Holidays Act 1912: Abolishes the former legislation governing banks and bank holidays.
• Review of Act: Requires the Minister to review the Act within 5 years of its assent to determine if its policy objectives and terms remain appropriate, with a report to be tabled in Parliament.

Evidence of Compliance Requirements For Agricultural Organisations:

This Act primarily defines public holidays and general employee entitlements related to them. It does not impose specific compliance documentation, measurement standards, reporting, record-keeping, or inspection/audit requirements directly on agricultural organisations. However, as employers within New South Wales, agricultural organisations must adhere to the following:

• Observance of Declared Public Holidays: Agricultural organisations must recognise and observe all standard public holidays declared for the whole State, as well as any additional public holidays or substituted public holidays declared by the Minister. This requires monitoring the NSW legislation website for such orders, which must be published at least 7 days before the public holiday (or earlier of the original/substituted day for substituted holidays).
• Employee Absence Entitlement: Agricultural organisations must permit employees to be absent from employment on a public holiday, as stipulated by section 114 of the Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth), which applies as a law in New South Wales.
• Payment for Absence on Public Holidays: Agricultural organisations must ensure employees are paid for their absence on public holidays in accordance with section 116 of the Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth), which applies as a law in New South Wales. This implies that accurate payroll records must be maintained to demonstrate correct public holiday payments.

Metadata Keywords:

Public holidays, New South Wales, Fair Work Act, employee entitlements, industrial relations, local event days, employment law, statutory holidays, NSW legislation.

Publication Information:

Publication date: 13 January 2023 (Current version) Version number: No 115

Agricultural Industry Alignment:

Not specified in document.

Date Added to database:

This document was parsed and added to the database on 25-07-2025

URL:

https://legislation.nsw.gov.au/view/whole/pdf/inforce/2025-04-22/act-2010-115 →