Purpose:

The purpose of this Act is to make new provision with respect to public holidays in Victoria.

Objectives:

• To define and appoint specific public holidays in Victoria.
• To provide mechanisms for the Minister to appoint additional public holidays or public half-holidays.
• To enable the Minister to substitute existing public holidays or public half-holidays with alternative days or half-days.
• To allow non-metropolitan Councils to request a substitute public holiday for Melbourne Cup Day.
• To declare certain days as bank holidays for the purposes of Commonwealth legislation.
• To establish the entitlements of employed persons in Victoria regarding public holidays.

Key Provisions:

• Public Holidays (Section 6): Specifies a fixed list of public holidays including New Year’s Day, Australia Day, Labour Day, Easter holidays, ANZAC Day, the Sovereign’s birthday, the Friday before the Australian Football League Grand Final, Melbourne Cup Day, Christmas Day, and Boxing Day, with provisions for substitute days when holidays fall on weekends.
• Additional Public Holidays (Section 7): Grants the Minister the power to appoint additional public holidays or public half-holidays by notice in the Government Gazette, applicable statewide, to specified parts of the State, or to specific classes of persons or bodies.
• Substituted Public Holidays (Section 8): Authorises the Minister to declare that a specified public holiday will not occur in a given year and to appoint another day or half-day as a substitute public holiday, applicable statewide, to specified parts of the State, or to specific classes of persons or bodies.
• Council Requests for Substitute Holiday (Section 8A): Allows non-metropolitan Councils to formally request a substitution for Melbourne Cup Day in their municipal district.
• Bank Holidays (Section 9): Declares public holidays and public half-holidays appointed under the Act, as well as Saturdays, as bank holidays or bank half-holidays for the purposes of the Commonwealth’s Bills of Exchange Act 1909.
• Holiday Entitlements (Section 10): Stipulates that persons employed in Victoria are entitled to applicable public holidays or public half-holidays without loss of pay, unless they ordinarily work Monday to Friday only and the holiday falls on a Saturday or Sunday and they do not work on that day.
• Regulations (Section 11): Provides the Governor in Council with the power to make regulations necessary to give effect to the Act.

Evidence of Compliance Requirements For Agricultural Organisations:

• Requesting Substitute Public Holidays (Section 8A):
  • Action/Documentation: Non-metropolitan Councils, which may represent agricultural regions, may make a written request to the Minister for a substitute public holiday for Melbourne Cup Day. The request must explicitly specify the day or two half-days of the proposed substituted public holiday and provide the reasons for making the request.
  • Time Frames: The written request must be submitted to the Minister at least 90 days before the Melbourne Cup Day to which the request relates.
• Holiday Pay Entitlements (Section 10):
  • Action: Agricultural organisations employing staff in Victoria must ensure that employees are granted public holidays and public half-holidays without loss of pay. If an employee ordinarily works Monday to Friday only, they are not entitled to payment or time off for a public holiday falling on a Saturday or Sunday unless they actually work on that day.
  • Record-keeping: Organisations must maintain accurate payroll records demonstrating that employees have been paid correctly for public holidays. Records should also document employee attendance and any agreements regarding work performed on public holidays to justify payment or non-payment in accordance with the Act.

Metadata Keywords:

Public holidays, Victoria, employment law, labour entitlements, bank holidays, council requests, legislative compliance, worker rights, Victorian agriculture.

Publication Information:

Publication date and version number: Authorised Version No. 027, incorporating amendments as at 6 April 2020. Original Act No. 119 of 1993, assented to on 7 December 1993.

Agricultural Industry Alignment:

Beef & Veal, Chicken, Coarse Grains, Cotton, Dairy, Eggs, Fisheries, Forestry, Horticulture, Oilseeds, Pig, Sheep Meat, Sugar, Wheat, Wine, Wool.

Date Added to database:

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

URL:

https://content.legislation.vic.gov.au/sites/default/files/2020-04/93-119aa027%20authorised.pdf →