Turn your 2024 annual leave into nearly triple the days off

As we dive into 2024, it’s worth looking at boosting your annual leave days for the coming year.

Here’s how to strategically use 14 days of annual leave, in combination with weekends and public holidays, to get a very solid 35 days’ worth! 

Why it’s important to take annual leave

Most full-time workers in Australia are entitled to four weeks of paid annual leave a year. When used wisely, this time off can reap huge rewards for you both personally and professionally. In fact, 76% of Aussies agree that taking annual holidays helps them be more productive in the workplace.

Get the most out of your annual leave by joining it with public holidays

While some public holidays may differ between Australian states, the major holidays (Australia Day, Easter, ANZAC Day and Christmas & New Years) all offer an opportunity to boost your days off.

Australia Day 2024

You can get a four-day break by taking a day off on January 29.

• Friday 26 January: Australia Day public holiday
• Saturday 27 January: Weekend
• Sunday 28 January: Weekend
• Monday 29 January: Take day off

Easter 2024

You can get a ten-day break (March 29 - April 7) by taking off four days in April.

• Friday 29 March: Good Friday public holiday
• Saturday 30 March: Weekend
• Sunday 31 March: Easter Sunday (weekend)
• Monday 1 April: Easter Monday public holiday
• Tuesday 2 April: Take day off
• Wednesday 3 April: Take day off
• Thursday 4 April: Take day off
• Friday April 5: Take day off
• Saturday 6 April: Weekend
• Sunday 7 April: Weekend

ANZAC Day 2024

You can get a nine-day break by taking four days off.

• Saturday 20 April: Weekend
• Sunday 21 April: Weekend
• Monday 22 April: Take day off
• Tuesday 23 April: Take the day off
• Wednesday 24 April: Take day off
• Thursday 25 April: ANZAC DAY public holiday
• Friday 26 April: Take the day off
• Saturday 27 April: Weekend
• Sunday 28 April: Weekend

Christmas and New Year 2024/25

If you want to get really organised for 2025, you can look forward to a 12-day break over the silly season by taking just five days off.

• Saturday 21 December: Weekend
• Sunday 22 December: Weekend
• Monday 23 December: Take day off
• Tuesday 24 December: Take day off
• Wednesday 25 December: Christmas Day public holiday
• Thursday 26 December: Boxing Day public holiday
• Friday 27 December: Take day off
• Saturday 28 December: Weekend
• Sunday 29 December: Weekend
• Monday 30 December: Take day off
• Tuesday 31 December: Take day off
• Wednesday 1 January: Public holiday

This still leaves seven days of annual leave to use as you wish. You could use them together or spread them out over a few weekends to get a few bigger breaks during the year. If you’re in Victoria, for example, the Melbourne Cup on Tuesday 5 November could be a prime time to take a Monday for an extra-long weekend. Check out Fair Work Ombudsman to find out more.

Annual leave allows you to take a proper break from work and return feeling refreshed. It can also give you time and space to think about new directions for your career or new ways of doing things. 

By looking at all the public holidays coming up in the next year, you can build an annual leave plan that maximises the chance to recharge your batteries.

Source: Independent research conducted by Nature of behalf of SEEK, interviewing 4800 Australians annually. Published January 2024.