How to maximise your annual leave in 2025 and get more days off

Boost your annual leave days for the coming year and get the most out of your time off.

Here’s how to strategically use 17 days of annual leave, in combination with weekends and public holidays, to get a very solid 46 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, 69% 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.

Christmas and New Year 2024-25

If you have a little extra leave leftover for the year or need to use up some leave before the end of 2024, you can look forward to a 12-day break by taking just five days off.

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

Australia Day 2025

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

• Friday 24 January: Annual Leave (Take day off)
• Saturday 25 January: Weekend
• Sunday 26 January: Weekend
• Monday 27 January: Australia Day public holiday 

Easter & ANZAC Day 2025

You can get a ten-day break (April 18 - April 27) by taking off three days in April.

• Friday 18 April: Good Friday public holiday
• Saturday 19 April: Weekend
• Sunday 20 April: Easter Sunday (weekend)
• Monday 21 April: Easter Monday public holiday
• Tuesday 22 April: Annual Leave (Take day off)
• Wednesday 23 April: Annual Leave (Take day off)
• Thursday 24 April: Annual Leave (Take day off)
• Friday 25 April: ANZAC day public holiday
• Saturday 26 April: Weekend
• Sunday 27 April: Weekend

King’s Birthday 2025 (Public holiday held on different dates in QLD & WA)

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

• Friday 6 June: Annual Leave (Take day off)
• Saturday 7 June: Weekend
• Sunday 8 June: Weekend
• Monday 9 June: King’s Birthday public holiday

Christmas and New Year 2025-26

If you want to get really organised for 2026, you can look forward to a 16-day break over the silly season by taking just seven days off.

• Saturday 20 December: Weekend
• Sunday 21 December: Weekend
• Monday 22 December: Annual Leave (Take day off)
• Tuesday 23 December: Annual Leave (Take day off)
• Wednesday 24 December: Annual Leave (Take day off)
• Thursday 25 December: Christmas Day public holiday
• Friday 26 December: Boxing Day public holiday
• Saturday 27 December: Weekend
• Sunday 28 December: Weekend
• Monday 29 December: Annual Leave (Take day off)
• Tuesday 30 December: Annual Leave (Take day off)
• Wednesday 31 December: Annual Leave (Take day off)
• Thursday 1 January: Public holiday
• Friday 2 January: Annual Leave (Take day off)
• Saturday 3 January: Weekend
• Sunday 4 January: Weekend

This still leaves three 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 4 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.