King's Birthday

King's Birthday is a statutory public holiday set by law and observed once a year in each Australian state and territory. Each state and territory government declares its own date under its own law, with no national publisher.

New South Wales uses the Public Holidays Act 2010 and Queensland uses the Holidays Act 1983. It covers the general public and all businesses and employees, but pay on the day depends on the industrial instrument and national job standards. It is not an economic statistic, survey or index, so nothing is measured, sampled, weighted or adjusted for seasonal patterns.

Nothing is collected and there is no set release day or time, as each government posts its holiday list years in advance in local time. Each release shows the full yearly table in fixed order from New Year's Day to Christmas Day and Boxing Day. Lists change only by formal declaration, in New South Wales under sections 4, 5 and 8 of its Act.

A local event day is not a public holiday, and the Bank Holiday on the first Monday in August is not a declared public holiday. Holidays apply to all businesses, and a substitute day is added under each place's rule when a holiday falls on a weekend. Pay depends on industrial instruments and national job standards, and the lists give no market signal and only set closures.

The date moves only with place and local rule, not with markets or economic forces.

• June observance: The sovereign's birthday holiday for the jurisdiction on the second Monday in June, as set in the state list.
• Queensland October observance: The same holiday in October on the first Monday in October under the holidays law.
• Western Australia September observance: The separately dated holiday on the listed September Monday in the state list.
• WA regional alternative dates: Local substitution where some areas observe the holiday on another date instead of the main date for a local event.

New South Wales observed King's Birthday on 10 June 2024, while Queensland observed the Birthday of the Sovereign on 7 October 2024. The same name fell 4 months apart, so any Australia-wide date must name the place.

1. Identify jurisdiction: Start by naming the state or territory, because dates differ by place and no national date exists.

1. Apply local rule: Use that place's observance rule. New South Wales uses the second Monday in June, Queensland the first Monday in October and Western Australia its listed September Monday.

1. Apply weekend and regional provisions: Use the stated substitution rules for weekends. Use the declared alternative in affected regional areas instead of the city date.

1. Read the published list: Treat the official list as final after applying the rules. For example, the second Monday in June 2024 was 10 June 2024. That was the published New South Wales date.