{"id":"public-holidays-act-1981","name":"Public Holidays Act 1981","slug":"public-holidays-act-1981","collection":"act","jurisdiction":"nt","status":"in_force","isInForce":true,"actNumber":null,"makingDate":null,"administeringDepartment":null,"currentVersion":{"id":30458,"registerId":"nt-public-holidays-act-1981-current","compilationNumber":null,"startDate":"2026-04-01","status":"InForce","reasons":null,"registeredAt":null},"sections":[{"sectionNumber":"1","sectionType":"section","heading":"Public Holidays Act 1981","content":"NORTHERN TERRITORY OF AUSTRALIA\nPUBLIC HOLIDAYS ACT 1981\nAs in force at 1 June 2023\nTable of provisions\n1 Short title ......................................................................................... 1\n2 Commencement .............................................................................. 1\n3 Repeal ............................................................................................. 1\n5 Public holidays................................................................................. 1\n5A Public holiday for the National Day of Mourning for\nQueen Elizabeth II ........................................................................... 1\n6 Additional public holidays ................................................................ 1\n7 Alteration of public holidays ............................................................. 2\n8 Appointed public holidays ................................................................ 2\n9 Notice of appointed public holidays ................................................. 2\n10 Notice of appointed public holidays – less than 28 days ................. 2\n11 Regulations...................................................................................... 3\nSchedule 1 Repealed Ordinances and Act\nSchedule 2 Public holidays\nENDNOTES\n\n\n\nNORTHERN TERRITORY OF AUSTRALIA\n____________________\nAs in force at 1 June 2023\n____________________\nPUBLIC HOLIDAYS ACT 1981\nAn Act relating to public holidays\n1 Short title\nThis Act may be cited as the Public Holidays Act 1981.\n2 Commencement\nThis Act shall come into operation on a date to be fixed by the\nAdministrator by notice in the Gazette.\n3 Repeal\nThe Ordinances and Act specified in Schedule 1 are repealed.\n5 Public holidays\nSubject to section 7, the days or parts of days specified in\nSchedule 2 shall, in each year, be observed as public holidays in\nthe Territory.\n5A Public holiday for the National Day of Mourning for\nQueen Elizabeth II\nThe day of 22 September 2022 is to be observed as a public\nholiday in the Territory.\n6 Additional public holidays\nThe Minister may, by notice in the Gazette, appoint a day or part of\na day to be a public holiday in addition to the public holidays\nspecified in Schedule 2 to be observed as such:\n(a) in the Territory or such part or parts of the Territory as is or are\nspecified in the notice; and\n(b) by all or such section or sections of the community of the\nTerritory as is or are specified in the notice.\n\nPublic Holidays Act 1981 2\n7 Alteration of public holidays\nThe Minister may, by notice in the Gazette:\n(a) declare that a day or part of a day in a year that would,\notherwise than by virtue of this Act, be observed as a public\nholiday shall not be so observed as a public holiday in that\nyear; and\n(b) appoint another day or part of a day in that year to be\nobserved as a public holiday in its stead.\n8 Appointed public holidays\nA day or part of a day appointed as a public holiday under\nsection 6, and a day or part of a day appointed as a public holiday\nunder section 7, shall each be observed as a public holiday in\naccordance with the terms of the notice, as the case requires.\n9 Notice of appointed public holidays\nSubject to section 10, a notice under section 6 or 7 must be\npublished in the Gazette not less than 28 days before the public\nholiday appointed by the notice.\n10 Notice of appointed public holidays – less than 28 days\n(1) Subsection (2) applies in relation to a day or part of a day if:\n(a) the Australian Prime Minister and the Premier or Chief\nMinister of each State and Territory agree that the day or part\nof the day should be observed as a public holiday nationally;\nand\n(b) as soon as practicable after the agreement mentioned in\nparagraph (a), the Chief Minister advises the Minister in\nwriting to appoint the day or part of the day to be a public\nholiday; and\n(c) the agreement mentioned in paragraph (a) is reached less\nthan 28 days before the day or part of the day.\n(2) Despite section 9, a notice under section 6 appointing the day or\npart of the day to be a public holiday may be published in the\nGazette less than 28 days before the day or part of the day.\n\nPublic Holidays Act 1981 3\n11 Regulations\nThe Administrator may make regulations under this Act.\nNote for section 11\nSee section 65 of the Interpretation Act 1978.\n\nSchedule 1 Repealed Ordinances and Act\nPublic Holidays Act 1981 4\nSchedule 1 Repealed Ordinances and Act\nsection 3\nHolidays Ordinance 1957 (No. 33 of 1957)\nHolidays Ordinance 1959 (No. 3 of 1959)\nHolidays Ordinance 1960 (No. 5 of 1961)\nHolidays Ordinance 1962 (No. 21 of 1962)\nHolidays Ordinance (No. 2) 1962 (No. 41 of 1962)\nHolidays Ordinance 1963 (No. 29 of 1963)\nHolidays Ordinance 1967 (No. 52 of 1967)\nHolidays Ordinance 1969 (No. 30 of 1970)\nHolidays Ordinance 1973 (No. 3 of 1973)\nHolidays Ordinance 1974 (No. 17 of 1974)\nHolidays Amendment Act 1980 (No. 9 of 1981)\n\nSchedule 2 Public holidays\nPublic Holidays Act 1981 5\nSchedule 2 Public holidays\nsection 5\n1 January (New Year's Day) and, if that day falls on a Saturday or Sunday,\nthe following Monday\n26 January (Australia Day) or, if that day falls on a Saturday or a Sunday, the\nfollowing Monday\nGood Friday\nThe Saturday following Good Friday\nThe Sunday following Good Friday\nThe Monday following Good Friday\n25 April (Anzac Day) or, if that day falls on a Sunday, the following Monday\nThe first Monday in May (May Day)\nThe second Monday in June\nThe first Monday in August (Picnic Day)\n24 December (Christmas Eve) from 7.00 pm to midnight\n25 December (Christmas Day) and, if that day falls on a Saturday or Sunday,\nthe following Monday\n26 December (Boxing Day) and:\n(a) if that day falls on a Saturday – the following Monday; or\n(b) if that day falls on a Sunday or Monday – the following Tuesday\n31 December (New Year's Eve) from 7.00 pm to midnight\n\nENDNOTES\nPublic Holidays Act 1981 6\nENDNOTES\n1 KEY\nKey to abbreviations\namd = amended od = order\napp = appendix om = omitted\nbl = by-law pt = Part\nch = Chapter r = regulation/rule\ncl = clause rem = remainder\ndiv = Division renum = renumbered\nexp = expires/expired rep = repealed\nf = forms s = section\nGaz = Gazette sch = Schedule\nhdg = heading sdiv = Subdivision\nins = inserted SL = Subordinate Legislation\nlt = long title sub = substituted\nnc = not commenced\n2 LIST OF LEGISLATION\nPublic Holidays Act 1981 (Act No. 71, 1981)\nAssent date 18 September 1981\nCommenced 11 December 1981 (Gaz G49, 11 December 1981, p 2)\nPublic Holidays Amendment Act 1982 (Act No. 25, 1982)\nAssent date 16 June 1982\nCommenced 16 June 1982\nPublic Holidays Amendment Act 1983 (Act No. 38, 1983)\nAssent date 3 October 1983\nCommenced 3 October 1983\nCriminal Law (Regulatory Offences) Act 1983 (Act No. 68, 1983)\nAssent date 28 November 1983\nCommenced 1 January 1984 (s 2, s 2 Criminal Code Act 1983 (Act No. 47,\n1983), Gaz G46, 18 November 1983, p 11 and Gaz G8,\n26 February 1986, p 5)\nStatute Law Revision Act 1989 (Act No. 60, 1989)\nAssent date 2 October 1989\nCommenced 2 October 1989\nPublic Sector Employment and Management (Consequential Amendments) Act 1993\n(Act No. 28, 1993)\nAssent date 30 June 1993\nCommenced 1 July 1993 (s 2, s 2 Public Sector Employment and\nManagement Act 1993 (Act No. 11, 1993) and Gaz S53,\n29 June 1993)\nSentencing (Consequential Amendments) Act 1996 (Act No. 17, 1996)\nAssent date 19 April 1996\nCommenced s 7: 19 April 1996; rem: 1 July 1996 (s 2, s 2 Sentencing\nAct 1995 (Act No. 39, 1995) and Gaz S15, 13 June 1996)\n\nENDNOTES\nPublic Holidays Act 1981 7\nStatute Law Revision Act (No. 2) 2001 (Act No. 62, 2001)\nAssent date 11 December 2001\nCommenced 11 December 2001\nStatute Law Revision Act (No. 2) 2004 (Act No. 54, 2004)\nAssent date 15 September 2004\nCommenced 27 October 2004 (Gaz G43, 27 October 2004, p 3)\nPenalties Amendment (Miscellaneous) Act 2013 (Act No. 23, 2013)\nAssent date 12 July 2013\nCommenced 28 August 2013 (Gaz G35, 28 August 2013, p 2)\nStatute Law Amendment (Directors' Liability) Act 2015 (Act No. 26, 2015)\nAssent date 18 September 2015\nCommenced 14 October 2015 (Gaz G41, 14 October 2015, p 3)\nPublic Holidays Amendment Act 2016 (Act No. 33, 2016)\nAssent date 7 December 2016\nCommenced 7 December 2016\nStatute Law Revision Act 2018 (Act No. 10, 2018)\nAssent date 23 May 2018\nCommenced 20 June 2018 (Gaz S41, 20 June 2018)\nPublic Holidays Amendment Act 2022 (Act No. 23, 2022)\nAssent date 31 October 2022\nCommenced 19 September 2022 (s 2)\nPublic Holidays Amendment Act 2023 (Act No. 15, 2023)\nAssent date 31 May 2023\nCommenced 1 June 2023 (s 2)\n3 GENERAL AMENDMENTS\nGeneral amendments of a formal nature (which are not referred to in the table\nof amendments to this reprint) are made by the Interpretation Legislation\nAmendment Act 2018 (Act No. 22, 2018) to: ss 1, 4 and 11.\n4 LIST OF AMENDMENTS\ns 4 amd No. 60, 1989, s 6; No. 62, 2001, s 15; No. 33, 2016, s 3\nrep No. 15, 2023, s 4\ns 5 amd No. 33, 2016, s 4\ns 5A ins No. 23, 2022, s 4\ns 6 amd No. 33, 2016, s 5\ns 7 amd No. 33, 2016, s 6\ns 8 amd No. 33, 2016, s 7\ns 9 amd No. 15, 2023, s 5\ns 10 amd No. 33, 2016, s 8\nsub No. 15, 2023, s 6\ns 11 amd No. 25, 1982, s 2; No. 28, 1993, s 3; No. 54, 2004, s 7; No. 10, 2018, s 6\nsub No. 15, 2023, s 6\nss 12 – 15 amd No. 54, 2004, s 7\nrep No. 15, 2023, s 6\n\nENDNOTES\nPublic Holidays Act 1981 8\ns 16 amd No. 17, 1996, s 6; No. 54, 2004, s 7; No. 23, 2013, s 9; No. 26, 2015,\ns 103\nrep No. 15, 2023, s 6\ns 16A ins No. 68, 1983, s 122\namd No. 26, 2015, s 104\nrep No. 15, 2023, s 6\ns 17 rep No. 15, 2023, s 6\nsch 2 amd No. 38, 1983, s 2; No. 33, 2016, s 9; No. 15, 2023, s 7","sortOrder":0}],"analysis":{"issue_detection":{"absurdities":[],"contradictions":[]},"flash_summary_failed":{"failed":true,"reason":"Unauthenticated. Configure AI_GATEWAY_API_KEY or use a provider module. Learn more: https://ai-sdk.dev/unauthenticated-ai-gateway","source":"analysis-cron"},"kimi_summary":{"content_quality":"ok","complexity_score":2,"scope_assessment":{"changed":false,"description":"The legislation remains tightly focused on its original purpose of declaring and administering public holidays. While it has been amended multiple times (notably adding the 2022 National Day of Mourning and refining notice requirements), these changes reflect the Act's intended function of providing flexible holiday administration rather than mission creep."},"complexity_factors":["Short statute (only 11 operative sections, approximately 4 pages of substantive law)","Minimal defined terms (no interpretation section with extensive definitions)","Straightforward conditional logic (primarily 'if-then' weekend substitution rules in Schedule 2)","Simple administrative mechanism (Gazette notices for alterations)","Single nested exception (section 10 creates an exception to the 28-day notice rule in section 9)","No complex cross-referencing (only incidental reference to Interpretation Act 1978 in a note)"],"plain_english_summary":"This law sets out the official public holidays for the Northern Territory and gives the government power to add, remove, or swap holidays.\n\n**What it does:**\n- **Lists fixed holidays** (Schedule 2): These include New Year's Day, Australia Day, Easter (four days), Anzac Day, May Day, a June holiday, Picnic Day, Christmas Eve (from 7pm), Christmas Day, Boxing Day, and New Year's Eve (from 7pm). If these fall on weekends, substitute Mondays (or Tuesdays for Boxing Day) are specified.\n- **Allows extra holidays**: The Minister can declare additional public holidays for the whole Territory or specific areas, and for everyone or just specific groups (section 6).\n- **Allows swapping holidays**: The Minister can cancel a scheduled holiday and move it to another day in the same year (section 7).\n- **Special one-off holiday**: Section 5A specifically made 22 September 2022 a public holiday for the National Day of Mourning for Queen Elizabeth II.\n- **Notice requirements**: Normally, new or changed holidays need 28 days' notice in the official Gazette (section 9). However, if all Australian leaders agree on a last-minute national holiday, the 28-day rule can be skipped (section 10).\n\n**Who it affects:**\nEveryone in the Northern Territory—workers, employers, businesses, and government agencies. It determines when shops must close, when penalty rates apply, and when government services shut down.\n\n**Why it matters:**\nIt provides certainty about days off work and ensures the Territory can respond to special events (like royal funerals or major sporting victories) by declaring extra holidays with minimal red tape."},"flash_summary":{"complexity_score":3,"scope_assessment":{"changed":true,"description":"The Act retains its original purpose of fixing public holidays, but its scope has been incrementally expanded since 1981. Amendments added explicit ministerial power to appoint or alter public holidays (s 6–7), a formal 28-day notice rule with a national-coordination short-notice exception (s 9–10), and an example of an ad hoc, time-limited public holiday (the 22 September 2022 National Day of Mourning, s 5A). These changes broaden the Act’s operational toolkit (from a static list to a mechanism for ad hoc and nationally co-ordinated declarations) but do not repurpose the statute into a different subject area; they are incremental enlargements of the original administrative function (see ss 5–10)."},"complexity_factors":["Short, 11 substantive sections plus two schedules","Few defined terms or nested definitions","Schedule 2 contains conditional weekend-substitution rules (multiple conditional clauses)","Ministerial discretion to appoint or alter holidays (s 6–7) introduces discretionary administrative action","Notice requirement with a specific short-notice exception tied to national agreement (s 9–10) — cross-jurisdictional coordination","Cross-references to Gazette publication process and Interpretation Act (s 9, note to s 11)","Interaction required with other regimes (industrial instruments, retail trading laws) increases practical complexity despite statutory brevity","One-off inserted provision (s 5A) showing capacity for ad hoc amendments"],"plain_english_summary":"Sets the Northern Territory’s annual public‑holiday calendar and gives the Minister authority to add, cancel or substitute holidays by Gazette notice (28‑day default, narrow short‑notice national exception). The Act declares which days must be observed as public holidays but does not set pay rates or trading rules—those follow from industrial instruments and other laws. It primarily affects employers, employees, businesses and government services through rostering, pay and operational impacts."}},"importantCases":[],"_links":{"self":"/api/acts/public-holidays-act-1981","history":"/api/acts/public-holidays-act-1981/history","analysis":"/api/acts/public-holidays-act-1981/analysis","conflicts":"/api/acts/public-holidays-act-1981/conflicts","importantCases":"/api/acts/public-holidays-act-1981/important-cases","documents":"/api/acts/public-holidays-act-1981/documents"}}