Queensland show holidays belong to named districts, not to the state as a whole. Brisbane observes the Ekka on Wednesday 12 August 2026, while the Gold Coast, Townsville, Cairns and many other districts have their own dates. Selecting Queensland alone is therefore not enough when a local show holiday falls inside the period.
The Northern Territory also publishes regional show days. Victoria uses a different arrangement: Melbourne Cup Day applies across the state unless an annual local alternative replaces it. In each case, the official year and geographic description matter as much as the holiday name.
Queensland appoints show holidays by district and year
The Queensland Government appoints public holidays for agricultural, horticultural and industrial shows each year. Its 2026 table includes:
| District | 2026 show holiday | Date |
|---|---|---|
| Rockhampton region | Rockhampton Agricultural Show | Thu 11 Jun |
| City of Townsville | Townsville Annual Show | Mon 6 Jul |
| Cairns region | Cairns Annual Show | Fri 17 Jul |
| City of Brisbane | Royal Queensland Show | Wed 12 Aug |
| City of Gold Coast | Gold Coast Show | Fri 28 Aug |
A Gold Coast calculation excludes the Gold Coast Show. It does not also exclude Brisbane's Ekka. The same rule applies to Townsville, Cairns and every other district with its own appointed date.
District descriptions can be narrower than a current council boundary. The official list refers in places to former shire divisions, selected postcodes, townships or mapped areas. The show name by itself does not establish that a workplace or contractual location is inside the declared district.
Brisbane and the Gold Coast produce different results
Assume a contract gives 14 working days from Sunday 9 August 2026. Exclude the start date and include the deadline date.
Brisbane observes the Ekka on Wednesday 12 August 2026. The City of Gold Coast observes its show holiday on Friday 28 August 2026.
| Calendar | Holiday affecting the count | Result |
|---|---|---|
| Brisbane | Ekka, Wed 12 Aug | Fri 28 Aug 2026 |
| Gold Coast | None before working day 14; the Gold Coast Show is the following day | Thu 27 Aug 2026 |
Brisbane ends one working day later because its calculation excludes 12 August. The Gold Coast calculation counts that date, and its own show holiday falls after working day 14.
In the calculator, select QLD under State or Territory. Local Holiday Area defaults to Brisbane (Ekka). Change it to Gold Coast Show to run the second calculation without changing the dates or boundaries. A selected district replaces the Brisbane profile with its stored annual show holiday rather than adding to it.
The Northern Territory has five show-day regions
The Northern Territory Government lists these dates for 2026:
| Region | 2026 show day |
|---|---|
| Alice Springs | Fri 3 Jul |
| Tennant Creek | Fri 10 Jul |
| Katherine | Fri 17 Jul |
| Darwin | Fri 24 Jul |
| Borroloola | Fri 14 Aug |
Its official page links to a regional map. Select the profile only after the workplace or other relevant place has been matched to that map.
Victoria starts with Melbourne Cup Day
Business Victoria lists Melbourne Cup Day on Tuesday 3 November 2026 as the statewide default. Its non-metropolitan page, updated on 3 August, now contains 11 rows for stated areas. The Victorian Government Gazette also records a Murtoa full-day holiday and a second Warracknabeal half-holiday that are absent from that page.
The calculator stores all 13 declared dates and half-dates in 12 locality profiles. Murtoa has a full-day holiday on 2 October. Warracknabeal has two half-holidays, from noon on 8 October and from noon on Melbourne Cup Day. Both dates remain working dates in an ordinary whole-day count.
Several entries cover only part of a municipality. Greater Bendigo's applies west of the Campaspe River, and the two Hindmarsh dates cover different groups of localities, each with its own calculator profile. Murtoa and Warracknabeal are also separate profiles. The official declaration decides whether a particular address is inside the area. The Melbourne Cup and local alternatives guide lists the stated areas.
NSW uses two different legal categories
New South Wales publishes local public holidays and Local Event Days on separate lists.
A local public holiday is declared for its stated area and time. The 2026 list includes the Walcha Cup, Kangaroo Valley Show, Albury Gold Cup and Coonamble Show. Many entries apply for only part of the day.
A Local Event Day is not a declared public holiday for work purposes. The NSW Government states this expressly. The words "show" or "cup" in an event name do not establish which category applies.
The calculator does not currently model either NSW list. A NSW local date must therefore be checked against its official category, hours and boundary before it is used in a working-day calculation.
The source must supply the relevant place
For a contract, the business-day definition may refer to a place of performance, named office, registry or another specified location. A state governing-law clause alone does not select a show-day district.
For employment entitlements, the Fair Work Ombudsman says employees are entitled to the public holidays that apply where they are based for work, not where they happen to be working that day. Ordinary hours, awards and agreements can affect pay and attendance after the applicable holiday has been established.
The calculator's Local Holiday Area profiles cover stored Queensland and Northern Territory show dates, supported Victorian alternatives and Tasmania's North and South profiles. The result lists the dates excluded and warns when annual regional data is missing. The official district or map still supplies the geographic boundary, and the annual source must be rechecked when the list has changed since the stored snapshot.
Sources and verification
Sources checked on 4 August 2026:
- Queensland Government: Show holiday dates — annual district descriptions and the 2026 dates used in the table and worked example.
- Northern Territory Government: Public and regional holidays — the five 2026 regional show days and the regional-boundary map link.
- Business Victoria: Victorian public holidays 2026 — Melbourne Cup Day as the statewide default unless an alternative is arranged.
- Business Victoria: Victorian non-metropolitan public holidays 2026 — the 11 rows in the list updated on 3 August 2026.
- Victoria Government Gazette G24, 11 June 2026 — the Murtoa holiday and both Warracknabeal half-holidays.
- NSW Government: Local public holidays — declared local holidays, times and boundaries.
- NSW Government: Local Event Days — the statement that Local Event Days are not public holidays for work purposes.
- Fair Work Ombudsman: Public holidays — the employee work-base rule and the separation of holiday dates from employment entitlements.
