Calculator Guide

How to use the Australian calculator

Follow the controls in the order they appear, then check the public holidays, settings and excluded dates. This page explains the tool; Use Cases show completed setups and Articles explain the source rules and annual holiday dates.

Open Calculator

A step-by-step guide to calculation types, counting rules and results in the Australian calculator.

Last reviewed: July 2026

Step 1

Choose the calculation you want to run

At-a-Glance

•Manual rules handle one deadline or the difference between two dates
•Court rules apply a selected Australian court jurisdiction
•Sequential joins two or more user-defined stages

Start with the job you need the calculator to do. The mode cards change the controls below them.

Manual rules

Use this for a standard working-day or calendar-day count, with any other exclusion selected explicitly.

Court rules

Use this when you have identified the Australian court, step, start date and period.

Sequential

Use this when one known period finishes and another known period begins.

Check the source before setting up the calculator

Find the start event, period, court, contract clause or SOPA rule in the governing source, then enter those details here.

Try it as you read

The three mode cards appear at the top of the form.

Open the calculator

Manual rules

Run a standard working-day or calendar-day count

At-a-Glance

•Choose Deadline when you know a start date and a period
•Choose Days between when you already know both dates
•Set both boundary checkboxes from the wording of your source

Leave Use court rules off, then work down the form in the order shown.

Australian calculator in Manual rules with a 15-working-day NSW calculation — Manual rules configured for a forward NSW working-day count. Select the image to open the full-size view.

Calculation type

Choose Deadline to calculate a date. Choose Days between to count between two dates.

Direction

Choose Forward to add the period or Backward to count back from an event date.

Counting method

Choose Working days or Calendar days from the wording of the source. Weeks and months are available for calendar-day deadlines.

Start Date and Number of days

Enter the trigger date and the period supplied by your contract, rule or process.

Holiday calendar

Choose the Jurisdiction whose public holidays apply and any item required under Additional excluded periods. It may not be the employer's head office or your current location.

Dates to include

Include the start date only when it is day 1. Include the end date when the calculated date itself completes the period.

A three-day boundary check

Start on Monday and enter 3 calendar days. If Monday is excluded, the count is Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday. If Monday is included, it is Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday. Use this small check when your answer is one day out.

Follow a completed setup

See a standard count that crosses a state holiday.

Open the NSW example

Related Resources

King's Birthday state comparison

The same 15-working-day count in NSW and Queensland

State-by-state holiday differences

Annual detail that belongs outside this tool guide

Public holidays

Select the state, territory and local holidays

At-a-Glance

•Jurisdiction selects the public holidays that apply
•Regional profiles appear in the same selector where supported
•A coverage warning means you must check the current official table

Choose the applicable state, territory or supported regional profile directly under Jurisdiction.

Jurisdiction

Choose a statewide or federal calendar, or a supported Queensland, Northern Territory, Victorian, Tasmanian or Western Australian regional profile when the local date applies.

Warnings

Read every warning. If a local date is missing for the selected year, the result explains what is missing and whether the statewide holiday is still included.

Calculation details

After calculating, check the state, territory or local area shown in the result. Do not rely only on the form selection.

Missing annual data is not a zero-day answer

A missing-year warning means no verified local date is available for that year. Check the official district table before using the result.

For example, select Queensland, Gold Coast Show and a date in 2028. The warning says that no 2028 Gold Coast show date is stored, Brisbane's Ekka is not used, and no local replacement has been added. Check the official Queensland district table before treating that date as a working day.

See local holidays in use

Compare the public holidays used for two Queensland areas.

Open the show-day example

Related Resources

Queensland show-day example

Compare the Brisbane Ekka holiday with the Gold Coast show day

Regional show days and hidden holidays

How the annual district data is sourced and checked

Court deadlines

Set up Court rules

At-a-Glance

•Choose Backward for a notice or Forward for a filing
•Select the court jurisdiction before entering the period
•Turn on an optional court control only when the rule requires it

Turn on Use court rules only after identifying the court and rule. The form displays the counting method and any optional controls for your selection.

Australian Court rules configured for a Victorian filing — Court rules with Direction set forward and the Victorian filing rule resolved. Select the image to open the full-size view.

Direction

Choose Backward for a notice counted from an event, or Forward for a filing counted from a trigger. The calculator resolves the compatible sourced court rule and names it under How this will be counted.

Court jurisdiction

Select the court jurisdiction named in your rule. This is separate from the ordinary holiday selector.

Court level or registry calendar

This appears where a jurisdiction has different court levels or registry closure dates. Select the office or level required for the step you are timing.

Optional court control

A vacation or document-specific exclusion appears only for profiles that support it. The tooltip explains its scope.

Number of days

Enter the period from the rule. The selected profile decides whether a short period changes the counting method.

Read the resolved mechanics

Court jurisdictions can change their counting method at a short-period threshold. Confirm the selected category, threshold branch, boundaries and closed-day rule in the read-only mechanics summary before calculating.

See the controls together

Follow a Victorian filing setup from trigger to result.

Open the court example

Related Resources

Victorian court filing example

A 28-day filing period crossing the Victorian vacation

Australian court deadline rules

Sources, thresholds and jurisdiction differences

Topic

Apply a SOPA exclusion

Enter the SOPA period and select the sourced exclusion matching the jurisdiction and rule version.

Additional excluded periods

Apply a SOPA exclusion explicitly

At-a-Glance

•Use Manual rules with working-day counting
•Enter the period stated in the relevant law or contract
•Select the matching sourced SOPA exclusion

Use Manual rules and working-day counting. Select the jurisdiction and the matching SOPA item under Additional excluded periods, then enter the period you have already found in the source.

Australian calculator with Victoria and a SOPA exclusion selected under Additional excluded periods — Victorian SOPA setup with the applicable sourced exclusion selected. Select the image to open the full-size view.

Counting method

Select Working days. The calculator does not choose this method from the name of the matter.

Jurisdiction

Select the state or territory that applies to the payment claim or adjudication step.

Additional excluded periods

Select the sourced exclusion matching the governing jurisdiction and rule version. Victoria exposes separate Security of Payment — VIC current rules (22 December – 10 January) and earlier transitional entries.

Number of working days

Identify the applicable SOPA rule from the governing law or contract, then enter the period it states.

Non-working dates

Check the jurisdiction, selected exclusion label and every date left out by the SOPA rules.

See the exclusion in use

Follow a payment schedule count across the statutory window.

Open the NSW SOPA example

Related Resources

NSW payment schedule example

A user-supplied ten-business-day period across Christmas

SOPA payment claim deadlines

State definitions, exclusions and the Victorian transition

Topic

Set up a conveyancing count

Enter the contractual mechanics and decide whether the optional December exclusion applies.

Manual rules

Set up a conveyancing count

At-a-Glance

•Enter the period and boundaries from the contract
•The period remains user-supplied
•Select the 27–31 December exclusion only when the contract requires it

Use Manual rules. Enter the period, boundaries and jurisdiction stated by the contract rather than selecting a transaction template.

Additional excluded periods

Select Conveyancing contract — December (27–31 December)only when the contract's business-day definition leaves out those dates.

Jurisdiction

Select the state or territory used by the contract's business-day definition.

Number of working days

Enter the contractual period. One calculated end date does not establish the next legal or contractual trigger.

Do not choose the December setting from the transaction name alone

The optional exclusion is a visible user choice. Check the contract definition before switching it on or off.

See a contract-date setup

Follow a 20-working-day period across Christmas.

Open the settlement example

Related Resources

Conveyancing settlement example

Compare the same contract period in NSW and SA

Topic

Build sequential

Set up and review each documented stage before running the combined calculation.

Sequential

Build a sequential calculation

At-a-Glance

•Each period keeps its own length, boundaries, jurisdiction and exclusions
•The result of one period becomes the starting point for the next
•Review every visible period before calculating

Select Sequential. Enter the shared start date, then set up each period separately.

Period cards

Give each stage a useful label and enter its number of working days.

Add another period

Add a period only when the source contains another consecutive stage.

Dates to include

Set the start and deadline boundary for each stage from the rule or contract for that stage.

Jurisdiction and Additional excluded periods

Select the jurisdiction and optional exclusions separately for each period. Do not assume every stage uses the first period's settings.

Move left / Move right

Check every visible period and reorder only when the source requires a different sequence before selecting Calculate.

Sequential does not invent the next trigger

Chaining periods is arithmetic. Confirm that the result of one stage is legally or contractually the correct start point for the next.

Build your documented stages

Add only stages whose trigger and period you already know.

Open Sequential

Related Resources

Australian use cases

Completed court, SOPA and conveyancing setups

Check the answer

Read and verify the result

At-a-Glance

•Start with the calculated date, then open Calculation details
•Open Non-working dates and check the timeline
•Treat every warning as an action item

Do not stop at the headline date. The result records the assumptions that produced it.

Australian calculator result showing the filing deadline, a closed-day adjustment notice, the period timeline and the calendar — A Court rules result showing the closed-day adjustment, calendar span, timeline and calendar. Select the image to open the full-size view.

Calculated date

Confirm the date and weekday first.

Calculation details

Check the start event, direction, period, jurisdiction, counting method, other exclusions and boundaries.

Working / Weekend / Holidays / Additional excluded periods

Check that these totals match the timeline. A part-day holiday may appear without removing the whole date.

Applied controls

In Court rules, confirm any optional court control recorded by the response. In Manual rules, confirm each explicit exclusion.

Non-working dates

Open the list and check each public holiday, local holiday, court closure and additional-exclusion date.

Calendar

Inspect the day-by-day calendar after checking the applied mechanics and the non-working dates.

Warnings

Deal with missing local dates, unsupported combinations and other warnings before using the result.

Export to PDF

Export only after checking the assumptions. The PDF records the calculation; it does not validate the source rule.

Check a complete calculation

Use a scenario to confirm how the result is presented.

Compare with a use case

Related Resources

Australian calculator examples

Compare your result with a completed scenario

Topic

Troubleshooting

Find the setting most likely to explain an unexpected result.

Final checks

Troubleshoot an unexpected result

At-a-Glance

•Check boundaries before changing the period
•Check the selected state, territory and local area before adding a holiday manually
•Act on warnings instead of treating them as general disclaimers

The answer is one day out

Recheck Include the start date and Include the end date. Then confirm whether the period is working days or calendar days.

A holiday is missing

Check the selected Jurisdiction. For a future local year, read the coverage warning and verify the official annual table.

A regional profile is not shown

Check whether that regional calendar is supported and whether its annual date has been verified. Jurisdiction always remains the single selector.

The court method changed

Check the selected court jurisdiction and period. Some profiles switch from working days to calendar days above a short-period threshold.

The Victorian SOPA result uses the wrong year-end treatment

Check the governing provision's date and transitional terms, then select the matching Victorian entry under Additional excluded periods.

The result differs from the contract or rule

Compare the start event, period, boundaries, state or territory and optional controls with the governing source, then correct any setting that differs.

Checks to complete before relying on the result

Before relying on the result, check the legal or contractual start event, the applicable rule, any right or validity question, and any later event that could change the count.

Still cannot explain the result?

Send the exact settings, result and source you were applying.

Report a calculator issue

Related Resources

Australian use cases

Completed setups for comparison

Australian articles

Primary-source explanations and annual details