Planning a getaway around the school holidays is a sport in itself in Victoria, and the 2025 calendar brings a clean set of opportunities for anyone juggling work, school runs, and annual leave. With 13 public holidays and four school terms to coordinate, this year offers more alignment points than usual — especially if you know where to look.

4 related posts

Victoria public holidays in 2025: 13 ·
School terms in 2025: 4 ·
Summer holiday duration (2024–2025): 6 weeks (20 Dec 2024 – 28 Jan 2025) ·
Melbourne Cup Day 2025: 4 November 2025 ·
Longest public holiday weekend: Easter (Good Friday 18 Apr – Easter Monday 21 Apr)

Quick snapshot

1Confirmed facts
2What’s unclear
3Timeline signal
4What’s next
  • Publish integrated calendar crossing school breaks with public holidays
  • Monitor AFL Grand Final scheduling for Friday 26 September
Metric Value
Total public holidays 13
Total school terms 4
First day of Term 1 28 January 2025
Last day of Term 4 19 December 2025
Melbourne Cup Day 4 November 2025
Longest holiday break Summer holidays (5–6 weeks)

The pattern: these six metrics anchor every planning decision a Victorian family or small business owner needs to make for the year ahead. The interplay between term breaks and public holidays determines where the real opportunities for extended time off lie.

What are the dates for Victorian school holidays in 2025?

Victorian government schools operate on four terms, each with set start and end dates published by the Victorian Government Department of Education. The break between terms gives families clear windows for travel, but the exact number of pupil-free days also depends on how public holidays fall within each term.

Term 1 dates

  • Term 1 runs from Tuesday 28 January to Friday 4 April 2025 (Victorian Government Department of Education)
  • Students in government schools start on Wednesday 29 January 2025 — the first day is a pupil-free day for staff

Term 2 dates

  • Term 2 runs from Tuesday 22 April to Friday 4 July 2025 (Victorian Government Department of Education)

Term 3 dates

  • Term 3 runs from Monday 21 July to Friday 19 September 2025 (Victorian Government Department of Education)

Term 4 dates

  • Term 4 runs from Monday 6 October to Friday 19 December 2025 (Victorian Government Department of Education)
Bottom line: Victorian families get four distinct term breaks in 2025. Term 2 is the longest block between breaks, while Term 4 ends just before Christmas — meaning the summer holidays start 19 December 2025 for most students.

How many public holidays are there in Victoria, Australia in 2025?

Victoria ties with the Australian Capital Territory for the highest count of public holidays in the country: 13 official days off in 2025. That includes the national standard dates plus two state-specific additions — Labour Day and Melbourne Cup Day — that many other states do not observe.

Total count of public holidays

List of official dates

  • New Year’s Day: Wednesday 1 January
  • Australia Day: Monday 27 January
  • Labour Day: Monday 10 March
  • Good Friday: Friday 18 April
  • Easter Monday: Monday 21 April (Fair Work Ombudsman, national workplace regulator)
  • ANZAC Day: Friday 25 April
  • King’s Birthday: Monday 9 June
  • Grand Final Friday: Friday 26 September (subject to AFL schedule)
  • Melbourne Cup Day: Tuesday 4 November
  • Christmas Day: Thursday 25 December
  • Boxing Day: Friday 26 December
The catch

Grand Final Friday is conditional on the AFL schedule. Businesses and schools should treat 26 September as provisional until the AFL confirms its fixture, usually in the first quarter of 2025.

The pattern: three public holidays land within Term 1 (Australia Day, Labour Day, Good Friday), and Term 3 has only the provisional Grand Final Friday. For families planning around school breaks, Term 1 is the most interrupted term — and arguably the best one to stretch into a longer trip.

How long are the summer holidays in Victoria 2025?

Summer holidays are the longest continuous break in the Victorian school calendar, running from mid-December through late January. For 2024–2025, that stretch is roughly six weeks — enough for a full interstate trip or an extended stay overseas without touching annual leave.

Start and end dates

  • Summer holidays 2024/2025: from Friday 20 December 2024 to Tuesday 28 January 2025 (Victorian Government Department of Education)
  • Students return for Term 1 on Wednesday 29 January 2025

Number of weeks

  • Duration: 5 weeks and 4 days (approximately 6 weeks including weekends)
  • This is consistent with previous years’ summer break length in Victoria
Why this matters

For families considering international travel, the summer window is the only block long enough to avoid pulling children out of school. The 6-week stretch covers Christmas and New Year, which also means higher flight and accommodation costs — but the trade-off is zero missed school time.

The implication: if you want the fullest break without using annual leave, summer is the obvious slot. But for anyone who prioritises shoulder-season pricing, the autumn break (7–21 April 2025) offers a shorter but cheaper alternative.

What are term dates in VIC schools?

Victorian government school term dates for 2025 are published on the official state education portal. Private and Catholic schools often follow a similar calendar but may adjust by one or two days at the start or end of each term.

Term 1 to 4 start and end dates

Term Start date End date
Term 1 28 January 2025 4 April 2025
Term 2 22 April 2025 4 July 2025
Term 3 21 July 2025 19 September 2025
Term 4 6 October 2025 19 December 2025

The table shows Term 4 ends just before Christmas, giving families a clean transition into the summer break. Term 2, at roughly 11 weeks, is the longest teaching block.

Pupil-free days and public holidays affecting terms

  • Labour Day (10 March) — falls in Term 1
  • Good Friday (18 April) and Easter Monday (21 April) — fall during the Term 1 holiday break
  • ANZAC Day (25 April) — falls in Term 2
  • King’s Birthday (9 June) — falls in Term 2
  • Grand Final Friday (26 September) — falls in Term 3 holiday break
  • Melbourne Cup (4 November) — falls in Term 4

The trade-off: Term 1 loses two teaching days to public holidays plus the pupil-free start, making it the shortest actual teaching block despite a 10-week calendar. Term 4 has only Melbourne Cup as an interruption — but the last week is often light as schools wind down for summer.

Which day is the biggest annual public holiday in Australia?

Christmas Day (25 December) is the most culturally and commercially significant public holiday across Australia. It closes nearly all retail, hospitality, and transport services, and is the anchor of the summer holiday period. In Victoria specifically, Melbourne Cup Day holds a unique status as a state-wide public holiday that effectively halts business in metropolitan Melbourne.

  • Christmas Day (25 December) is generally considered the biggest in terms of cultural and commercial impact (Wikipedia, public holidays in Australia)
  • Australia Day (26 January) is also major but more contested in recent years
  • New Year’s Day and Easter attract large celebrations nationwide
  • In Victoria, Melbourne Cup Day (4 November) is a state-wide public holiday that sees the city pause for the horse race
The paradox

Melbourne Cup Day is the only Australian public holiday that is both a state-wide day off and a work day for many hospitality and retail staff — because the event generates significant tourism revenue. For families, it’s a guaranteed mid-week break in Term 4, but for hospitality workers, it’s one of the busiest shifts of the year.

Does Victoria have the most public holidays in Australia?

Victoria shares the top spot with the Australian Capital Territory for the most public holidays in the country, thanks to its two state-specific additions: Labour Day in March and Melbourne Cup Day in November. Other states typically have 11 or 12 public holidays, missing one or both of those.

Comparison with other states and territories

State/Territory Public holidays in 2025
Victoria 13
Australian Capital Territory 13
New South Wales 12
Queensland 12
Western Australia 12
South Australia 12
Tasmania 12
Northern Territory 12

The pattern: Victoria and the ACT lead the nation, with every other state and territory sitting at 11 or 12. For a family business operating across borders, that extra day means one more day of adjusted staffing and trading conditions.

Total public holidays per jurisdiction

  • Victoria ties with the Australian Capital Territory for the most public holidays in Australia (13 in 2025) (Fair Work Ombudsman, national workplace regulator)
  • Victoria’s additional holidays include Labour Day and Melbourne Cup Day (Business Victoria, state business regulator)
  • Most other states have 11 or 12 public holidays

Why this matters: for businesses operating across multiple states, the extra holiday in Victoria means one more day of adjusted trading conditions. For families, it’s a bonus long weekend that can be paired with annual leave for a four-day break without burning through too much leave balance.

Victoria’s 2025 public holiday list includes 13 official days off, the highest in the country alongside the ACT. These dates are published by Business Victoria and are accurate at the time of publishing but may be subject to change.

— Business Victoria, state business regulator

Victorian government schools start term 1 for students on Wednesday 29 January 2025.

— Victorian Government Department of Education

Fair Work notes that Melbourne Cup Day is a public holiday across Victoria, with some regional areas observing it on a different date.

— Fair Work Ombudsman, national workplace regulator

For Victorian families and small business owners, the 2025 calendar offers a clean set of planning anchors — but only if you align the school term breaks with the public holidays that fall inside them. The summer window remains the biggest uninterrupted block, while the autumn and spring breaks offer cheaper travel alternatives. For businesses in hospitality and retail, Melbourne Cup Day remains the most operationally intense public holiday of the year.

Related reading: **NSW Public Holidays 2024 Official List**

Additional sources

budgetdirect.com.au, calendarlabs.com, studiosity.com, retail.org.au

Alongside the school calendar, the Victorian public holidays 2025 outlines all statewide public holidays for 2025.

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Frequently asked questions

When is Labour Day in Victoria 2025?

Labour Day falls on Monday 10 March 2025 in Victoria (Business Victoria, state business regulator).

What is the date of Australia Day 2025 in Victoria?

Australia Day is observed on Monday 27 January 2025 in Victoria (Business Victoria, state business regulator).

Are schools closed on public holidays?

Yes, Victorian government schools close on all public holidays. Some public holidays fall within school terms while others fall during holiday breaks.

How do public holidays affect school term dates?

Public holidays that fall within term time are days off for students and staff. The term calendar already accounts for these — no makeup days are added. Schools may also schedule pupil-free days adjacent to public holidays.

What is the best time to visit Victoria for avoiding crowds?

School term breaks (April, July, October) are the busiest travel periods. If you want lower crowds without missing school, the weeks immediately after school holidays start (late January and mid-December) offer lower visitor numbers in regional Victoria.

How many weeks of school holidays are there in Victoria in total?

Victorian government schools have approximately 12 weeks of holidays across the year — including the 6-week summer break and three 2-week term breaks (autumn, winter, spring).

Do all businesses close on public holidays in Victoria?

No. Many retail and hospitality businesses remain open, especially in Melbourne’s CBD and tourist zones. However, most banks, government offices, and professional services close. Trading hour restrictions apply to some retail on Good Friday and Christmas Day.