Knowing when the school terms starts isn’t always easy. Some terms are longer, some have public holidays or pupil-free days on the Monday. And it isn’t always the same from year to year.
Also if you have family in a different state or territory to where you are, it’s hard to book holidays and trips away because they need to coincide with school term and holiday dates.
We’ve compiled this list of term and school holiday dates for each state and territory for 2016. Print them out or keep the link handy so you remember! Remember that private schools differ in their start and finish dates and some grades finish earlier at the end of the year – so it is a good idea to always double check in these cases.
Also where there is a difference between the teachers’ start date and the students’ start date, the date we have listed is the date the students starts. We have tried to include teacher start and finish dates where the information has been available.
ACT School Term and Holiday Dates
NSW School Term and Holiday Dates
SA School Term and Holiday Dates
TAS School Term and Holiday Dates
2016 school term and holidays dates in Australia
Australian Capital Territory (ACT)
| Term 1: | Monday February 1 (new students only)/Tuesday February 2 (continuing students) – Friday April 8 |
| Autumn Holidays: | Monday April 11 – Monday April 25 (Anzac Day Public Holiday) |
| Term 2: | Tuesday April 26 – Friday July 1 |
| Winter Holidays: | Monday July 4 – Friday July 15 |
| Term 3: | Monday July 18 – Friday September 23 |
| Spring Holidays: | Monday September 26 – Friday October 7 |
| Term 4: | Monday October 10 – Friday December 16 |
| Summer Holidays: | Monday December 19 – Monday January 30, 2017 (new students)/Tuesday January 31 2017 (continuing students) |
New South Wales (NSW)
| Term 1 (Eastern Division): |
Thursday January 28 – Friday April 8 |
| Term 1 (Western Division): |
Thursday February 4 – Friday April 8 |
| Autumn Holidays: | Monday April 11 – Tuesday April 26 (includes Anzac Day holiday and school development day) |
| Term 2: | Wednesday April 27 – Friday July 1 |
| Winter Holidays: | Monday July 4 – Monday July 18 (includes school development day) |
| Term 3: | Tuesday July 19 – Friday September 23 |
| Spring Holidays: | Monday September 26 – Friday October 7 |
| Summer Holidays: | Monday October 10 – Friday December 16 |
| Term 4: | Monday December 19 (includes two school development days) – Friday January 27, 2017 (Eastern Division) or Friday February 3 2017 (Western Division) |
Northern Territory (NT)
| Term 1 (Urban Schools): |
Monday January 25 (teachers start Jan 22) – Friday April 1 |
| Term 1 (Remote Schools): |
Wednesday January 27 (teachers start Jan 25) – Friday April 1 |
| Autumn Holidays: | Monday April 4 – Friday April 8 |
| Term 2: | Monday April 11 – Friday June 24 |
| Winter Holidays: | Monday June 27 – Monday July 25 |
| Term 3: | Tuesday July 26 (teacher start Jul 25) – Friday September 30 |
| Spring Holidays: | Monday October 3 – Friday October 7 |
| Term 4 (Urban Schools): |
Monday October 10 – Thursday December 15 |
| Term 4 (Remote Schools): |
Monday October 10 – Friday December 16 |
| Summer Holidays (Urban Schools): | Friday December 16 – Monday January 30, 2017 |
| Summer Holidays (Remote Schools): | Monday December 19 – Tuesday January 31, 2017 |
Queensland (QLD)
| Term 1 |
Wednesday January 27 – Thursday March 24 |
| Autumn Holidays: | Friday March 25 – Friday April 8 |
| Term 2: | Monday April 11 – Friday June 24 |
| Winter Holidays: | Monday June 27 – Friday July 8 |
| Term 3: | Monday July 11 – Friday September 16 |
| Spring Holidays: | Monday September 19 – Monday October 3 |
| Term 4: | Tuesday October 4 – Friday December 9 |
| Summer Holidays: | Monday December 12 – Monday January 23, 2017 |
South Australia (SA)
| Term 1 |
Monday February 1 – Friday April 15 |
| Autumn Holidays: | Monday April 18 – Friday April 29 |
| Term 2: | Monday May 2 – Friday July 8 |
| Winter Holidays: | Monday July 11 – Friday July 22 |
| Term 3: | Monday July 25 – Friday September 30 |
| Spring Holidays: | Monday October 3 – Friday October 14 |
| Term 4: | Monday October 17 – Friday December 16 |
| Summer Holidays: | Monday December 19 – Monday January 30, 2017 |
Tasmania (TAS)
| Term 1 |
Wednesday February 3 (teachers start Feb 1) – Friday April 8 |
| Easter break (within first term): | Friday March 25 – Tuesday March 29 |
| Autumn Holidays: | Monday April 11 – Friday April 22 |
| Term 2: | Tuesday April 26 – Friday July 1 |
| Winter Holidays: | Monday July 4 – Friday July 15 |
| Term 3: | Monday July 18 – Friday September 23 |
| Spring Holidays: | Monday September 26 – Friday October 7 |
| Term 4: | Monday October 10 – Wednesday December 21 (teachers finish Dec 22) |
| Summer Holidays: | Thursday December 22 – Wednesday February 8, 2017 (teachers start Feb 6) |
Victoria (VIC)
| Term 1 |
Thursday January 28 (teacher start Jan 27) – Thursday March 24 |
| Autumn Holidays: | Friday March 25 – Friday April 8 |
| Term 2: | Monday April 11 – Friday June 24 |
| Winter Holidays: | Monday June 27 – Friday July 8 |
| Term 3: | Monday July 11 – Friday September 16 |
| Spring Holidays: | Monday September 19 – Friday September 30 |
| Term 4: | Monday October 3 – Tuesday December 20 |
| Summer Holidays: | Wednesday December 21 – Tuesday January 31, 2017 (teachers start Jan 30) |
Western Australia (WA)
| Term 1 |
Monday February 1 (teachers start Jan 28) – Friday April 8 |
| Autumn Holidays: | Monday April 11 – Monday April 25 (Anzac Day Public Holiday) |
| Term 2: | Tuesday April 26 – Friday July 1 |
| Winter Holidays: | Monday July 4 – Friday July 15 |
| Term 3: | Monday July 18 – Friday September 23 |
| Spring Holidays: | Monday September 26 – Friday October 7 |
| Term 4: | Monday October 10 – Thursday December 15 (teachers finish Dec 16) |
| Summer Holidays: | Friday December 16 – Wednesday February 1, 2017 |
Check out more info in our Back to School Hub.
Hi all, hope someone can help! We’re relocating back to Australia in July after 12 yrs in the Middle East. We had planned to live in Brisbane and have a school place booked for our son who turns 10 on 03 June 2016. By QLD rules he would join halfway through Yr5 and be one of the youngest in the class (he’s coming from a British curriculum school where he finishes Yr5 at the the end of June 2016). He’s academically very bright so we were happy with this.
Now looks like we may have to be in Melbourne for a couple of years before Brisbane and there he would join halfway through Yr4 as his birthday falls after the 30 April cut off. Question is: what happens when we move to QLD in 2 years time? Would he jump a year at school?? How does that work??
We’re also concerned that going in half way through Yr4 in VIC will be a problem as academically he may already be ahead of his classmates and then get v bored and demotivated. Anyone else experienced this moving from UK system to Australia, or the problem of moving interstate when your child has a birthday between the 30 April and 30 June cut offs??!!! It’s doing my head in I have to say… Thanks
Hi Sue! Thanks for your question. My advice was going to be to post a question in our forum – where it will probably be answered more quickly – but I see that you already have done that. Someone has replied there with some good advice: http://www.bubhub.com.au/community/forums/showthread.php?552579-Changing-schools-interstate
No personal experience, but a friend of mine moved between QLD, SA and VIC a few times in her schooling. Her birthday was end of May, so missed the VIC cut off, but they just put her up a year (so she was in the same year as she had been in the other states). I would think that if you talk to the school and tell them you think he would do better in year 5 than 4 then the should be able to be a bit flexible about this.
As she said, there is consideration taken for personal circumstance so it is always worth talking to the school before you enrol.
All the best with the move!