Australia has no single April school holiday in 2027. Queensland and Victoria break on Friday 26 March and are back at school on Monday 12 April, while New South Wales, Western Australia, South Australia, Tasmania and the Australian Capital Territory do not break until Saturday 10 April and do not return until 26, 27 or 28 April. End to end the national autumn window runs 33 days, from Friday 26 March to Tuesday 27 April, in two waves that overlap by a single weekend.
Every date below was read from the education department that publishes it. A Brisbane or Melbourne household is back at work and school on Monday 12 April, the first weekday of the break in Perth, Adelaide, Sydney, Hobart and Canberra.
- Wave one, Friday 26 March to Sunday 11 April: Queensland and Victoria, with Easter inside it.
- Wave two, Saturday 10 April to Tuesday 27 April: the five jurisdictions confirmed below, with Anzac Day inside it.
- The only days both share are Saturday 10 and Sunday 11 April.
Queensland and Victoria break at Easter, and everyone else breaks at Anzac Day
| State or territory | Last day of Term 1, 2027 | Students back, Term 2 2027 | Days off school |
|---|---|---|---|
| Queensland | Thursday 25 March | Monday 12 April | 17 |
| Victoria | Thursday 25 March | Monday 12 April | 17 |
| Western Australia | Friday 9 April | Monday 26 April | 16 |
| South Australia | Friday 9 April | Monday 26 April | 16 |
| Tasmania | Friday 9 April | Monday 26 April | 16 |
| New South Wales | Friday 9 April | Tuesday 27 April | 17 |
| Australian Capital Territory | Friday 9 April | Wednesday 28 April | 18 |
The sources, one per jurisdiction: Queensland, Victoria, Western Australia, South Australia, Tasmania, New South Wales and the ACT.
Two details are easy to miss. Unlike the summer break, New South Wales runs one autumn calendar in 2027, so its eastern and western divisions both finish on 9 April and both return on 27 April. And Western Australia publishes Term 2 as beginning Monday 26 April while noting on the same page that the day is expected to be a public holiday in lieu of Anzac Day, so a Fremantle family should plan on the children being home.
In five of seven jurisdictions, Easter 2027 falls inside school term
Good Friday is 26 March 2027 and Easter Monday is 29 March 2027 in every state and territory, according to the Fair Work Ombudsman's list of 2027 public holidays. Queensland and Victoria start their break on Good Friday, so for those families Easter and the school holidays are one event.
For households in Marrickville, Norwood, Kingston or Belconnen they are two events: a four-day long weekend in the middle of Term 1, then a school break a fortnight later around Anzac Day. That is two separate absences to arrange care for. Anzac Day falls on Sunday 25 April 2027, with an additional public holiday on Monday 26 April in New South Wales, Western Australia, the ACT, Queensland and the Northern Territory, but not in South Australia, Victoria or Tasmania.
The Northern Territory is missing from the table, and here is why
The nt.gov.au term dates page refused automated access when this was checked, and third-party calendars carrying NT dates published identical terms for 2026 and 2027, which cannot both be correct. Rather than repeat a date we could not read at the source, the row is left out. Readers in Darwin, Palmerston and Alice Springs should take their dates from the Northern Territory Government's own page on nt.gov.au.
April is Australia's second travel peak, and in 2027 part of it moves into March
Australian Bureau of Statistics figures on overseas arrivals and departures put short-term resident returns at 1,092,380 in April 2026, released 12 June 2026, against 910,450 in March 2026 and 917,500 in June 2026. April stands roughly a fifth above the months either side, the clear second peak of the travel year after January. Those are overseas movements only, so domestic trips, which are most of an Australian autumn break, do not appear at all.
One thing follows from the calendar rather than the data. Good Friday fell on 3 April in 2026, so that figure carries Easter and the autumn break together. In 2027 Good Friday falls on 26 March, so the same demand spreads across late March and April.
Homeowners should count back from their own first day off, not from April
| Wave | Who is away | Break dates | Have your dates published by |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wave one, Easter | Queensland and Victoria | Friday 26 March to Sunday 11 April | Friday 12 February 2027 |
| Wave two, Anzac Day | NSW, WA, SA, Tasmania and the ACT | Saturday 10 April to Tuesday 27 April | Friday 26 February 2027 |
Those two dates are roughly six weeks ahead of each wave. They are a planning judgement drawn from the calendar, not a measured statistic. No Australian source publishes how far ahead sits actually get filled, and anyone quoting one has made it up.
On a paid service a peak period is something a sitter can price. On a non-monetary exchange like Sitterly no money changes hands for the sit and there is no per-booking commission, so there is no surcharge to raise and nothing to pull extra sitters into the busy fortnight. The same people are simply asked by more households at once, which makes lead time the only lever you have. Listing is free for homeowners, permanently, and dates can be edited later, so publish while the week is still moving. You can also filter sitters by police check, an optional check a member chooses to complete rather than something applied to every user.
The same method applies to the rest of the year, in our Christmas planning guide, the seven week summer piece and school holiday pet care.
For sitters, a split break is two chances rather than one
The gap between the waves is the opportunity. A sitter in Coburg or Ashgrove whose own April commitments end on 12 April is free for exactly the fortnight Perth, Adelaide, Sydney, Hobart and Canberra households are away, and it works in reverse when Queensland and Victoria break on 26 March.
The split also changes who gets picked. A homeowner with fixed dates and a short window has fewer applicants to choose from than one planning a long summer sit, so this is a better fortnight to apply with a thin profile than a quiet stretch in May. See why house sitters do not get picked, getting a first sit with no reviews and off-peak house sitting.
Ask which state, not just which dates
Ask the other party which state or territory they are in and when their own break runs. A Queensland sitter and a South Australian homeowner are working to calendars a fortnight apart in 2027, and that gap is usually why two people who both say they are free in April turn out not to be.
Easter changes what is dangerous in the house, not just the dates
A sit over wave one has chocolate in it. The RSPCA Knowledgebase explains that cocoa contains theobromine, which is toxic to dogs and other animals at certain doses, that cocoa powder, baking chocolate and dark chocolate carry more of it than milk chocolate, and that signs range from restlessness and vomiting to muscle tremors and seizures. Contact a vet even after a small amount. The RSPCA also warns that lilies are highly toxic to cats, a tiny amount being enough to cause kidney failure within 12 to 36 hours, so say so if Easter flowers may arrive while you are away.
Both waves carry a public holiday, so leave your vet's holiday hours in writing with the nearest after-hours hospital. The Animal Poisons Helpline runs 24 hours a day on 1300 869 738, with consultations from $75 when checked in August 2026, and our pet care handover template covers what else belongs in that note.
What this article does not cover
Whether a live-in sitter acquires any status in your home is a matter of state and territory residential tenancy law, outside what this article covers, and it belongs with your state's fair trading or consumer affairs office. Everything here is general information, not veterinary or legal advice. Sitterly supports the connection between members. Homeowners and sitters remain responsible for their own arrangements.
Common questions about the 2027 April school holidays
- When are the April school holidays in Australia in 2027?
- There is no single national date. Queensland and Victoria break from Friday 26 March to Sunday 11 April 2027. New South Wales, Western Australia, South Australia, Tasmania and the ACT break from Saturday 10 April, returning on 26 April in WA, SA and Tasmania, 27 April in New South Wales and 28 April in the ACT.
- Is Easter 2027 during the school holidays?
- Only in Queensland and Victoria. Good Friday is 26 March 2027 and Easter Monday is 29 March, both inside Term 1 in New South Wales, Western Australia, South Australia, Tasmania and the ACT. Families there get a four-day long weekend at Easter and their school break a fortnight later.
- How far ahead should I arrange pet care for the 2027 autumn break?
- Around six weeks, so mid-February 2027 for the Queensland and Victorian wave and late February for the rest. That is a planning judgement from the calendar, not a measured figure, since no Australian source publishes how far ahead sits actually fill.
- Why are the Northern Territory dates not listed?
- They could not be verified at the source. The nt.gov.au term dates page refused automated access, and third-party calendars carrying NT dates published identical terms for 2026 and 2027, which cannot both be right.
Work out which wave you are in, then put your dates up. Homeowner listings are free and permanent, and no money changes hands for the sit. If you are sitting, the fortnight your own state is back at school is the fortnight five other jurisdictions are away, so browse the sits already open and see whose dates match yours.
