2026 NSW School Holiday Info

The information below is relevant to NSW state schools. Independent and Catholic schools do base their terms on the state school dates but their term dates can vary from school to school. You should check directly with the relevant school to find out the correct term date information. In NSW term dates are broken into Eastern Division and Western Division. The term dates for both divisions are identical with the exception of term 1.

Note that the dates below represent official term dates however many schools elect to start the students back on slightly different dates. For instance, it is common for the first day back at school to be a Tuesday for students rather than the Monday due to the first day being used as a school development day. It is also common for students to finish term 4 in the days prior to the final Friday.

NOTE: The Education NSW website does not include weekends or public holidays as part of the school holidays. For example, the Term 1 School Holidays show as starting on Tuesday, 7 April 2026. We have elected to include weekends and public holidays in our dates as it makes it easier for those planning holidays. So our Term 1 School Holidays show as starting on Friday, 3 April 2026. You can view the Education NSW school holiday dates here.

2026 NSW School Holidays and Term Dates

PeriodStartFinishLength
Term 1 - Eastern Division Tuesday, 27 January 2026 Thursday, 2 April 2026 10 weeks
Term 1 - Western Division Tuesday, 3 February 2026 Thursday, 2 April 2026 9 weeks
School Holidays Friday, 3 April 2026 Sunday, 19 April 2026
Term 2 Monday, 20 April 2026 Friday, 3 July 2026 10 weeks
School Holidays Saturday, 4 July 2026 Sunday, 19 July 2026
Term 3 Monday, 20 July 2026 Friday, 25 September 2026 10 weeks
School Holidays Saturday, 26 September 2026 Sunday, 11 October 2026
Term 4* Monday, 12 October 2026 Thursday, 17 December 2026 10 weeks
School Holidays - Eastern Division Friday, 18 December 2026 Wednesday, 27 January 2027
School Holidays - Western Division Friday, 18 December 2026 Wednesday, 3 February 2027

*Year 12 has different finishing dates in term 4. Year 12 only goes for 3 terms and graduate late September/early October. There is then a short break before returning for final exams (HSC) which start mid-October and end around the same time in November. Dates will be added once made available.

You may also find our other websites helpful:
School Holidays - Other States
Queensland School Holidays (includes Schoolies dates)
South Australia School Holidays
Victoria School Holidays
Western Australia School Holidays
Northern Territory School Holidays
Australian Capital Territory School Holidays
Tasmania School Holidays
Public Holidays
NSW Public Holidays
A.C.T. Public Holidays
Northern Territory Public Holidays
Queensland Public Holidays
Tasmania Public Holidays
SA Public Holidays
Victoria Public Holidays
Western Australia Public Holidays