Melbourne Notes
By MELB_NOTE
The short answer
Business Victoria lists Christmas Day 2026 as Friday 25 December, a restricted trading day, with Boxing Day on Saturday 26 December and a substitute Boxing Day holiday on Monday 28 December. Many Melbourne cafés close over Christmas, and a café manager explains why: holiday pay. Under the Restaurant Industry Award the public holiday rate for full-time and part-time staff is 225% of the ordinary rate.
This guide has two parts. The dates and the pay rate come from official pages: the Business Victoria public holidays page and a Fair Work Commission determination, both read on 14 November 2026 (Melbourne time), 41 days before Christmas Day by our count. The view from inside a café comes from a Melbourne café manager, in his own words, translated from Korean. Pay rules vary by award, so treat this as general information, not legal advice.
30-second summary
- Christmas Day: Friday 25 December 2026 (a restricted trading day). Boxing Day: Saturday 26 December. Substitute Boxing Day holiday: Monday 28 December.
- Under the Restaurant Industry Award, the public holiday rate for full-time and part-time staff is 225% of the ordinary rate.
- A café manager says that is attractive for staff and a frightening number for owners, so many staff want Christmas shifts and many cafés close.
- Check a café’s own hours before you plan around it.
Christmas Day 2026 is Friday 25 December, with Boxing Day on Saturday 26 and a substitute holiday on Monday 28
Business Victoria’s page on 2026 Victorian public holidays lists three dates around Christmas. We checked the weekdays with a calendar.
- Friday 25 December 2026: Christmas Day, listed as a restricted trading day.
- Saturday 26 December 2026: Boxing Day.
- Monday 28 December 2026: a substitute Boxing Day holiday, because Boxing Day falls on a Saturday.
That page covers 2026 only. For other dates, see our Victorian Public Holidays 2026 and 2027: Dates for Melbourne, Including Cup Day and Christmas guide.
Christmas here is midsummer, and the streets feel festive about two months out
From a Melbourne café manager. I manage a café in Melbourne. These two sections are my own account, translated from Korean.
Christmas in Australia looks quite different from the Christmas scenery in Korea. Here it is literally a midsummer Christmas, spent under bright sun. Even so, it is one of the biggest events of the year in Australia. From about two months before Christmas, the streets take on a strong Christmas feel.
Holiday pay is why many cafés close and many staff still want the shift
From the same café manager. In Australia, besides the basic legal hourly wage, there is a weekend rate, and on top of that a separate holiday rate. The holiday rate depends on the industry, but for cafés and restaurants it is 2.25 times the weekday hourly rate. From an employee’s point of view that is attractive. From a business owner’s point of view it is a frightening number.
Perhaps that is why many staff want to work on Christmas, while at the same time many cafés and restaurants are closed over the Christmas period.
His 2.25 times matches the official figure. In the Fair Work Commission determination for the Restaurant Industry Award 2010 [MA000119], clause 34.1 sets the public holiday rate for full-time and part-time employees at 225 per cent. The determination records that it changed from 250 on 1 July 2017. The page shows only the changed wording, so it gives no casual rate, and we do not state one.
Rates differ by award, and casual rates differ from the full-time and part-time rate. Check the award that covers you, or use the Fair Work Pay Calculator. This is not legal advice.
What to check before you plan around a café on 25 December
Some cafés open on Christmas Day and many close. That is each business’s own decision, so a café being open on an ordinary day tells you nothing about 25 December. We make no claim about any named café.
- Look at the café’s own social media page or website for its Christmas hours, or call it.
- Do not assume the Monday 28 December substitute holiday means the same hours as Saturday 26 December. Check each day.
If you plan to work a public holiday shift yourself, check your award and your pay. One payroll guide (fairworkmate.com.au, a secondary source) says an employer can ask but cannot require a public holiday shift, and that a refusal must be reasonable.
Questions people ask
When is Christmas Day 2026 in Victoria?
Friday 25 December 2026, listed by Business Victoria as a restricted trading day.
Is Boxing Day on 26 or 28 December?
Boxing Day is Saturday 26 December 2026. Because it falls on a Saturday, Business Victoria also lists a substitute Boxing Day holiday on Monday 28 December.
Are cafés open on Christmas Day?
Some are, and many close. It is each business’s decision. The café manager quoted above says many cafés and restaurants close over the Christmas period. Check the café’s own hours.
Do staff get paid more on Christmas Day?
Under the Restaurant Industry Award 2010, the public holiday rate for full-time and part-time employees is 225% of the ordinary rate. Casual rates and other awards differ, so check your own award or the Fair Work Pay Calculator.
Sources and scope
- Business Victoria: Victorian public holidays 2026
- Fair Work Commission determination, Restaurant Industry Award 2010 [MA000119]
- First-hand account: a Melbourne café manager, 14 November 2026, translated from Korean.
- Our own Victorian Public Holidays 2026 and 2027: Dates for Melbourne, Including Cup Day and Christmas guide.
We read the official pages on 14 November 2026 (Melbourne time). The weekdays and the 41-day count are our own derivation. The Business Victoria page covers 2026 only.
Photo credits:
- Cover: Philip Mallis, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons. Christmas tree and Flinders Street Station at Federation Square, dated 23 December 2020 on the Commons page. Cropped by MELB NOTE to a 16:9 frame. Not from 2026.
- Christmas tree: SuperJew, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons. Dated 5 December 2014 on the Commons page.
- Diagrams: drawn by MELB NOTE from the sources above.
Scope: This is general information as at 14 November 2026, not legal advice. Pay depends on your award and employment type; casual rates and weekend rates are not covered here. The café manager’s account is one person’s observation, not a survey. None of the photos is from 2026.
