Next year, New Year’s Day falls on a Monday. This means that if you haven’t taken the few days off between Christmas and New Year’s for annual leave, you’ll be treated to a three-day weekend. You could take advantage of it by going away, or you might want to relax just at home.
If you’ve chosen the chill-at-home route, what will be open? Will cafés be open so you can head out for breakfast? Or bottle shops so you can grab some cold beers for an afternoon at the beach? New Year’s Day is a public holiday in Australia, which means most companies will be closed on the day, and others may have reduced trading hours.
Before you go to any business on New Year’s Day, it’s best you check ahead to see whether it’ll be open when you arrive. To help you out, ahead, we share what’s generally open on New Year’s Day — and what’s not.
Restaurants, Bars and Cafés
Most venues will be operating normal trading hours on New Year’s Day, as they know people have the day off, with many looking to eat out. In saying that, many restaurants and bars in Australia tend to be closed on Mondays, so if that’s the case, that’ll remain true on New Year’s Day.
Check online or call ahead to avoid disappointment. Also, for those venues that are open, expect to pay public holiday surcharges on meals and drinks.
Bottle Shops
There are no state restrictions on bottle shops trading on New Year’s Day so they can open any hours they want. The public holiday does require employers may their staff penalty rates, so some smaller bottle shops may opt to stay closed. Again, check online or call ahead.
Shopping Centres
Major shopping centres including Westfield will adopt normal trading hours. That should be the case with independent shops too, though keep in mind employee penalty rates may prompt them to shut Monday and that some don’t usually open on Mondays anyway.
Supermarkets
Most major supermarkets, including Woolworths and Coles, will be operating as usual on Monday. Independent food shops, though, may adopt the same mentality as mentioned above, opting to close because of having to pay penalty rates or not usually opening on Mondays.
Post Offices
Australia Post observes national public holidays, so will be shut on New Year’s Day. No local mail or parcel deliveries will take place, including Express Post items, on Sunday or Monday.
The next guaranteed day of delivery for Express Post items posted before closing time on the business day before a public holiday will be the next business day after a public holiday. In other words, if you send an item by Express Post on Friday, it’ll arrive on Tuesday.
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