Australian flag days 2026 and 2027

Australia has no law that lists flag days. Instead, the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet (PM&C) publishes a list of days on which flying the Australian National Flag and, where appropriate, other flags is particularly encouraged, in the section “Special days for flying flags” of the booklet Australian Flags. Shortly before each occasion, the Commonwealth Flag Network sends a notice to flag marshals that sets out how the flags are to be flown that day.

The notices are addressed to buildings occupied by Australian Government departments and agencies. State, territory and local government bodies and other organisations are encouraged or welcome to follow them, and for private flag owners they are an indication of custom, not an obligation.

The special days for flying flags

Two days apply in one part of Australia only: 9 May, the anniversary of Canberra becoming the seat of government, in the Australian Capital Territory, and 19 February, the anniversary of the Bombing of Darwin in 1942, for which the Northern Territory Government has asked for flags in the territory to fly at half-mast from dawn until noon.

All dates for 2026 and 2027

The table shows every day with its date. The 2026 dates follow the Commonwealth Flag Network notices. The 2027 dates are projected from the same list; NAIDOC Week is set each year by the National NAIDOC Committee.

The Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander flags

On the Anniversary of the Apology, on National Sorry Day, during National Reconciliation Week and during NAIDOC Week, the notices ask for the Australian Aboriginal Flag and the Torres Strait Islander Flag to be flown on additional flagpoles, where available, next to or near the Australian National Flag. According to the notices, the two flags do not replace the national flag where there is only one flagpole, and where there are two, the authority concerned decides which of them is flown beside it. The two flags are equal in precedence and may be flown in either order. More in the guide to flag protocol.

Days with half-mast

On Anzac Day, 25 April, the flag flies at half-mast from dawn until noon and then at the peak until the usual time for closure of business. On Remembrance Day, 11 November, it is raised to the peak at about 8 am, lowered to half-mast at 10:30 am and returned to the peak at 11:02 am, which leaves room for the minute of silence at 11 am. The procedure is described in the guide to half-mast.

The King’s Birthday in the states

The King’s Birthday is a public holiday, and each state and territory sets its own date. According to the Fair Work Ombudsman, it falls on the second Monday in June in most of Australia (8 June 2026 and 14 June 2027), on the last Monday in September in Western Australia (28 September 2026 and 27 September 2027) and on the first Monday in October in Queensland (5 October 2026 and 4 October 2027). The flag notice for 2026 notes that Queensland and Western Australia celebrate the King’s Birthday on different dates.

Other occasions

The Commonwealth Flag Network also announces occasions that are not on the list, such as state funerals, the deaths of heads of state and national days of mourning. More about these is in the guide to flags in mourning; how flags are flown on public holidays is in the guide to flags on public holidays.