Flying flags on public holidays in New Zealand

Public holidays are the days on which most flags go up in New Zealand. Five of them are also days of national commemoration in the New Zealand Flag Notice 2024, on which the flag flies at full mast on government buildings and flag flying is particularly encouraged, according to Manatū Taonga – Ministry for Culture and Heritage (MCH). The Holidays Act 2003 lists the public holidays, while their dates come from separate Acts, church calendars and local custom, as Employment New Zealand explains.

Public holidays and flags

Dates in brackets are the observed dates for employees who would not otherwise have worked on the weekend day, according to Employment New Zealand.

Waitangi Day

Waitangi Day on 6 February is the national day. According to MCH, flying the New Zealand flag and the Tino Rangatiratanga flag together on days of national significance like Waitangi Day symbolises and enhances the Crown–Māori relationship. According to NZHistory, the Māori flag flew for the first time on the Auckland Harbour Bridge, at Parliament and on other government buildings on Waitangi Day 2010. The order of the two flags is explained in the guide to flag protocol.

Anzac Day

Anzac Day on 25 April is a public holiday and a day of national commemoration. The flag flies at the top of the flagpole, and at places where commemorative services are held it is appropriate to lower it to half-mast for the duration of the memorial service, according to MCH. When 25 April falls on a weekend, the holiday is Mondayised for employees who would not have worked that day, as in 2026 and 2027.

The King’s Birthday, Matariki and Labour Day

• The King’s Birthday is observed on the first Monday in June under the Sovereign’s Birthday Observance Act 1952. The King’s actual birthday, 14 November, is a separate flag day but not a public holiday.
• Matariki, Te Rā Aro ki a Matariki, is always on a Friday, with dates set in law up to 2052.
• Labour Day falls on the fourth Monday in October.

Regional anniversary days

Each region has its own anniversary day, going back to the provinces of the 19th century. According to Employment New Zealand, they are observed locally by custom and practice and generally prescribed by regional or city councils. Examples are Wellington Anniversary (observed on 19 January 2026), Auckland Anniversary (26 January 2026), Otago Anniversary (23 March 2026) and Canterbury Anniversary, which Christchurch observes as Show Day (13 November 2026). They are not flag days in the Flag Notice, and flying flags on them is a local choice.

Weekends and government buildings

Under clause 7 of the Flag Notice, a government building is not required to fly the flag on a Saturday, Sunday or holiday that is not a normal working day for the people who work in it. Where the flag does fly, it flies continuously through the day and is not flown at night unless floodlit.

Days that are not public holidays

Several days of national commemoration are not public holidays: Commonwealth Day in March, Coronation Day on 6 May, the birthdays of the Prince of Wales on 21 June and Queen Camilla on 17 July, the Accession of King Charles III on 8 September, United Nations Day on 24 October and the King’s birthday on 14 November. The full list with dates for 2026 and 2027 is in the guide to flag days, and flying at night in the guide to flag lighting.