Melbourne Cup Day · Victoria
Yes, in Victoria — Melbourne Cup Day is Tuesday 2 November 2027
A public holiday across Victoria except in two regional areas already moved for 2027, among them Wodonga, and any council whose 2027 request is still to come — they are due about 90 days before the Cup. Melbourne Cup Day is not a public holiday in any other state or territory. It is in 361 days.
As of Friday 6 November 2026, Melbourne time.
Tuesday
2November 2027
Melbourne Cup Day 2027
in 361 days- Melbourne Cup Day 2027
- Tuesday 2 November 2027
- Melbourne Cup Day 2028
- Tuesday 7 November 2028
- Where it is a public holiday
- Victoria, except the two areas below
Still to come from 2026's swaps
These areas took another day in place of Tuesday 3 November 2026, and theirs has not happened yet:
- Friday 27 November 2026 — the City of Wodonga
Where it is not a public holiday: the councils that moved it
Regional councils can ask the Minister to swap Melbourne Cup Day for a local day under section 8A of the Public Holidays Act 1993, at least 90 days before the Cup. The 2027 requests are not all in yet, but two areas were declared years ahead in the Victoria Government Gazette:
| Their day instead | Where |
|---|---|
| Wed 3 Nov | postcodes 3444, 3446 and 3458 and the localities of Cadello and Carlsruhe (Macedon Ranges Shire) |
| Fri 26 Nov | the City of Wodonga |
Councils that ask a year at a time are due by early August, so more will follow; if you live outside Melbourne, ask your council before counting on the Tuesday. The notices: Victoria Government Gazette G 33 of 2024 (PDF) · Victoria Government Gazette G 24 of 2026 (PDF).
Race time
The 2027 race-day program is not out yet. In each of 2022, 2023, 2024 and 2025 the Cup started at 3:00 pm Melbourne time, as Race 7 of the day — by the Victoria Racing Club's race-day pages for 2025, 2024, 2023 and 2022.
The rest of Australia
No other state or territory has a statewide public holiday on Tuesday 2 November 2027. Queensland's 2027 district show holidays are not appointed yet.
Shops, schools and pay
Shops may open as usual. Victoria restricts trading on Good Friday, Christmas Day and Anzac Day until 1pm only, and Melbourne Cup Day is not one of them.
Government schools follow the public holiday where the school is.
Pay follows the day that is the public holiday where you work: in an area that moved it, the local day is the holiday and the Tuesday is an ordinary day. What working it pays is set by your award or agreement — this page dates the holiday and does not advise on pay.
Why a council can move it
Section 8A of the Public Holidays Act 1993 lets a council that is not in the Act's Schedule of metropolitan councils ask the Minister to declare that Melbourne Cup Day is not a public holiday in all or part of its district, and to appoint another day — or two half-days, one of which may be Cup Day — instead. The request has to be made at least 90 days before the Cup, and the Minister cannot appoint a Saturday or Sunday. The new day replaces the Tuesday rather than adding to it, and where it covers only part of a district it applies only there.
The 30 councils named in the Act's Schedule cannot ask. Every other date in Victoria's year, with the section each comes from, is on public holidays in Victoria.