Tasmania · government schools
No — Tasmania government schools are in Term 3.
Tuesday 8 September 2026. Term 3 runs to Fri 2 Oct.
Tasmania runs on its own rhythm entirely: Term 1 stretches to mid-April, Term 2 does not begin until May, and its professional learning days differ between the north and the south.
Saturday
3October 2026
Spring holidays begin
in 25 days- Last day of this term
- Fri 2 Oct
- Length of the next break
- 16 daysLast day of school to first day back
- Breaks left in 2026
- 2
- Applies to
- Government schoolsCatholic and independent set their own
Whose school holidays are these?
The department's calendar is not everybody's calendar
These are the dates for Tasmanian GOVERNMENT schools and colleges. Catholic and independent schools set their own. Check your own school.
That is why a search for your state's school holidays turns up your state's education department, an independent schools association and somebody's individual school, all with slightly different dates. None of them is wrong. They are answering for different schools.
- Government schools — The dates in the tables on this page, set by the department.
- Catholic systemic schools — Catholic systemic schools are close to the government dates but not bound by them — dioceses set their own staff development days, and start and finish days can move by a day or two. Check your diocese or your school.
- Independent schools — Independent schools set their own calendar entirely. In practice most start a little earlier and finish a little earlier than the government dates, and their terms can be a few days shorter at each end. The only reliable source is your own school’s published calendar.
2026 at a glance
The school year on one screen: term breaks shaded, public holidays filled, today ringed. This is the view worth printing for the fridge.
Jan
Feb
Mar
Apr
May
Jun
Jul
Aug
Sep
Oct
Nov
Dec
TAS school holidays in 2026
Measured the way a parent measures it: from the last day your child is at school to the first day they go back. The department publishes its own, narrower figure too, and both are shown.
| Break | Last day | Back at school | Days off |
|---|---|---|---|
| Autumn holidays | Fri 17 Apr | Mon 4 May | 16 |
| Winter holidays | Fri 10 Jul | Mon 27 Jul | 16 |
| Spring holidays | Fri 2 Oct | Mon 19 Oct | 16 |
| Summer holidays | Fri 18 Dec | Thu 4 Feb | 47 |
What the department itself publishes
The same breaks, counted the department's way. Where this is shorter than the table above, the difference is public holidays and staff days that sit inside the break.
| Period | From | To |
|---|---|---|
| Term 1 holiday | Sat 18 Apr | Sun 3 May |
| Term 2 holiday | Sat 11 Jul | Sun 26 Jul |
| Term 3 holiday | Sat 3 Oct | Sun 18 Oct |
Term dates
| Term | 2026 | 2027 |
|---|---|---|
| Term 1 | Thu 5 Feb – Fri 17 Apr | Thu 4 Feb – Fri 9 Apr |
| Term 2 | Mon 4 May – Fri 10 Jul | Mon 26 Apr – Fri 2 Jul |
| Term 3 | Mon 27 Jul – Fri 2 Oct | Mon 19 Jul – Fri 24 Sep |
| Term 4 | Mon 19 Oct – Fri 18 Dec | Mon 11 Oct – Thu 16 Dec |
The catches in TAS's calendar
Things the dates alone do not tell you
- Colleges have their own finishing dates, which may depend on exam timetables — the department says so on its own page.
- Professional learning days differ by region: in 2026 one is statewide, one is south-only and one is north-only, so a child in Hobart and a child in Launceston do not have the same days off.
Public holidays during the TAS school year
Term time has public holidays in it too, and they are not the same days as the school breaks — see public holidays in TAS, where every date is checked against Statutory Holidays Act 2000 (Tas) No 96 of 2000.
Frequently asked questions
Why are Tasmania’s school terms so different from the mainland’s?
They start later and run longer at the front. In 2026 Term 1 begins on 5 February and runs to 17 April, and Term 2 does not start until 4 May — by which point most mainland students are several weeks into their second term.
The practical consequence is that the Tasmanian autumn break lands in late April and early May, when no other state is on holiday. That is good news for anyone booking accommodation and bad news for cousins trying to visit each other.
Do all Tasmanian students get the same days off?
No, and the difference is regional. Tasmania’s professional learning days are not all statewide: in 2026 one is statewide, one applies to the south only and one to the north only.
So a child in Hobart and a child in Launceston have different Fridays off in October. It is a small thing until you are the parent of both.
Do Tasmanian colleges finish at the same time as schools?
Not necessarily. The department notes on its own page that colleges have their own finishing dates, which may depend on exam timetables.
So a Year 12 student’s last day is set by their exam schedule rather than by the term calendar, and the date on this page is the school one. Check the college directly for a leaver’s final day.
Verified
Term dates from Tasmanian Department for Education, Children and Young People, checked . Built for. These are government school dates — confirm with your own school before you book anything.