This Memorandum issues closedown arrangements for the government sector covering the Christmas/New Year periods for the four years 2023-24 to 2026-27 inclusive.

Closedown Dates

The Christmas closedown dates for the next four years are: 

2023-24: Monday, 25 December 2023 – Friday, 5 January 2024
2024-25: Monday, 23 December 2024 – Friday, 3 January 2025
2025-26: Thursday, 25 December 2025 – Friday, 9 January 2026
2026-27: Friday, 25 December 2026 – Friday, 8 January 2027

All areas of the government sector not involved in the delivery of front-line services are encouraged to shut down over the Christmas/New Year period. State Owned Corporations are also encouraged to maximise the taking of recreation leave by staff wherever possible.

Employees not involved in the delivery of necessary services should be encouraged to take full advantage of the closedown period and managers should also be encouraged to release employees wherever possible. Frontline services are not to be shut down.

Exemptions

Discretion is available for agency heads to determine the extent of the closedown, including the granting of exemptions.

Exemptions should be limited to employees:

• with frontline responsibilities;

• undertaking time critical work with statutory deadlines that can’t be shifted; or

• working on significant Government priorities that need to be completed.

Closedown arrangements will vary between agencies

Decisions as to which areas are appropriate to be closed down, and the extent of that closedown, are to be made on a case-by-case basis by the agency head. It may, for example, involve all of an agency or sections of an agency being closed down or a partial closedown of a section (i.e. skeleton staffing).

Agencies should also consider utilising temporary assignment provisions to assign employees not on leave to areas where work is continuing during the closedown period.

Agency heads should ensure managers discuss these arrangements with employees and provide as much notice as possible of the closedown (at least one month, or on their first day of work if they have been employed for less than a month prior to Christmas).

Subject to operational requirements and the relevant industrial instrument, agencies should direct employees with excessive leave balances onto leave during the closedown period.

Public Holidays

Christmas and New Year public holidays for NSW are published at https://www.industrialrelations.nsw.gov.au/public-holidays/public-holidays-in-nsw/

Provisions applying only to the Public Service - Departments, Public Service executive agencies or separate Public Service agencies

Public Service Holiday

In addition to the public holidays observed in NSW, public service employees not entitled to a union picnic day or some other special day, (such as the Tuesday after Easter or local holidays) are entitled to a public service holiday. This holiday is to be taken during the period between Boxing Day and New Year’s Day and is subject to provisions in industrial arrangements.

The Head of a Public Service agency is to determine the day to be observed as the public service holiday in their agency, in accordance with clause 19.1.3 of the Crown Employees (Public Service Conditions of Employment) Reviewed Award 2009 (the Award).

Employees directed to work on the day determined by the Head of a Public Service agency as the public service holiday are entitled to be absent from duty on one of the other working days between Boxing Day and New Year’s Day without loss of pay.

Unless otherwise provided for in industrial arrangements:

• Employees directed to work on all of the working days between Boxing Day and New Year’s Day are entitled to be paid overtime at the “public holiday” rate for work performed on the day determined as the public service holiday for their agency.

• Shift workers (as defined in the Award) are to receive the public holiday provisions set out in clause 87 of the Award for the day observed as the public service holiday in their agency.

• Part time employees are entitled to be absent on the public service holiday and receive ordinary pay if they would normally have worked on that day. Those who do not normally work on that day are not entitled to compensation.

Concessional Leave

For employees required to work during the closedown period and subject to industrial instruments, agency operational and staffing requirements, concessional leave will be available to eligible public service employees for the afternoon of the respective year’s Christmas Eve (24 December).

To be eligible for the leave, employees must be required to be on duty that morning and must work half the standard full time daily hours for the employee’s category of employment.

Eligible employees who are directed to remain on duty for the full day on Christmas Eve are entitled to a half-day’s concessional leave on the afternoon of the following New Year’s Eve.

Provisions for the granting and taking of concessional leave are set out in 6.4 Concessional Leave of the Public Service Industrial Relations Guide.

Chris Minns MP
Premier