WA School Holidays 2025, 2026 and 2027: Complete Perth Term Dates Guide

WA school holidays run on a four-term calendar set by the Department of Education. Each term is roughly 10 weeks, with a break between terms and a longer summer holiday over December and January.

Below is every term start date, end date, and holiday period for 2025, 2026 and 2027, for government schools in Perth and across WA. Independent and Catholic schools can run a few days off this.

WA School Holidays: Quick Reference

The tables below cover 2025, 2026 and 2027 at a glance. Full breakdowns with public holidays are further down the page.

2025 WA Term Dates

2026 WA Term Dates

2027 WA Term Dates

Dates come from the WA Department of Education's published term dates page and were cross-checked in July 2026. They occasionally get adjusted, so it's worth double-checking there before you lock in travel or bookings. Spotted a date that's changed? Let us know and we'll fix it.

Note: all dates apply to WA government schools. Catholic and independent schools set their own calendars and may differ by a few days. Always confirm with your school directly.

Perth School Holidays 2025: Term-by-Term Breakdown

Perth follows the same calendar as every other WA government school. Here's each 2025 holiday period, how long it runs, and which public holidays land inside it.

Summer holidays 2024/2025 (between Term 4 2024 and Term 1 2025)

Autumn holidays 2025 (between Term 1 and Term 2)

Easter fell squarely inside the autumn break in 2025, so the public holidays did not add any extra days off school.

Winter holidays 2025 (between Term 2 and Term 3)

Spring holidays 2025 (between Term 3 and Term 4)

Summer holidays 2025/2026 (end of school year)

Perth School Holidays 2026: Term-by-Term Breakdown

2026 follows the same four-term structure, but the calendar is lopsided. An early Easter pulls the autumn break forward, so Term 1 runs only nine weeks and Term 2 stretches to eleven. It is the longest single term in the three years covered here, and worth planning around.

Autumn holidays 2026 (between Term 1 and Term 2)

Easter lands early in 2026. Good Friday on 3 April is the first day of the autumn break rather than a day off mid-term, and the whole Easter long weekend sits inside the holidays. ANZAC Day falls on Saturday 25 April, after Term 2 has already started, with a substitute public holiday on Monday 27 April. That gives students a long weekend in the first full week back.

Winter holidays 2026 (between Term 2 and Term 3)

Spring holidays 2026 (between Term 3 and Term 4)

Summer holidays 2026/2027 (end of school year)

Perth School Holidays 2027: Term-by-Term Breakdown

2027 returns to a more even shape, with all four terms running close to ten weeks. Easter is earlier still, falling entirely within Term 1.

Autumn holidays 2027 (between Term 1 and Term 2)

Easter 2027 is unusually early, Good Friday 26 March through Easter Monday 29 March, which puts the long weekend inside Term 1 rather than the break. ANZAC Day then falls on the last Sunday of the autumn holidays, and because the substitute public holiday is Monday 26 April, the first official day of Term 2 is a public holiday. In practice most students return on Tuesday 27 April.

Winter holidays 2027 (between Term 2 and Term 3)

Spring holidays 2027 (between Term 3 and Term 4)

Summer holidays 2027/2028 (end of school year)

WA Term Dates: How the School Year is Structured

WA government schools run four terms a year, set by the Department of Education and applied across the whole state, from Broome down to Esperance.

A few things worth knowing:

• School development days shift the real first day back. Schools schedule up to six pupil-free days a year, and they typically cluster at the start of Term 1 and the start of other terms. The Department's term start date is when the term opens, not always when students walk in.
• Pupil-free days also pop up mid-year at each school's discretion. They're separate from the official holidays and vary school to school.
• Year 12 students typically wrap up formal classes a few weeks before Term 4 officially ends, ahead of WACE exams in November.
• Independent and Catholic schools set their own calendars, usually close to the government dates but sometimes a few days off at either end of term.
• The Department publishes term dates up to two years ahead on its website, which is why 2027 is already confirmed and 2028 is not.

Not sure what a good target looks like? See how it compares to the average ATAR in WA, or read up on how ATAR actually works before setting goals for the term ahead.

How Long Are WA School Holidays?

Holiday length depends on the time of year. Quick summary:

Summer is by far the longest stretch, running from mid-December to early February and covering Christmas, Boxing Day, New Year's Day, and Australia Day.

For Year 11 and 12 students, it also spans the gap between getting WACE results and starting the next school year.

WA Public Holidays That Fall During School Holidays

A handful of WA public holidays fall inside or right next to school holiday periods. Here are the gazetted dates for 2025, 2026 and 2027.

Two things students and parents often get wrong here. First, Easter Saturday and Easter Sunday are not public holidays in WA, unlike some other states. WA gazettes Good Friday and Easter Monday only. Second, Western Australia Day and Labour Day both land during term, not during the holidays, so they read as bonus long weekends mid-term rather than extra holiday time.

Where a public holiday falls on a weekend, WA usually gazettes a substitute weekday. Those substitute days are the ones worth noting, because they are the ones that actually take a school or tutoring day out of the week.

Do Private Schools in Perth Have the Same Holidays?

Catholic and independent schools in Perth generally use the same four-term structure, but they're not required to follow the government dates exactly.

In practice, most stick close to the Department of Education calendar, usually starting and finishing within a day or two of government schools.

If your child is at a Catholic or independent school, check their published calendar for exact dates. Christ Church Grammar, Presbyterian Ladies' College, Scotch College, and the Catholic systemic schools each publish their own term planners.

About the Author

Jude Alseify is a Co-founder and Head of Operations at Educatta. She scored an ATAR of 98.65 and was Dux of her school, topping the state in English, before moving to Perth to study. She's currently completing her Doctor of Pharmacy at the University of Western Australia and has run Educatta's operations, learning advisor program, and holiday programs since 2024.