South Australians are being invited to have their say on what they think of public holidays with a new Your Say survey launching today.
As it stands, when a public holiday falls on a Saturday, the holiday moves to the following Monday. This has led to some workers not being paid public holiday rates when rostered on to work on Christmas Day, December 25.
Under the proposed changes, where December 25 falls on a Saturday, both the Saturday and the Monday will become public holidays, as is already the case when Christmas Day falls on a Sunday.
The Your Say survey will give South Australians the chance to suggest changes they would like to see made to the Holidays Act 1910.
“This provides the public the opportunity to have their say on what they think of public holidays and changes they would like to see,” said Labor Minister for Industrial Relations and Public Sector, Kyam Maher.
The confidential survey running throughout January 2023 will shape the government’s approach to public holiday amendments in South Australia. Draft legislation will then be released before introduction to Parliament.
There are currently 13 public holidays each year in South Australia including part-day public holidays.
The Holidays Act has not been amended since the introduction of Christmas Eve and New Year’s Eve as part-day holidays in 2012.
It does not regulate shop trading hours or the penalty rates workers are entitled to receive for working on public holidays. These are dealt with under separate pieces of legislation which do not form part of this consultation.
To have your say on proposed changes to public holidays and shape future Christmases for South Australia, you can give your feedback at yoursay.sa.gov.au.
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