Malaysian Public Holidays 2027: A Planning Guide for Australian Businesses

The short answer: a team member working in Kuala Lumpur is covered by Malaysian public holiday rules, not Australian ones. In 2027 Kuala Lumpur has 19 gazetted public holiday dates, Malaysian law guarantees employees at least 11 paid public holidays, five of those are compulsory, and the other six can be swapped for different days by agreement. The detail most Australian managers miss is that the only weekday public holiday Kuala Lumpur shares with every Australian state is New Year's Day.

That last point is a planning problem and an opportunity at the same time. If your team follows the default Malaysian calendar, your Malaysian team will be working while Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane are closed for Australia Day, Easter and the Christmas break, and your Australian team will be working through Hari Raya, Deepavali and Malaysia Day. Plan for it and you get near year-round coverage. Ignore it and you find out on the day that half your process has stopped.

Malaysia's Prime Minister's Department published the official 2027 holiday schedule in August 2026, and Malaysian employers are legally required to post their chosen holidays before the new year starts. So October to December is the right time to sort this out. This guide gives you the 2027 dates, explains what the Employment Act actually requires, and sets out a simple planning process.

Dates in this article come from the Prime Minister's Department's official 2027 schedule, current as at 4 October 2026. Dates for Hari Raya Puasa, Hari Raya Qurban and Deepavali are marked "subject to change" because they depend on religious calendars, and the government can declare additional holidays during the year. This is general information, not legal advice.

Do offshore staff in Malaysia get Australian public holidays?

Not automatically. Public holiday rights follow where the employee works and the law that governs their employment. A team member employed in Kuala Lumpur is covered by Malaysia's Employment Act 1955, so Malaysian public holidays are the starting point. Australia's National Employment Standards, including its public holiday rules, apply to people working in Australia.

Most "do offshore staff work Australian public holidays?" articles online are written about the Philippines, where the holiday rules and pay rates are different. If your team is in Malaysia, those numbers do not apply.

The Act does give some flexibility. Five holidays are compulsory, but for the other six an employer and employee can agree to swap in other days. That is how some employers, including CMX Co, give Australian national holidays to their Malaysian team members. Any days off beyond the 11, such as an Australian shutdown period, are a benefit you are adding.

What does Malaysian law require for public holidays?

Section 60D of the Employment Act 1955 sets the rules. In plain terms:

• At least 11 paid public holidays a year. Every employee is entitled to paid leave on 11 of the gazetted public holidays.
• Five of those are compulsory: National Day (Merdeka, 31 August), the Yang di-Pertuan Agong's Birthday, the birthday of the state Ruler or Governor - or Federal Territory Day if the employee works in a federal territory such as Kuala Lumpur - Workers' Day (1 May) and Malaysia Day (16 September).
• The employer chooses the other six from the gazetted holidays, and must display a notice at the workplace listing them before the start of each calendar year. By agreement with the employee, other days can be substituted for those six.
• Special holidays declared during the year must also be given. Holidays appointed under section 8 of the Holidays Act 1951 (the "surprise" holidays occasionally announced for national events) are paid holidays on top of the 11, although the employer may grant another day in substitution.
• A holiday that falls on a rest day moves. If a public holiday falls on the employee's rest day, or on another public holiday, the next working day becomes the paid holiday instead.
• A holiday during annual or sick leave is replaced. If a public holiday falls while the employee is on annual leave or sick leave, the employer must give another day in its place.
• Working on a public holiday costs more. For employees earning up to RM4,000 a month, work on a paid public holiday attracts two extra days' wages on top of holiday pay, and overtime on that day is paid at not less than three times the hourly rate. These specific pay rules do not apply to employees earning above RM4,000 a month, but the holiday entitlement itself still does.

Whatever the pay level, you should agree in the employment contract or policy how holiday work is compensated - extra pay, a replacement day, or both. Do not assume someone will work Hari Raya for nothing extra.

Kuala Lumpur public holidays 2027

Malaysia has federal holidays observed nationally plus state holidays that vary by state, so the list depends on where your team member works. The table below covers Kuala Lumpur, where most Australian businesses build their Malaysian teams.

* Subject to change. Source: Bahagian Kabinet, Perlembagaan dan Perhubungan Antara Kerajaan, Jabatan Perdana Menteri (Prime Minister's Department), Jadual Hari Kelepasan Am 2027. Outside Kuala Lumpur the list differs - Selangor, Penang and Johor each have their own state holidays - so check the official schedule for the state your team member works in.

Six holidays fall on a weekend in 2027 - and that creates replacement days

2027 is an unusual year. Chinese New Year (both days), Workers' Day, Awal Muharram, Maulidur Rasul and Christmas all fall on a Saturday or Sunday. Under the Employment Act, a holiday that falls on an employee's rest day moves to the next working day. For a Monday-to-Friday employee whose rest day is Sunday, that points to these likely replacement days:

• Monday 8 February - for the second day of Chinese New Year (Sunday 7 February).
• Tuesday 8 June - for Awal Muharram (Sunday 6 June). It cannot move to Monday 7 June, because that is already the Agong's Birthday.
• Monday 16 August - for Maulidur Rasul (Sunday 15 August).

Saturday holidays (the first day of Chinese New Year, Workers' Day and Christmas) are less clear-cut for a Monday-to-Friday team. Under the Act, where an employee has more than one rest day in a week, the last of them counts as the rest day, so whether a Saturday holiday earns a replacement day depends on how Saturday is defined in the employment contract. Practice varies. Decide your policy, write it down, and get advice if you are unsure - this is a common source of avoidable disputes.

Australia and Kuala Lumpur share one national weekday holiday in 2027

Put the two calendars side by side and the overlap almost disappears. In 2027 New Year's Day (Friday 1 January) is the only weekday public holiday common to Kuala Lumpur and every Australian state. Christmas Day falls on a Saturday in both countries, but Australia takes substitute holidays on Monday 27 and Tuesday 28 December while Kuala Lumpur works through.

If your team follows the default Malaysian calendar, that means:

• Your Malaysian team is working on Australia Day (Tuesday 26 January), Good Friday (26 March), Easter Monday (29 March), the Anzac Day holiday, the King's Birthday, your state's Labour Day and show days, and the 27-28 December substitute days.
• Your Australian team is working on Thaipusam, Federal Territory Day, Nuzul Al-Quran, both days of Hari Raya Aidilfitri, Hari Raya Qurban, Wesak, the Agong's Birthday, Merdeka, Malaysia Day and Deepavali.

Australian public holidays differ by state, so check your own state's list on the Fair Work Ombudsman's public holidays page. A few state-only holidays happen to coincide with a Kuala Lumpur holiday in 2027 - WA Day falls on the Agong's Birthday, for example - but the overall pattern holds wherever you are based.

Should your Malaysian team follow Australian or Malaysian public holidays?

Your Malaysian team member must receive their Malaysian entitlements. Within that, there are three common approaches - and the right one depends on the work.

1. Follow the Malaysian calendar (the default)

Your team member takes Malaysian holidays and works Australian ones. This suits most roles, and it turns the calendar mismatch into a strength: someone is covering inboxes, service desks, accounts and client follow-ups on days your Australian office is closed.

2. Keep the five compulsory holidays and swap in Australian ones by agreement

The Employment Act lets the employer and employee agree to substitute other days for the six non-compulsory holidays. Employers building one integrated team often use this to line the team up with their Australian business. Two conditions apply. The employee must agree, and the employer must post notice of the final list before the start of the calendar year. Holidays such as Hari Raya, Chinese New Year and Deepavali matter to many families, so explain the arrangement clearly when you hire and expect leave requests around those dates.

3. Malaysian holidays plus selected Australian days off

Some businesses give their Malaysian team the Malaysian holidays and an Australian shutdown period, usually between Christmas and New Year, when there is genuinely no work to do. It costs more, but it can be a meaningful benefit and a signal that the person is part of the same team rather than an outsourced service.

Plan around the festive seasons, not just the holiday dates

The gazetted dates are only part of the picture. The bigger operational effect comes from the leave and travel around them. If your team swaps some Malaysian holidays for Australian ones, festival days that are not among their 11 public holidays will often be taken as annual leave instead, so plan for that too.

• Hari Raya Aidilfitri (10-11 March 2027). Many Malaysians travel back to their home towns for balik kampung, and annual leave requests tend to cluster in the days either side.
• Ramadan (from around 8 February 2027). Muslim team members fast from dawn to sunset for the month before Hari Raya. Most keep working normally, but it helps to avoid scheduling working lunches, to be flexible about break times, and to put demanding meetings earlier in the day where you can. Ask the individual what works for them rather than assuming.
• Chinese New Year (6-7 February 2027). Expect leave requests across the following week, particularly from team members travelling interstate.
• Deepavali (28 October 2027). A Thursday holiday, so a Friday leave request to make a long weekend is likely.

Not every team member celebrates every festival - Malaysia is genuinely multicultural, and your Malaysian team may include Malay, Chinese, Indian and other backgrounds. A good habit is simply to ask each person in your first one-on-one of the year which holidays matter most to them and when they would like to take leave.

Remember too that Malaysian annual leave works differently from Australia's four weeks. The Employment Act minimum is 8 days a year for employees with under two years' service, 12 days for two to five years, and 16 days after five years, although many employers offer more. Our guide to what it costs to employ someone in Malaysia covers leave entitlements alongside the other employment costs.

Don't forget daylight saving

Malaysia does not use daylight saving. Kuala Lumpur is on UTC+8 all year, which is the same as Perth. From the first Sunday in October to the first Sunday in April, Sydney, Melbourne, Canberra and Hobart are three hours ahead of Kuala Lumpur (Adelaide two and a half); for the rest of the year it is two hours (Adelaide one and a half). Brisbane stays two hours ahead all year. Daylight saving started today, 4 October 2026 - so if your team's meeting rhythm was set during winter, check it still works.

The time difference is one reason Kuala Lumpur works well for Australian business hours: a 9am start in KL is 11am or midday on the east coast, so most of the working day overlaps.

A simple holiday planning process for your Malaysian team

1. Confirm the state. Find out which state your team member works in, and use that state's holidays from the official schedule.
2. Choose the six non-compulsory holidays (from the gazetted list, or as agreed Australian substitutes) and make sure the notice is issued before 1 January 2027. If you use an employer of record, ask them to confirm they have done this and send you the list.
3. Write down the Saturday-holiday and replacement-day policy so nobody has to guess in February.
4. Agree how holiday work is compensated if you ever need someone to work a Malaysian public holiday.
5. Build one shared team calendar in Outlook or Teams showing both countries' holidays, so Australian managers can see when their Malaysian colleagues are away, and vice versa.
6. Map coverage both ways. List the Australian holidays when your Malaysian team can keep things moving, and the Malaysian holidays when Australia needs to cover - particularly 10-11 March.
7. Ask about leave plans early for Chinese New Year, Hari Raya and Deepavali, and approve them before the rush.
8. Revisit when the 2028 schedule is published (the 2027 schedule appeared in August 2026), and watch for any special holidays announced during the year.

How CMX Co handles public holidays

Our Malaysian team members are employed by us in Malaysia under the Employment Act, and each person receives 11 paid public holidays a year, as the Act requires. Five are the compulsory Malaysian holidays. The other six are Australian national holidays, which we agree with each team member in their employment terms. Where an Australian holiday falls on a weekend, we follow the substitute day that Australian states give. That keeps our Malaysian and Australian colleagues away on the same days, which is what one team that happens to work from two countries looks like in practice.

Here is how that works in 2027.

Workers' Day falls on a Saturday in 2027. Whether a replacement day applies depends on the rest days in the employment contract, as explained above.

We also help clients put both calendars side by side at the start of each year, flag the weeks where leave is likely to cluster, and agree in advance how any holiday work will be handled.

Sources: Prime Minister's Department (BKPP), Jadual Hari Kelepasan Am 2027 (official 2027 federal and state public holidays) · BKPP, Hari Kelepasan Am · JTKSM, Employment Act 1955 (Act 265), sections 59, 60D and 60E and First Schedule · JTKSM, Employment (Amendment) Act 2022 summary · Fair Work Ombudsman, Public holidays · Fair Work Ombudsman, National Employment Standards