By the end of December 2025, Services Australia has given a severe notice to all Centrelink recipients about the upcoming holiday shutdowns. The national holiday season creates an enormous difference in the reporting requirements and payment delivery cycles each year. What this means is that the failure to take into consideration the closure of these stations can trigger delays in the funds during one of the most costly months of the year. In order to stabilize the finances, the recipients are advised to check their new holiday reporting dates using their online accounts as soon as possible.
Official 2025/2026 Closure Dates
Most call centres and shopfronts will be closed down officially on the national public holidays, as well as Centrelink service centres. To the present season 20252026, the set dates of the closure are Thursday 25 December (Christmas Day), Friday 26 December (Boxing Day), Monday 29 December (Additional Public Holiday), and Thursday 1 January 2026 (New Year’s Day). Although the physical offices have been closed, there are the self-service options over the Express Plus Centrelink mobile app and myGov available 24/7 to perform simple tasks such as document uploading or payment history check.
Reporting and Early Payments
Due to the office shutdown, your normal reporting day can be changed to an earlier day so that your salary can be paid before the holidays. As an illustration, reporters who usually do it on Christmas Day might have to provide their income information as early as on Tuesday 23 December. This would produce an early payment in most instances. One should bear in mind that an early payment is not a bonus, it is only your regular fortnightly salary. You will be required to plan well in order to see those funds out before your next scheduled payment at the middle of January.
Effect on Reciprocal Tasks and Tests
In the case of JobSeeker and Youth Allowance recipients, the mutual obligation requirements in the form of job searches and appointment to a provider are typically waived during the official Christmas and New Year closure. There will be no penalty when you miss an appointment on a day where Centrelink or your employer is closed down. Nonetheless, any demands placed on the days before or on the day itself before the break (i.e. December 24 or January 2) is obligatory unless you have obtained previous agreements with your provider.
Preventing Payment Delays: Online Self-Service
To prevent the extended queues when making calls to a call centre during the holiday, the recipients are advised to adopt online self-service systems. The majority of the incomes reporting, address change, and bank details change can be done immediately through myGov. In case you need to report early, then the system will issue an alert on your home screen. It is hard to make a phone call to Centrelink during the days just before the public holidays because the demand is high, and it is advisable to ensure that the problems are solved before the December 24 deadline to get the holiday income.
Emergency Payments and Scams
Crisis Payments and emergency assistance have the potential to be more difficult to obtain during the shutdown, via more conventional means. In case you are in a desperate position and offices are closed, you might have to use the automated phone lines or the Apply for an Advance feature in your online account. Also, watch out against scams of holiday bonuses. Most fraudsters will also send the texts at this time saying that you are entitled to a Christmas stimulus when you hit a link. Any official Centrelink message will never be communicated through an external SMS link and will always be made in your secure myGov Inbox.
Holiday Service Status
| Date | Status | Services Available |
| Dec 24 (Christmas Eve) | Open (Some early close) | Full Service / Online |
| Dec 25 – Dec 26 | CLOSED | Online Self-Service Only |
| Dec 29 (Public Holiday) | CLOSED | Online Self-Service Only |
| Jan 1 (New Year’s Day) | CLOSED | Online Self-Service Only |
Frequently Asked Question
1. Will I get a Christmas 2025 pay raise?
Services Australia will tend to pay you earlier in case your reporting or payment date is a public holiday. To view your new date update your Payment Destination in myGov.
2. Would I need to seek employment in the shutdown?
As a rule, the mutual obligations are suspended during the public holidays. See also your job seeker dashboard to confirm you have received any specific notification of the 2025 holiday week of your suspension of requirements.
3. But what were I to do forgetting to report upon my new early date?
In case you missed your early reporting window, you can still report on the public holiday through the self-service but the payment shall not be made until the next available business day.
Disclaimer
The information is informational in nature. You are able to verify the official sources, we want to offer all the users correct information.
