This explainer sets out how Queensland’s shop trading hours framework is built, using Business Queensland pages and the Trading (Allowable Hours) Act 1990. It names no individual retailer. The rules were checked against these pages on 10 November 2026, and the pages are updated from time to time.
What the law is trying to do
The Act’s objects include deciding the allowable trading hours of non-exempt shops and independent retail shops throughout Queensland. They also include requiring that employees be given a holiday for Anzac Day, and deciding when certain places must close on that day. Another object is to prohibit soliciting in any publication for business to be transacted outside allowable trading hours at any factory or shop.
At 10 November 2026, the Business Queensland page “Shop trading hours in Queensland” lists trading hours for each category of retail shop. That page shows “Last reviewed: 23 May 2024” and “Last updated: 5 Mar 2026”. At 10 November 2026, per the shop trading hours page, it also notes that hours of trade may be restricted by another Act or contract.
Classes of shop
The starting point is the class of shop. At 10 November 2026, per the shop trading hours page, Business Queensland’s first step is to check the list of exempt shops to see whether the shop is on it. At 10 November 2026, per the same page, if the shop is not on that list, the next step is to check the criteria for independent retail shops. At 10 November 2026, per the same page, a shop that fits neither category is classified as a non-exempt shop.
At 10 November 2026, per the shop trading hours page, the exempt list includes a chemist shop, a service station and a bookseller’s or newsagent’s shop. At 10 November 2026, per the same page, exempt shops also include a shop operating in an area to which a special event declaration applies. Under the Act, the industrial commission may declare an event to be a special event, and the Act’s note says a shop in the area covered by the declaration is an exempt shop.
At 10 November 2026, per the same page, independent retail shops are a sub-category of exempt shops. At 10 November 2026, per the same page, Business Queensland says a shop that is not on the exempt list but meets all of its listed criteria is classified as an independent retail shop. At 10 November 2026, per the same page, the criteria include that the business is run by an individual, partnership or proprietary company, which does not include a public company or related corporation. At 10 November 2026, per the same page, the criteria also include that no more than 30 people, including the owner, are engaged in the shop at any one time. At 10 November 2026, per the same page, a further criterion is that no more than 100 people are engaged by the owner in all shops throughout Queensland at any one time.
At 10 November 2026, per the same page, non-exempt shops include large retailers including supermarkets, department stores and hardware shops.
How much freedom each class has
At 10 November 2026, per the shop trading hours page, exempt shops other than independent retail shops have unrestricted trading hours and may trade 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days of the year, including all public holidays. At 10 November 2026, per the same page, independent retail shops are treated differently: the page says they must remain closed on Good Friday and Christmas Day (25 December) each year. At 10 November 2026, the same page also says they must remain closed until 1pm on Anzac Day (25 April) each year. At 10 November 2026, the page adds that these restrictions do not apply to an independent retail shop which is predominantly a food and/or grocery shop.
At 10 November 2026, for non-exempt shops, the page says core trading hours depend on the goods predominantly for sale and the shop’s location, and it describes 4 types of trading area. At 10 November 2026, the page says type 2 areas, for example, include the South-East Queensland Area, other than a part that is a type 1 trading area, generally extending north to Noosa, south to Coolangatta and west to Gatton. At 10 November 2026, the page also says non-exempt shops in type 4 trading areas must remain closed on Sundays. The opening and closing times for each area type sit in tables on the page, which are best read at the source.
Closed days and public holidays that are not closed days
At 10 November 2026, per the current in-force version, the Act defines a closed day as Good Friday, Anzac Day (25 April), Labour Day (the first Monday in May) or Christmas Day (25 December). At 10 November 2026, Business Queensland lists the same four days as closed days for all non-exempt shops.
At 10 November 2026, the same page lists public holidays that are not closed days, including the day after Good Friday, Easter Sunday, Easter Monday and the King’s Birthday. At 10 November 2026, per the same page, the same list includes “Christmas Eve 6pm to midnight” and Boxing Day (26 December). At 10 November 2026, per the same page, it says the Holidays Act 1983 allows for additional or substitute public holidays on the following Monday or Tuesday when certain public holidays fall on a weekend.
Local dates matter too. At 10 November 2026, Business Queensland’s public holidays page, which shows “Last updated: 7 Oct 2025”, says annual agricultural, horticultural or industrial show days in areas throughout Queensland are considered public holidays.
Christmas
Christmas has its own page. It shows “Last reviewed: 27 May 2024” and “Last updated: 15 Sep 2026”. At 10 November 2026, its table for non-exempt shops lists 8am to 6pm on the 3 Sundays before 18 December, the shop’s usual opening time to midnight from 18 to 23 December, and the shop’s usual opening time to 6pm on 24 December. At 10 November 2026, the same table states that 25 December is a closed day for all non-exempt shops. At 10 November 2026, the page says these extended hours do not apply to non-exempt shops selling motor vehicles or caravans. At 10 November 2026, the Christmas page adds that non-exempt shops in type 1 trading areas and all non-exempt hardware shops with an earlier opening time or a later closing time than the table may continue to trade those hours on the 3 Sundays before 18 December. At 10 November 2026, per the Christmas page, it also lists special trading hours for Westfield Chermside and Westfield Garden City, shown as 8am to midnight on 23 December and 12am to 6pm on 24 December.
At 10 November 2026, for independent retail shops, the Christmas page says they generally have unrestricted trading hours but must remain closed on Christmas Day, except a predominantly food and/or grocery store, which can trade without restriction.
The evening of 24 December is worded differently in two places. The Christmas page’s table gives 6pm as the closing time for non-exempt shops on 24 December. At 10 November 2026, per the Christmas page, its prose states “All non-exempt shops must close at 6pm on 24 December.” The shop trading hours page lists “Christmas Eve 6pm to midnight” among public holidays that are not closed days. This article does not reconcile the two wordings, so read both pages before relying on either. The Christmas page also links to a summary titled “2026 Christmas trading hours (PDF, 189KB)”.
Good Friday and Easter
At 10 November 2026, the Easter trading hours page shows ‘Last reviewed: 5 Feb 2026’ and ‘Last updated: 5 Feb 2026’. It says non-exempt shops must not open on Good Friday, and that trading on the other Easter-period public holidays may be permitted, depending on the location or type of trading area. At 10 November 2026, it also says independent retail shops must remain closed on Good Friday except a predominantly food and/or grocery store, which can trade without restriction.
Anzac Day
At 10 November 2026, the Anzac Day page says non-exempt shops must remain closed on Anzac Day. At 10 November 2026, the Anzac Day page says independent retail shops must remain closed until 1pm, except a predominantly food and/or grocery store, which can trade without restriction. That page shows “Last reviewed: 27 May 2024” and “Last updated: 30 Aug 2022”.
At 10 November 2026, per section 33(1) of the Act (current in-force version), an employee in a factory or shop must be given a holiday for the whole of Anzac Day. Section 33(2) says that rule does not apply to employment in places including an exempt shop, licensed premises and a place of public amusement. At 10 November 2026, per section 36(1) of the Act, factories and shops must be closed for the whole of Anzac Day, but section 36(2) says that does not apply to a place mentioned in section 33(2)(b) to (h), which includes exempt shops. At 10 November 2026, the Business Queensland Anzac Day page lists exceptions to that closure including racing venues (horses or greyhounds), TAB offices or agencies, licensed premises, real estate offices (rental transactions only), newspaper printing, publishing and distributing, gas, electricity or water supply, necessary continuous manufacturing or mining, essential services, milk supply, bread manufacturing, and food preparation in restaurants, cafes, pastry cook and hot takeaway food kitchens. At 10 November 2026, the page says places of public amusement are not permitted to open until 1.30pm unless written permission has been granted by the Minister for Industrial Relations.
Working hours and where to check
At 10 November 2026, per the shop trading hours page, Business Queensland says an employer must not require an employee to work during extended hours unless the employee freely elects to do so. At 10 November 2026, per the same page, it says extended hours include increased hours due to an amendment to the Act, when a trading area order takes effect, or when a shop becomes an exempt shop because a special event declaration takes effect. For questions about the rules, the page lists the Industrial Relations infoline as (07) 3406 9999 at 10 November 2026.
Frequently asked questions
Which days must large shops close in Queensland?
At 10 November 2026, Business Queensland lists Good Friday, Anzac Day, Labour Day and Christmas Day as closed days for all non-exempt shops, and the Act defines a closed day the same way.
Can independent retail shops open on Christmas Day?
At 10 November 2026, Business Queensland says independent retail shops must remain closed on Christmas Day, except a predominantly food and/or grocery store, which can trade without restriction.
When can non-exempt shops open on Anzac Day?
At 10 November 2026, the Business Queensland Anzac Day page, last updated 30 August 2022, says non-exempt shops must remain closed on Anzac Day.
Are Easter Sunday and Easter Monday closed days?
At 10 November 2026, Business Queensland lists Easter Sunday and Easter Monday among public holidays that are not closed days, while saying non-exempt shops must not open on Good Friday.
