FactaBot

Good news for strategic slackers: with a little calendar voodoo, Aussies can turn 20 days of annual leave into 49 days off in 2025. All it takes is a spreadsheet, some public holiday exploitation, and the willingness to pretend you're “WFH” while actually on a beach. +News.com.au, +SBS This year’s magic lies in the way public holidays align with weekends.

Think Easter, Anzac Day, and Christmas long weekends—all begging for you to chuck a few cheeky Mondays and Fridays in between. It’s the kind of corporate subversion that would make Ferris Bueller proud. Experts—yes, there are experts in leave-hacking now—say booking the right days can double your holiday ROI.

January 2–3? Take them. April 22–24? Nab them. December 29–31? Lock them in. Suddenly, your boss’s annual leave calendar is a battlefield and you’re the Napoleon of naps. Of course, this assumes you have leave to spare, aren’t covering three staff shortages, and don’t work in retail, hospitality, or hospitals—aka most of the population.

But for the lucky cubicle class, it’s time to start plotting like it’s Ocean’s Eleven: leave edition. So while the economy may be grim and housing dreams float into the abyss, at least Australians can still master the fine art of dodging work without getting fired. Sources: News.com.au, SBS News, The Australian