Yes, moving on a public holiday in Melbourne will cost you more. Most removalists charge a surcharge that adds anywhere from 25 to 50 percent on top of their standard rate. Some charge even higher penalty rates on days like Good Friday or Christmas Day. The good news is that once you know which days carry the highest fees, planning around them becomes very simple.
Why Do Public Holidays Cost More to Move On?
Think about what it costs a removalist company to operate on a day when the rest of the world has knocked off. Their workers are entitled to penalty rates under Australian award wages, which means the business is paying significantly more in labour just to have the truck running that day. Add in the fact that most of their regular suppliers, insurers, and support networks are also closed, and the risk goes up too.
Those extra labour costs do not disappear. They get passed on to you in the form of a public holiday surcharge. This is not unique to the moving industry. You will see the same thing at a cafe that charges more for your coffee on Anzac Day, or a plumber who quotes double-time for a job on Christmas morning.
The other factor is availability. On a regular Tuesday, a removalist company might have three or four trucks free. On a long weekend, half their workforce may have requested leave, reducing the number of available crews. Fewer trucks plus higher demand equals higher prices. It works the same way flight prices spike over Easter.
The Full 2026 Melbourne Surcharge Calendar
If your settlement or lease start date lands over Easter weekend, book your removalist at least six to eight weeks in advance. By early March, the best Easter slots will be gone.
If you are moving in late September, aim for the Monday or Tuesday before Grand Final Friday rather than any day from Thursday to Sunday. You will pay standard rates and likely have more truck options available.
If you have flexibility around a March move, aim for the week before Labour Day rather than the long weekend itself. Rates will be standard and booking options will be easier to find.
Surcharges apply on the Monday, but Saturday 6 June and Sunday 7 June are not public holidays, so if you can shift your move to one of those weekend days, you will pay a weekend rate rather than a holiday rate. The difference matters.
December overall is one of the most expensive months to move in Melbourne. The property market is at its peak, families are completing settlements before the school year starts in late January, and the summer heat makes moving harder on everyone. Booking a Christmas-period move without at least six to eight weeks notice is genuinely risky. You may simply find no reputable company has availability at all.
The Six-Week Booking Rule for Long Weekends
Here is something experienced movers know that first-timers often discover the hard way. Good removalists in Melbourne book out fast. During peak periods like Easter, Grand Final weekend, and the Christmas cluster, the best companies can be fully booked six to eight weeks ahead of time.
Booking a removalist in Melbourne is a lot like booking a restaurant for a special occasion. The later you leave it, the less choice you have. And when the choice runs out, you end up paying more for less.
The six-week rule means that if your moving date is on or near a public holiday or long weekend, you should be making calls and locking in a company at least six weeks out. Eight weeks is better. Here is why it matters.
The best companies fill first. The removalists with strong reputations, clear pricing, and reliable crews are the ones people call first. By the time you are searching two weeks before Easter, those companies are gone. What remains is a mix of newer operators, sole traders running single trucks, and some companies that use vague pricing because they are hoping you will not ask the right questions.
Early booking also gives you negotiating power. A company with three trucks still available eight weeks out is more likely to give you a firm price and even some flexibility. A company scrambling to fill one remaining slot the week before a holiday is not.
Early booking also protects you if plans change. Most companies have cancellation policies that are more flexible when you book further in advance. If your settlement date shifts, which happens regularly in property transactions, you want a removalist who will work with you rather than charge a heavy cancellation fee.
Questions to Ask Your Removalist Before You Book
Asking the right questions before you sign anything is the single best way to protect yourself from surprise charges on moving day. Here is what you need to ask every removalist you speak with.
Ask what their specific public holiday rate is, and whether it is charged per hour or as a flat surcharge on top of the total.
Ask if there is a minimum booking of two or three hours, and whether that minimum changes on public holidays.
Ask whether they charge travel time to and from their depot, and whether that travel time is also charged at the holiday rate.
Ask whether there is a fuel levy, and whether it changes based on the day of the week.
Ask what their transit insurance covers and how you can purchase it.
Ask what their cancellation or rescheduling policy is if your settlement date changes.
Ask whether the quote is in writing and whether it includes all potential additional charges like stairs, difficult access, or heavy items.
A reputable removalist will answer all of these questions clearly, without hesitation, and without making you feel like you are being difficult for asking. If someone gets evasive when you ask about extra charges, that is a warning sign worth taking seriously.
How to Save Money If You Must Move on a Public Holiday
Sometimes you have no choice. Your lease ends on Good Friday. Your settlement is booked for Melbourne Cup Day. Life does not always cooperate with the removalist pricing calendar. If that is your situation, here is how to make the best of it.
Book as early as you possibly can. This cannot be said enough. Early booking gives you access to better companies at rates that are at least predictable and locked in. Late bookings on public holidays tend to attract the highest prices and the least reliable operators.
Do all the packing yourself, in advance. Every minute a removalist spends packing your boxes on moving day is a minute at the holiday rate. If everything is packed, labelled, and ready to load before the truck arrives, you reduce the total hours charged and therefore the total cost. This is genuinely one of the most effective ways to cut the final bill.
Disassemble furniture the night before. Beds, wardrobes, and large shelving units that need to be taken apart before they can be carried out of a room will slow a move down significantly if it happens on the day. Do this the evening before. It takes time off the clock and reduces the total hours on your invoice.
Be specific about what needs moving. A clear inventory, shared with the removalist before booking, allows them to send exactly the right size truck and the right number of crew. Over-estimating your load means paying for a larger truck than you need. Under-estimating means a second trip, which doubles the time and the cost.
Ask if there is a quieter part of the day that costs less. Some removalists charge a flat holiday rate all day. Others have slightly different rates for early morning starts versus afternoon slots. An early start on a public holiday also means you are done before traffic builds and before the summer heat peaks, which speeds everything up.
If your holiday falls on a Friday or Monday, consider whether moving the job to the Saturday or Sunday of the same weekend would cost less. Weekend rates are typically lower than public holiday rates, and the day is still convenient for you to be present and supervise. Ask your removalist to quote both options side by side.
Conclusion:
Moving on a public holiday in Melbourne in 2026 is more expensive than moving on a regular day. That is simply a fact of how the industry works, and it is not going to change. What you can control is how well-prepared you are for it.
Knowing the surcharge calendar in advance lets you make a real decision. Sometimes moving on the holiday is still the right call, either because you have no flexibility or because the total cost, even with a surcharge, fits your budget. Sometimes you will find that shifting your move by a single day saves you several hundred dollars and gives you access to better companies.
Either way, the information is in front of you now. Book early, ask clear questions, get everything in writing, and start your move with no surprises.
