Which stores are open this holiday season?
End-of-year public holidays are coming. For shoppers looking to buy gifts, food and other last-minute groceries, figuring out the trading hours of retailers can be tricky.
The laws vary from state to state, and some parts might be exempted from restrictions.
Find out more about the opening hours of various major retailers below.
Westfield
All Westfields across the country will be closed on Christmas Day.
The malls are all open on Christmas Eve and Boxing Day. In NSW, all stores are open on Christmas Eve from 9am to 6pm except for Woden, Belconnen, Kotara and Tuggerah, which close an hour earlier. Parramatta is open from midnight until 6pm Christmas Eve.
In Queensland, all stores are open from 7am to 6pm with the exception of Inaloo, which is open from 9am on Christmas Eve and Boxing Day.
All Victorian Westfields are open on Christmas Eve from 8am till 6pm except for Fountain Gate, which opens an hour earlier. On Boxing Day, all malls are open at 8am and close between 9pm and 10pm.
In South Australia, all stores are open from 9am to 5.30pm on Christmas Eve – except for Marion, which is open from midnight – and from 9am till 5pm on Boxing Day.
Western Australia stores are open from 8am till 6pm on Christmas Eve and Boxing Day except for Inaloo, which is open from 9am.
Coles
All Coles stores will be closed on Christmas Day.
In Victoria, Tasmania, the ACT and the NT all stores will open under normal trading hours for the rest of the season with the exception of Knox and Coburg, which will be closed on Boxing Day and New Year’s Day.
In NSW, all stores will be open on Boxing Day and New Year’s Day except for Smithfield and Macquarie Fields, which will be closed.
Queensland stores will also trade as normal with the exception of Mt Isa, Goondiwindi and Ayr, which will be closed on Boxing Day, December 29 and New Year’s Day.
Western Australians and South Australians are encouraged to check their local stores for details as metropolitan and regional stores’ opening hours may vary.
Woolworths
All NSW, SA, ACT, NT, VIC and TAS stores are open on Christmas Eve and closed on Christmas Day. The Western Australia stores will be open on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day.
Queensland stores will have varying opening hours – most will open until 6pm on Christmas Eve with Mullumbimby opening until 7pm.
Western Australia stores will be open on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, with Perth metropolitan stores opening from 7am to 9pm on weekdays and 8am to 6pm during weekends.
All stores will be open on Boxing Day with the exception of the following: NSW’s Leichhardt Marketplace; WA’s Esperance and Katanning; and Queensland’s Weipa, Mission Beach, Mount Isa, Ayr, Bowen, Charters Towers, Proserpine, Blackwater, Childers, Pittsworth, Chinchilla, Kingaroy and Roma.
ALDI
ALDI supermarkets will be closed on Christmas Day and have reduced hours on Christmas Eve. The New Year’s Day will also see most stores changing their trading hours.
The German retailer encourages shoppers to check the opening hours online.
Big W
All Big W stores across the country will be closed on Christmas Day and open on Christmas Eve and Boxing Day, with the exception of Queensland’s Kingaroy which closes on Boxing Day.
Kingaroy will also be closed on New Year’s Day along with all NSW stores, while the rest of stores across the country are open.
BWS
Some stores – including NSW’s Boomerang Drive and most in Tasmania, Victoria and SA – will be open on Christmas Day.
All stores will be open on Boxing Day except for Coogee, Castle Hill, Leichhardt Marketplace and Marketplace Drive, North Sydney and Pymble in NSW as well as Forest Lake, Coorparoo, Mission Beach, Parker Street and Burdekin Plaza in Queensland.