Short answer: there isn’t one. Australia has no official Bring Your Kid to Work Day.
For HR, that’s good news. Nobody’s handed you a date. You can pick the day that suits your business, your people and your calendar. Or pick 50.
So when should yours be?
Whenever you decide. That’s the beauty of it.
Plenty of countries have a fixed day. Australia doesn’t, which is why Australian employers who run one set their own date. Some hold one big day a year. Others run a day every school holidays. A few run one at every office, in every state, so no team misses out.
There’s no “right” date, but there are smarter ones.
Picking your day (or your 50)
In the school holidays
This is the one that does double duty. The kids are already off school, so nobody has to pull them out of class. And it lands exactly when working parents are juggling the most. Holidays fall at different times in each state, so check our school holiday dates for every state and territory before you lock anything in.
On a day that already means something
Your company birthday. Wellbeing week. The end-of-year wrap. If the day is already in everyone’s diary and leaders are already showing up, a kids’ program slots straight in.
One per office, or one per state
Got teams in Melbourne, Brisbane and Perth? Run a day at each. It’s a simple way to show every site the same love, not just head office.
A day every holidays
Once your people have had one, they’ll ask for the next one. A day every school holidays is an easy rhythm to keep, and it’s a natural step towards a full onsite school holiday program.
What makes a great day (and what doesn’t)
The worst version is a seven-year-old parked at a desk with a colouring book while their parent tries to get through an inbox. Nobody wins.
The best version feels like an event. A few things make the difference:
- Know why you’re doing it. Culture, parent support, employer brand? Usually all three. Your why shapes the day.
- Theme it to your business. “Mini Engineers” for a construction firm. “Junior Journalists” for a newsroom. Kids get a real taste of what their parents actually do all day.
- Give the kids their own space. A boardroom or training room, away from desks, screens and anything confidential.
- Keep the ages sensible. Toddlers and teenagers don’t want the same day. Our programs are designed for ages 5 to 12.
- Let parents choose. Some want to join in. Some want to smash out a few hours of work while the kids are having the time of their lives down the hall. Both are fine, so tell managers that too.
- Give people notice. A few weeks’ heads-up gets better numbers and fewer last-minute scrambles.
- Grab the photos. You’ll want them for the intranet. Trust us.
The boring-but-important bit
Kids on site means duty of care. Before the day, make sure you’ve covered:
- Who’s supervising, and that they hold a Working With Children Check or their state’s teacher registration (like VIT in Victoria)
- Ratios. We run at one educator to every 10 children.
- A risk assessment of the actual space you’re using
- Insurance, including public liability
- Where kids can and can’t go, and how an evacuation works with children in the building
You can do all of that in-house. Or you can hand it to people who do it every week. Every KidsCo educator holds a WWCC or teacher registration, we’re fully insured including public liability, and we run programs in every state and territory. Our HR checklist for safe holiday programs covers the rest.
One day is great. The holidays are the real test.
A kids’ day shows your people you see them as parents. But the pressure doesn’t come on one day. It comes across every week of every school holidays, all year.
That’s where onsite programs earn their keep. When Ford brought school holiday care into the workplace, productivity rose 55% and engagement rose 76%. Read how Ford did it.
If you’re weighing up a one-off day against holiday care, we’ve compared them side by side in Bring Your Kid to Work Day vs school holiday childcare.
Pick your day. We’ll bring the fun.
KidsCo works with over 100 ASX-listed companies to run kids’ days and school holiday programs inside their workplaces. We handle the setup, the activities, the educators and the pack-down, right down to the last bit of glitter on the floor.
See what a KidsCo Bring Your Kid to Work Day looks like, or talk to us about your date.
Frequently asked questions
Is there an official Bring Your Kid to Work Day in Australia?
No. There’s no national date, so each employer picks its own. Many choose a day in the school holidays.
Isn’t it in April?
That’s the US version, Take Our Daughters and Sons to Work Day, on the fourth Thursday of April. Global companies sometimes match it, but in Australia it can land in school term, which means kids missing class. Check it against your state’s dates first.
How long should the day be?
Anything from a couple of hours to a full day. Shorter suits younger kids and busy sites. A full day gives parents real time back.
What ages should we invite?
Your call, but a structured program works best for primary school kids. Ours are built for ages 5 to 12.
