Before the Christmas shutdown: funding deadlines that fall in December

Christmas is the one deadline every business can see a year in advance — and still the one that catches many out. The problem isn’t Christmas Day itself. It’s that the people you need to settle a loan, sign documents or pay a bill start disappearing well before it.

This page is about treating the shutdown as the deadline it really is.

How does the 2026 holiday calendar fall?

The Fair Work Ombudsman’s 2026 list shows:

• Christmas Day: Friday 25 December 2026
• Boxing Day: Saturday 26 December 2026
• Additional public holiday: Monday 28 December in several states and territories (Tasmania observes Boxing Day itself on Monday 28 December; South Australia has its Proclamation Day holiday arrangements)
• New Year’s Day 2027: Friday 1 January

Put together, that’s a break where many businesses close from around Christmas Eve to the first or second week of January. Between Christmas Day and New Year’s Day there are only a handful of normal business days — and plenty of offices are closed for all of them.

Check your own state’s list, and the payee’s, before you set any dates.

Why is the real deadline mid-December?

Because funding is a chain of people, and in December that chain gets thinner:

• Solicitors and conveyancers wind down, and settlement bookings fill up.
• Valuers have limited capacity for property inspections in the final weeks.
• Your own signatories — co-directors, guarantors, a spouse on title — go on leave.
• Suppliers close their accounts teams, so even a funded payment may not be processed until January.

Anything that needs property security or more than one signature should be settled in the first half of December. Smaller unsecured funding can move later, but even then, leaving it to the 23rd is a gamble.

What deadlines land around the shutdown?

Deadline	Typical timing	Notes
Final pay runs before the break	Mid to late December	Super due within 7 business days of payday under payday super
Pay for the shutdown period	Depends on award, agreement and leave	Budget for it before you close
Supplier accounts	Many due at month end	Ask early whether they can wait until mid-January
Rent	Often 1 January	Due during the break
Quarterly BAS for October–December	28 February	Already includes a one-month extension
January receipts	Usually slow	Many customers pay late after the break

If you can see a gap anywhere in that table, send an enquiry in November rather than December. Or ring 1300 752 188.

What to have ready when you call

• a list of every payment due from mid-December to the end of January
• expected receipts for the same period — be conservative about January
• business bank statements and ABN or ACN
• ID for every signatory, and their leave dates
• property details if you’re considering a secured facility
• how the facility will be repaid, typically February receipts

How do you cover a slow January?

For many trades, hospitality, professional services and B2B businesses, January is the real squeeze: costs keep running while customers are on holiday. A few ways to approach it:

• Invoice everything before the break, so receipts start flowing as soon as customers return.
• Agree supplier terms in November for anything due over the break.
• Size a facility to the January gap only, repaid from February’s receipts. A line of credit can be useful here because you only draw what you need.
• Watch for three-pay-day months. Fortnightly payers should check whether January or another nearby month has an extra pay run — see the pay-run guide.

An illustrative shutdown plan

Illustrative example only. An electrical contractor closes from 23 December to 11 January. Before the break, it must pay two pay runs, shutdown leave for eight staff and a supplier account of about $35k. Its builders typically pay mid to late January. In mid-November the owner lists everything due, sees a gap of roughly $60k across late December and January, and arranges a facility in the first week of December — with both directors signing before one leaves for interstate. When the office reopens, the facility is repaid from January receipts.

What should you do in the last week before you close?

A short closing checklist saves a lot of January stress:

• Pay or schedule everything due over the break — wages, super, rent, supplier accounts — and confirm the payments have gone, not just been set up.
• Send every outstanding invoice, with clear due dates, so receipts start the day customers return.
• Tell your key suppliers and your landlord when you’re closed and who to contact if something comes up.
• Check your facility is in place and drawn if needed before the lender and your bank go to holiday hours.
• Note who can authorise payments while you’re away, and make sure they have access.

If you’ll be relying on a line of credit over the break, make sure you know how to draw on it without needing anyone else to be at work.

Get it done before the out-of-office replies start

Christmas is predictable; that’s the advantage. Ask what’s possible now — the Deadline Desk doesn’t run a credit check when you enquire, doesn’t shop your details to a list of lenders, and has a real person read every enquiry and call you back.

Fill in the enquiry form with accurate dates and amounts, including when your signatories are away, so we can line up an option that settles before the break. Or ring 1300 752 188.