Friday morning, and every shopper deadline stacks into a single weekend. Queensland and Victorian state schools finish Term 3 today, the Coles Nintendo eShop card window and the Woolworths Mastercard gift card offer both close Monday, Myer Mid Season and David Jones Mid Season stay live through the following Monday, and yesterday’s ABS population print sets a fresh backdrop for retail catchments. Here is the shopper’s read for Friday 18 September.
Last School Bell, Then a Full Weekend of Windows Closing
Per Education Queensland’s term calendar, Queensland state schools finish Term 3 today Friday 18 September, with the seventeen day break running Saturday 19 September to Monday 5 October and Term 4 starting Tuesday 6 October. Per the Victorian Government schools calendar, Victorian Term 3 also ends today, with holidays running Monday 21 September to Friday 2 October. Per the NSW school holidays page, Eastern Division holidays follow a week later, running Monday 28 September to Friday 9 October.
Shopper read for today: this is the last weekday to lock activewear, sleepwear, sunscreen, travel snacks, kids swimwear, gaming credit and holiday activity gear at weekday pricing before the QLD run empties into the shopping centres tomorrow and the VIC run follows on Monday. Two of today’s Top 5 categories directly serve the school holiday need list: Skateboarding (Kick Push at 80% for the pre teen holiday project) and Children’s Wear (SurfStitch at 70% for coastal school holiday trips). NSW families have a bonus lever: per the same NSW page and Service NSW’s voucher hub, the $50 Active and Creative Kids Voucher 2 for 2026 can be combined with any unused Voucher 1 for a total of $100 redeemable at registered sport, recreation, creative and cultural providers before 31 December 2026. Vouchers are for provider activities, not general retail.
Week 38 Gift Card Windows Close Monday
Per Brandon Loo’s Point Hacks weekly wrap, the week 38 supermarket gift card offers run from Tuesday 16 September and stay live until Monday 22 September. At Coles: 20% off Nintendo eShop gift cards in $30, $60 and $100 denominations with a limit of five cards per customer. This is a straight cash discount and does not carry a Flybuys bonus. At Woolworths: 10x Everyday Rewards points on Mastercard “A Gift For You” fixed value cards in $50 and $100 denominations bought in store, with a five card per Rewards member per day cap and $250 and variable load cards excluded.
Per Tom Goward’s Flight Hacks weekly wrap, each eligible Woolworths Mastercard card carries a $5.95 purchase fee. A $100 Mastercard earns at most 1,000 Everyday Rewards points, roughly $5 in Rewards Dollars, which the $5.95 fee already exceeds by 95 cents. Point Hacks reaches the same conclusion. Practical shopper read: the Coles Nintendo eShop 20% cash discount is the honest deal of the week. Pair a Nintendo Switch 2 in the family with one Coles trip today or Saturday morning to lock the discount before Monday close, and only buy what will actually be redeemed inside the twelve month code window. The Woolworths Mastercard points play is best skipped for savings led shoppers and only interesting to shoppers already running a Rewards to Qantas transfer routine at scale.
Myer Mid Season and David Jones Fashion Windows Stay Live
Per Myer’s latest news page, the Myer Mid Season Sale runs Wednesday 9 September through Monday 28 September. Alongside the Mid Season Sale, Myer is running a $10 Myer Bonus Gift Card on Click and Collect orders over $99, also through Monday 28 September, with the qualifying product and reward terms shown at checkout. Myer’s Toy Sale catalogue offers run 14 September to 4 October, keeping the toy aisle live right across the QLD and VIC school holidays.
Per the David Jones sale page, David Jones is running up to 50% off selected Australian designer fashion including Bec + Bridge, Aje and Bassike, plus 30% off selected bras and underwear (check the individual brand and product pages for the exact exclusions before you commit at checkout). Per the Sunshine Plaza store listing, the same Mid Season campaign extends across selected fashion, shoes, accessories and homewares online and in store. Shopper read: today’s Fashion (Sportsgirl at 90%), Fashion Access (Showpo at 80%) and Jewellery (Grahams at 70%) picks in the Top 5 below cover the weekend fashion refresh at deeper single item percentages than the department stores are advertising. Use the department store campaigns for range and returns comfort, and the Top 5 for headline savings.
Weekend Catalogue Watch: Week 38 Half Price Still Live
Per the Coles catalogue finder and the Woolworths catalogue finder, both supermarket week 38 catalogues remain live from Wednesday 16 September to Tuesday 22 September. Per an independent NSW comparison via the StockUpApp OzBargain thread, this week’s NSW half price count came in at 197 products at 50% or more off: 112 at Coles and 85 at Woolworths. Reported Woolworths half price examples this week include Bulla Creamy Classics and Allen’s medium bags per Catalogue AU, subject to your state catalogue availability. Both catalogues vary by state and store, so set your location before you rely on any specific item price.
Per ALDI Special Buys, the next drop lands tomorrow Saturday 19 September ahead of the Wednesday 23 September range. Per the ALDI 23 September liquor preview, the Wednesday drop includes Wynns Estate The Siding Coonawarra Shiraz 2023 at $11.99 with limited availability, so pick your store carefully if that is on the list. Per BIG W’s catalogue page and Kmart’s catalogue page, both retailers are running school holiday activity, outdoor games and camping ranges into the break. Practical read: buy only planned pantry, gift card and school holiday items before Tuesday, and hold general grocery and household spend for Wednesday’s fresh cycle at Coles and Woolworths.
Population Print Reframes Retail Catchments, ACCC Keeps Marketplace Pressure On
Per the ABS National, State and Territory Population release for the March 2026 quarter issued yesterday, Australia reached 27,921,150 residents at 31 March 2026, up 130,887 people in the quarter and 392,700 or 1.4% over the year. Per the ABS media release, Western Australia recorded the fastest annual state growth at 2.1% and Victoria came second at 1.6%. For shoppers: the shape of Australian retail follows this number more than any other. Fast growing catchments (Perth, South East Queensland, outer Melbourne) attract the deepest range expansion and the sharpest Click and Collect network build, while slower growing markets typically see delivery windows stretch and range narrow. If a spring big purchase is on the plan, ordering to a fast growing metro postcode almost always beats a regional postcode on availability and shipping speed.
On the regulatory side, per the ACCC media release published 1 September, the regulator continues to push for a general safety provision covering online marketplaces. The same release notes Federal Court proceedings the ACCC commenced in May 2026 against Amazon Commercial Services (trading as Amazon AU) over Unicorn Toddler backpacks that allegedly failed to comply with mandatory button battery warning requirements (allegations, not findings). Per the June 2026 take down release, the ACCC has also sent take down requests to Amazon, eBay, Kogan and Fruugo over toys and games with banned high powered small magnets. Practical read: before you buy anything electrical, a kids toy, a cot, a pram, a magnet product, a small appliance or any button battery product from a marketplace listing (Amazon Commercial Services included), check the product safety recalls register at productsafety.gov.au. It is free to search and catches listings the marketplaces still have live.
Top 5 Deals of the Day
Five stores. Five categories. The deepest headline discounts surfaced from a Friday morning sweep of every retailer live on It’s On Sale.
SportsgirlToday’s Top DiscountFashion90%OFF2
Rebel SportSport Clothing85%OFF3
Kick PushSkateboarding80%OFF4
ShowpoFashion Access80%OFF5
GrahamsJewellery70%OFF% discounts shown are indicative across each store’s sale range. Individual product savings vary.
Other Deals Worth a Look
- SurfStitch: up to 70% off across the children’s wear range. Timely for QLD and VIC school holiday coastal trips starting tomorrow and Monday.
- Myer Toy Sale: catalogue offers run 14 September to 4 October, covering the full QLD and VIC school holiday window with a live gift buying option.
- David Jones Mid Season: up to 50% off selected Australian designer fashion including Bec + Bridge, Aje and Bassike, plus 30% off selected bras and underwear. Same 28 September deadline as Myer.
- BCF: camping, fishing and outdoor sale still live for the last shopping window before QLD holidays start tomorrow.
What to Watch This Week
Tomorrow Saturday 19 September QLD school holidays start, and per ALDI Special Buys the next Special Buys drop lands the same day. Monday 21 September brings the start of VIC school holidays. Monday 22 September closes the Coles Nintendo eShop 20% window and the Woolworths Mastercard 10x Everyday Rewards window at both supermarkets. Wednesday 23 September brings a fresh Coles and Woolworths catalogue cycle and the ALDI mid week Special Buys drop. Thursday 24 September at 11.30am AEST the ABS Labour Force release for August 2026 lands, the final labour market print before the Reserve Bank. Monday 28 September is the last day of Myer Mid Season and David Jones Mid Season, followed by the RBA cash rate decision Tuesday 29 September at 2.30pm AEST and the ABS Monthly Consumer Price Index Indicator for August Wednesday 30 September at 11.30am AEST.