What time is it in Australia?
Quick answer
Australia has three main time zones: Western (UTC+8), Central (UTC+9:30) and Eastern (UTC+10). In summer, New South Wales, Victoria, Tasmania, the ACT and South Australia move their clocks forward an hour, while Queensland, the Northern Territory and Western Australia don’t. The live clocks below show the time in each.
Sydney, Melbourne, Canberra, Hobart
--:--
Brisbane (Queensland)
--:--
Adelaide (South Australia)
--:--
Perth (Western Australia)
--:--
Australia’s time zones
| Zone | Standard time | Summer time | Where |
|---|---|---|---|
| Australian Western (AWST) | UTC+8 | No change | Western Australia |
| Australian Central (ACST) | UTC+9:30 | UTC+10:30 (SA only) | South Australia, Northern Territory |
| Australian Eastern (AEST) | UTC+10 | UTC+11 (not Queensland) | NSW, Victoria, Tasmania, ACT, Queensland |
Who uses daylight saving?
Daylight saving runs from the first Sunday in October to the first Sunday in April, in the Southern Hemisphere summer. Only the southern states join in. Queensland voted against it in a 1992 referendum, so in summer Brisbane is an hour behind Sydney, even though both are on the east coast.
That means Australia can have up to five different times at once during summer, which makes scheduling a national TV broadcast or a nationwide video call surprisingly tricky.
Australia vs other places
Sydney is usually 9 to 11 hours ahead of London and 14 to 16 hours ahead of New York, depending on the time of year, because the two hemispheres change their clocks in opposite seasons.
Heading north instead? Here’s what time it is in Japan, just 1 to 2 hours behind Sydney.
Still curious?
Jump to a random question from the archive.