Daylight Saving Time

Summer Time in Australia

Daylight Saving Time is the practice of advancing clocks one hour during the summer months of the year.  In Australia, Daylight Saving Time is observed in New South Wales , Victoria , South Australia , Tasmania , and the Australian Capital Territory .

Australia Daylight Saving Time begins at 2am (AEST) on the first Sunday in October and ends at 2 A.M. (AEST) (which is 3 A.M. Australian Eastern Daylight Time) on the first Sunday in April.

Where Daylight Saving Time is observed:

• Australian Eastern Standard Time (AEST) becomes Australian Eastern Daylight Time (AEDT), and clocks are advanced to GMT+11.
• Australian Central Standard Time (ACST) becomes Australian Central Daylight Time (ACDT), and clocks are advanced to GMT+10 ½.
• Daylight Saving Time is NOT observed in Queensland, the Northern Territory or Western Australia.

Read the Australian government's information on DST here.

Australia DST

Daylight Saving Time (DST) has been implemented within Australia in various forms since the early 1900s.

The following sections provide more detailed information

Historic dates of Daylight Saving Time in Australia (external site)

Glossary

LST - Local Standard Time

The globe is divided into Standard Time Zones and Local Standard Time is the time specified for each zone.  This is usually done in terms of hours ahead or behind GMT.  The LST zones in Australia are as follows:

AEST - Australian Eastern Standard Time (GMT +10) in Queensland, New South Wales, Victoria and Tasmania

ACST - Australian Central Standard Time (GMT +9.5) in Northern Territories and South Australia

AWST - Australian Western Standard Time (GMT +8) in Western Australia.

Within Australia DST across the three time zones is generally denoted by

AEDT - Australian Eastern Daylight Time

AEDT Daylight Saving Dates

At start of daylight saving period, move clock forward one hour at 2 am AEDT (Australia Eastern Daylight Time ).

At end of daylight saving period, move clock back one hour at 2 am AEST (Australia Eastern Standard Time).

ACDT - Australian Central Daylight Time

AWDT - Australian Western Daylight Time

Experimentally in use between 2006 - 2009 and then abandoned.

Local Time

Normally this is the same as Local Standard Time, but in periods of Daylight Saving an hour is added to the local clock, making Local Time an hour ahead of Local Standard Time (i.e. Local time = DST).