Time
Time Zones
With a land mass close to 7.7 million square kilometres, Australia is the world’s sixth largest country and is divided into three separate time zones.
Australian Eastern Standard Time (AEST)
Covers the eastern states of Queensland, New South Wales (with the exception of the town of Broken Hill), Victoria, Tasmania and the Australian Capital Territory.
AEST is equal to Coordinated Universal Time plus 10 hours (UTC +10).
Australian Central Standard Time (ACST)
Covers the state of South Australia, the town of Broken Hill in western New South Wales and the Northern Territory.
ACST is equal to Coordinated Universal Time plus 9 ½ hours (UTC +9 ½).
Australian Western Standard Time (AWST)
Covers Western Australia.
AWST is equal to Coordinated Universal Time plus 8 hours (UTC +8).
Daylight Saving Time
Daylight Saving Time is the practice of advancing clocks one hour during the warmer months of the year. In Australia, Daylight Saving Time is observed in New South Wales, Victoria, South Australia, Tasmania, and the Australian Capital Territory.
Daylight Saving Time begins at 2am (AEST) on the first Sunday in October and ends at 2am (AEST) (which is 3am Australian Eastern Daylight Time) on the first Sunday in April.
Where Daylight Saving Time is observed:
AEST becomes Australian Eastern Daylight Time (AEDT), and clocks are advanced to UTC +11.
ACST becomes Australian Central Daylight Time (ACDT), and clocks are advanced to UTC +10 ½.
Daylight Saving Time is not observed in Queensland, the Northern Territory or Western Australia.
