What Time Is It In Australia Right Now?
"Current Time In Australia, Time Zones, Daylight Savings"
Below you can see the local time in Australia right now.
There are three different Australian time zones, so there are clocks for all major cities in Australia, showing the current time, date, the time zone for the city/state, the time difference from UTC/GMT, and whether this state participates in daylight saving.
The Australian clocks below always show the current time. They adjust automatically for daylight savings!
Sydney
- Melbourne
- Adelaide
- Perth
Darwin - Brisbane -
Canberra -
Hobart
Australia has three different time zones and the time in Australia varies between Eastern, Central and Western Standard Time (EST, CST, WST).
The eastern states (Tasmania, Victoria, the ACT, New South Wales and Queensland) are on EST, the central states South Australia and the Northern Territory are on CST and Western Australia is on WST. Kinda makes sense, no?
Eastern Standard Time is half an hour earlier than Central Standard Time, which is one and a half hours earlier than Western Standard Time.
Daylight saving start and end times for the year 2012 - 2015 are as follows:
starts: 7 October 2012
ends: 7 April 2013
starts: 6 October 2013
ends: 6 April 2014
starts: 5 October 2014
ends: 5 April 2015
The states and territories that participate in daylight saving are Tasmania, Victoria, the ACT (Australian Capital Territory), New South Wales and South Australia.
Western Australia, the Northern Territory and Queensland do not have daylight saving.
It makes sense, too, when you think about it. All the states that have daylight saving are in the southern half of Australia. In the northern states the day length does not vary as much.
Western Australia is an exception, it spans the whole continent from south to north. Western Australians, including myself, voted against daylight saving time in 2009. We only had it for one test year and it was a pain in the you-know-where.
Queensland has actually been talking about splitting the state in half, with only one half participating in daylight saving.
If that seems complicated, then consider that until 2008 every Australian state started and ended their daylight saving at different dates!
I can tell you, the whole "what time is it in Australia right now" thing is sometimes just as difficult for Australians as it is for people from overseas!
Sydney
- Melbourne
- Adelaide
- Perth
Darwin - Brisbane -
Canberra -
Hobart
Current Time In Sydney - New South Wales
Sydney Australia Time Zone:
UTC/GMT +10 hours (Eastern Standard Time EST)
New South Wales participates in daylight saving, so the actual time difference from UTC/GMT may vary.
(The clock adjusts automatically.)
Current Time In Melbourne - Victoria
Melbourne Australia Time Zone:
UTC/GMT +10 hours (Eastern Standard Time EST)
Melbourne has daylight saving and the time difference to UTC/GMT may vary.
(The clock adjusts automatically.)
Current Time In Adelaide - South Australia
Adelaide Time Zone:
UTC/GMT +9:30 hours (Central Standard Time CST)
South Australia, too, participates in daylight saving. In summer there is a different time offset to UTC/GMT.
(The clock adjusts automatically.)
Current Time In Perth - Western Australia
Perth Australia Time Zone:
UTC/GMT +8 hours (Western Standard Time WST)
There is no daylight saving in Western Australia.
Another little tidbit of daylight saving info: The government made us put up with a three year trial run of daylight saving. It ended with a referendum in 2009, where Western Australian rejected the idea for the FOURTH time. Referendums had already been rejected in 1975, 1984 and 1992. I mean, do you think they will eventually believe that we don't want it???
Current Time In Australia - Darwin - Northern Territory
Darwin Time Zone:
UTC/GMT +9:30 hours (Central Standard Time CST)
Daylight savings in Darwin:
There is no daylight saving in the Northern Territory.
Local Time In Australia - Brisbane - Queensland
Brisbane Time Zone:
UTC/GMT +10 hours (Eastern Standard Time EST)
Daylight savings in Brisbane:
There is no daylight saving in Queensland.
Local Time In Australia - Canberra - ACT
Canberra Time Zone:
UTC/GMT +10 hours (Eastern Standard Time EST)
Daylight saving in Canberra starts the first Sunday October and ends the first Sunday in April. The exact dates are near the top of the page.
(The clock adjusts automatically.)
Current Time In Australia - Hobart - Tasmania
Hobart Time Zone:
UTC/GMT +10 hours (Eastern Standard Time EST)
Tasmania and Hobart also have daylight saving. In summer the time offset from UTC/GMT is plus one extra hour.
(The clock adjusts automatically.)
Return from Australia Time Zones to Outback Australia Travel Guide home page