We’re now well into autumn but some of the country is still observing what some might consider to be a summer time zone.
People in a big chunk of Australia’s south-east are still observing daylight saving time — which means there are currently five time zones in Australia.
But as of Sunday morning, that’s going to change.
When does daylight saving end in Australia?
Daylight saving time ends on the first Sunday of April every year — but only in the states and territories that observe it.
This year, daylight saving ends at 3am on Sunday, April 7.
Are the clocks going backwards or forwards?
Clocks in states observing daylight saving will be moved back by a hour.
So if you’re in a daylight saving state or territory, that could translate to an extra hour’s sleep-in tomorrow.
Which states and territories have daylight saving time?
- Australian Capital Territory
- New South Wales
- Tasmania
- South Australia
- Victoria
Norfolk Island also observes daylight saving time.
Which states and territories don’t have daylight saving time?
- The Northern Territory
- Queensland
- Western Australia
Christmas Island and the Cocos (Keeling) Islands do not observe daylight saving time.
What are the time zones in Australia?
At the moment — during daylight saving time — there are five time zones in Australia:
- AEDT – Australian Eastern Daylight Time: ACT, New South Wales, Tasmania and Victoria
- AEST – Australian Eastern Standard Time: Queensland
- ACDT – Australian Central Daylight Time: South Australia
- ACST – Australian Central Standard Time: Northern Territory
- AWST – Australian Western Standard Time: Western Australia
But once daylight saving time finishes tomorrow, it’ll go back to three time zones:
- AEST – Australian Eastern Standard Time: ACT, New South Wales, Queensland, Tasmania and Victoria
- ACST – Australian Central Standard Time: Northern Territory and South Australia
- AWST – Australian Western Standard Time: Western Australia
So you can see how things will become a little less complicated on Sunday morning.
And, while we’re on the topic of time zones, there’s actually a section of Western Australia that runs on a different time zone to the rest of the state, affectionately known as “Eucla Time”.
It’s 45 minutes ahead of the rest of Western Australia.
During daylight saving time, it’s 1 hour 45 minutes behind South Australia.
It’s called the Central Western Time Zone and it covers a small area of the Nullarbor that stretches from the eastern side of Caiguna to Border Village.
The zone is marked in purple on this map:
Do I have to change the time on my phone?
Probably not, because most smartphones will adjust to time zones automatically.
Here’s how to check if your smartphone does this:
- Android: Go into the Clock app, tap More and then go into Settings. Then go into Change Data & Time, selected Set time zone automatically and then select Use location to set time zone
- iPhone: Open Settings, select General, to go Date & Time and make sure Set Automatically is turned on
- Samsung: Open Settings, go to General management, selected Date and time and then make sure Automatic date and time is turned on
This should mean your phone will automatically reflect the time depending on which state or territory you’re in.
When does daylight saving time start again in 2024?
Each year, daylight saving time begins on the first Sunday of October.
This year, that’ll be October 6.
Why do we have daylight saving?
The purpose of daylight saving is to make the most of the hours of daylight some states experience thanks to the changing seasons.
The tilt that the Earth sits on gives us our four seasons, but it also means that Australia is exposed to more sun during the summer and less during winter.
But this is more pronounced in southern states, because of how far away they are from the equator.
So, when summer kicks in and the days get longer, these states set their clocks back an hour to make the most of the sunlight and higher temperatures.
It effectively means they get an extra hour of sunlight once they’re finished work or school.
Typically, that means more daylight for their free time after work or school.
On the flip side, when we’re coming into winter – like we are now – the Earth’s tilt means they get fewer sunlight hours.
Why doesn’t all of Australia observe daylight saving?
Because daylight saving is imposed at a state level, meaning it’s up to state and territory governments to decide if they want them or not.
For a time in the early 20th century, all of Australia did follow daylight saving, but since then some states and territories have dropped it to suit their climate.
Because while we’re the one country, we don’t all experience the same climate.
Southern states have cooler climates to northern states.
Typically, it’s quite pleasant temperature-wise to be out enjoying the early afternoon sunshine in states like Victoria and Tasmania in the middle of summer.
But it’s usually quite hot further north in Queensland or the Northern Territory, where it might make more sense to stay indoors until later in the afternoon to keep out of the heat.
And, as we pointed out above, the change in daylight hours is more obvious in southern states.
When does winter start in Australia?
Officially speaking, winter doesn’t start until June 1 — so that’s still a few months away.
Some people may think of daylight saving time as shorthand for summertime and standard time as wintertime.
But the end of daylight saving time doesn’t signify the end of summer or the start of winter.
Our seasons are a little looser than that.
Generally speaking, the northern parts of Australia experience wet season and dry season.
Further south, people tend to think of seasons in the European or North American sense — summer, autumn, winter and spring.
And for these chunks of Australia, the seasons change on the first day of March, June, September and December.
This is known as observing meteorological seasons.
But some countries observe the astronomical seasons, which means the beginning of each season aligns with the summer and winter solstices, and the spring and autumnal equinoxes.
So that’s why you might see some people in the UK, for example, marking the beginning of a new season at a different time to what’s on Australian calenders.
But it’s also important to point out differing definitions of seasons within Australia, because conditions will be different depending on where you are in the country.
And you can see this variation clearly when compare Indigenous seasonal calendars.
Compare the Tiwi calendar and the Gariwerd calendar — which describe the seasons experienced at opposite ends of the country.
And remember that, in Australia, it typically gets hotter as you go north and cooler as you go south.
The Tiwi calendar describes three major seasons:
- Jamutakari: Wet season — December through February
- Kumunupunari: Dry season — March through August
- Tiyari: Hot and wet season — September through November
The Gariwerd calendar describes six seasons:
- Kooyang: Late summer — January through March
- Gwangal moronn: Autumn — March through May
- Chunnup: Winter — May through July
- Larneuk: Pre-spring — July through August
- Petyan: Spring — September through November
- Ballambar: Early summer — November through January
You can read more about Indigenous seasonal calendars on the Bureau of Meteorology’s website.
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