Australian Time Zones

What's the difference?

 

Tolmer Falls, Litchfield National Park, NT.  Photo credit: Nick Rains/Tourism NT

Australian time zones

What’s the time difference in Australia? Pay attention at the back. This could get tricky…

  • Western Australia is UTC+08:00.
  • Northern Territory and South Australia are UTC+09:30.
  • Queensland, New South Wales, Australian Capital Territory, Victoria and Tasmania are all UTC+10:00.

Between the first Sunday of October and the first Sunday of April the following states all observe Daylight Saving Time, when the clocks will go forward (October) and then back (April) by one hour:

  • South Australia
  • New South Wales
  • Australian Capital Territory
  • Victoria
  • Tasmania

The other states (Western Australia, Queensland and Northern Territory) don’t operate Daylight Saving.

Time it right (or wrong, depending on your point of view) and it could be 8pm in Western Australia, 9.30pm in the Northern Territory, 10pm in Queensland, 10.30pm in South Australia and 11pm everywhere else.

If you are Australian time zone/state hopping, do check the time difference to make sure you’ll reach the car hire desk/tourist information/bus you need in time – or book ahead.
Check local time zones here.

Find places to stay in Australia

What's UTC?

That’s Coordinated Universal Time which, for the purposes of working out the time differences between the UK and Australia, is the same as GMT.

Travel advice, top tips and up-to-date country information to help you plan your journey

You May Also Be Interested In…

View our Australia destinations

Show Me Australia

View our Australia destinations

Travel, explore and discover Australia with Global Grapevine

Australia Is Big

Travel, explore and discover the world's largest island

Plan your trip to Australia

Going To Australia?

Plan your trip here

Subscribe To Our Newsletter

Get the latest travel tips and info straight to your inbox.

Subscribe to the Global Grapevine newsletter