Australia Starts Daylight Saving on October 3, 2010

The start of DST in 2010 coincides with the long weekend observance of Labour Day* in the Australian Capital Territory, New South Wales and South Australia.

DST in New Zealand begins on Sunday, September 26, 2010, which is one week earlier than Australia's daylight saving schedule.

Australia’s DST Schedule

There are four states and one territory that annually observe DST and will begin their synchronized DST schedule on Sunday, October 3, 2010. It is important to note that not all states and territories in Australia observe DST.

The states and territory that annually observe DST in Australia are:

• Australian Capital Territory.
• South Australia.
• Tasmania.
• Victoria.
• New South Wales (including Lord Howe Island).

Australia has many time zones due to its large geographical size, so not all of these places are in the same time zone or have the same offset from Coordinated Universal Time (UTC). DST is synchronized across these states and territory to begin at 2am (02:00) local time, when the clocks move forward to 3am (03:00) on the first Sunday of October – which is Sunday, October 3, in 2010. The DST schedule will end in 2011 at 3am (03:00) local time on the first Sunday of April, which is Sunday, April 3. The clocks will move back by one hour to 2am (02:00) local time on this day.

Places Not Observing DST

The Northern Territory, Queensland, and Western Australia do not observe DST, nor does Norfolk Island. Queensland will continue to not observe DST after a proposal to adopt DST was rejected by the Queensland Government in June 2010. There is more background information about time in Australia found on our website.

Australia Time Zones

Mainland Australia has three time zones:

• Australian Eastern Standard Time (AEST or EST), which is UTC+10 applies to: New South Wales except Yancowinna County, which includes the city of Broken Hill; Victoria; Queensland; Tasmania; and the Australian Capital Territory. During daylight saving time, AEST becomes Australian Eastern Daylight Time (AEDT) and clocks are advanced to UTC+11. Not all states (e.g. Queensland) in eastern Australia observe daylight saving time.

• Australian Central Standard Time (ACST or CST), which is UTC+9:30 applies to: South Australia; the Northern Territory; and Yancowinna County, which includes the city of Broken Hill, in New South Wales. During daylight saving time, ACST becomes Australian Central Daylight Time (ACDT), and clocks advance to UTC +10:30. The Northern Territory does not observe daylight saving time.

• Australian Western Standard Time (AWST) applies to Western Australia, which is UTC + 8.

Australian Antarctic Division Time Zones

Australia's Antarctic Stations operate on different times; however during the summer season, which is from October to March, the stations are in different time zones, which reflect their longitudinal distance from each other. It is important to note that Australia’s Antarctic Stations do not observe DST in 2010, so there will be no time change at each station.

The time differences between the stations and Australia vary from state to state and also with regards to the daylight saving schedules during the summer. The following list shows the different UTC offsets and the local time difference between each station and Australian Eastern Standard Time (AEST) or Australian Eastern Daylight Time (AEDT):

• Macquarie Island station (UTC+11) is one hour ahead of AEST or the same offset as AEDT.
• Casey station (UTC+8) is two hours behind AEST or three hours behind AEDT.
• Davis station (UTC+7) is three hours behind AEST or four hours behind AEDT.
• Mawson station (UTC+5) is five hours behind AEST or six hours behind AEDT.

The Australian Antarctic Division’s Macquarie Island station did not end DST this past April 2010 and remained on UTC+11 for the year 2010. Macquarie Island station was moved to UTC+11 last winter to maximize daylight for helicopter operations. In the past, Macquarie Island station observed the same daylight saving schedule as Hobart, in Tasmania. Tasmania is on Australian Eastern Daylight Time or AEDT (UTC+11) during the daylight saving period, and on Australian Eastern Standard Time or AEST (UTC+10) when it does not observes DST. At the time, there is no confirmed end date for DST in Macquarie Island.

According to our sources at the Australian Antarctic Division (AAD), three of the continental stations will be changing time zones in late October 2010. There is more information on our website about the changes made in the AAD. timeanddate.com will provide more updates on the time zone changes in the Australian Antarctic Division as the information becomes available.

New Zealand’s Daylight Saving Schedule

New Zealand’s daylight saving schedule starts on Sunday, September 26, 2010, and ends on April 3, 2011. The nation's DST annually starts on the last Sunday of September, when the clocks move forward from 2am (02:00) to 3am (03:00) local time. It ends on the first Sunday of April the following year, when 3am (03:00) becomes 2am (02:00) local time. timeanddate.com has more background information on the time in New Zealand.

The Chatham Islands currently observe DST from the last Sunday of September until the first Sunday of April each year, as with the rest of New Zealand. The Chatham Islands are on UTC+12:45 when they do not observe DST. The islands move their clocks forward by one hour to UTC+13:45 when it is on DST.