Australia time zone history
Australia has 12 zones of its own in the tz database. Standard times run from UTC+8 (Perth) to UTC+10:30 (Lord Howe Island), a spread of 2 hours 30 minutes. Seven of the 12 zones still change clocks for summer time under the current rules; the other 5 do not.
The 12 zones of Australia since 1970
Zones at a glance
| Zone | Area covered | Standard time | Clock changes today | New standard times since 1970 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lord Howe Island | Lord Howe Island | UTC+10:30 | yes | 1 |
| Brisbane | Queensland (most areas) | UTC+10 | no, last in 1992 | 0 |
| Hobart | Tasmania | UTC+10 | yes | 0 |
| Lindeman | Whitsunday Islands, Queensland | UTC+10 | no, last in 1994 | 0 |
| Macquarie Island | Macquarie Island | UTC+10 | yes | 0 |
| Melbourne | Victoria | UTC+10 | yes | 0 |
| Sydney | New South Wales (most areas) | UTC+10 | yes | 0 |
| Adelaide | South Australia | UTC+9:30 | yes | 0 |
| Broken Hill | Yancowinna County, New South Wales | UTC+9:30 | yes | 0 |
| Darwin | Northern Territory | UTC+9:30 | no | 0 |
| Eucla | Eucla area, Western Australia | UTC+8:45 | no, last in 2009 | 0 |
| Perth | Western Australia (most areas) | UTC+8 | no, last in 2009 | 0 |
What sets each zone apart
- Lord Howe Island: Its standard time, UTC+10:30, is one of only 14 offsets among the 312 zones that are not a whole number of hours from UTC. Its seasonal clock changes since 1970 include moves of 30 minutes, not the usual hour.
- Brisbane: Daylight saving time was used in 6 years since 1970, last in 1992; under the current rules the clocks no longer change.
- Hobart: Clocks have been changed 114 times since 1970, the most of the 12 zones in Australia.
- Lindeman: Daylight saving time was used in 8 years since 1970, last in 1994; under the current rules the clocks no longer change.
- Macquarie Island: The largest single move came on March 25, 1948, when clocks went forward 10 hours, from UTC+0 to UTC+10. On standard time, clocks at Macquarie Island run 36 minutes behind local mean solar time, the fourth-largest gap of the 79 zones whose clocks run behind the sun.
- Melbourne: On standard time, clocks at Melbourne run 20 minutes ahead of local mean solar time, the second-largest gap of the 8 zones in Australia whose clocks run ahead of the sun.
- Adelaide: Its standard time, UTC+9:30, is one of only 14 offsets among the 312 zones that are not a whole number of hours from UTC.
- Broken Hill: Its standard time, UTC+9:30, is one of only 14 offsets among the 312 zones that are not a whole number of hours from UTC. The record holds 5 different UTC offsets, tied for the most among the 12 zones in Australia.
- Darwin: Its standard time, UTC+9:30, is one of only 14 offsets among the 312 zones that are not a whole number of hours from UTC. On standard time, clocks at Darwin run 47 minutes ahead of local mean solar time, the largest gap of the 8 zones in Australia whose clocks run ahead of the sun.
- Eucla: Its standard time, UTC+8:45, is one of only 14 offsets among the 312 zones that are not a whole number of hours from UTC. Daylight saving time was used in 10 years since 1970, last in 2009; under the current rules the clocks no longer change.
- Perth: Standard time has stayed at UTC+8 since 1895, the longest run of the 8 zones on UTC+8 standard time with no change of standard time since 1970. Daylight saving time was used in 10 years since 1970, last in 2009; under the current rules the clocks no longer change.
How the zones compare with Lord Howe Island since 1970
- Macquarie Island: same time as Lord Howe Island except 11,470 days in 1970–2026; 30 minutes behind today.
- Hobart: usually 30 minutes behind Lord Howe Island; different on 11,391 days in 1970–2026.
- Melbourne: usually 30 minutes behind Lord Howe Island; different on 10,873 days in 1970–2026.
- Sydney: usually 30 minutes behind Lord Howe Island; different on 10,859 days in 1970–2026.
- Broken Hill: usually 1 hour behind Lord Howe Island; different on 10,860 days in 1970–2026.
- Brisbane: usually 30 minutes behind Lord Howe Island; different on 11,340 days in 1970–2026.
- Lindeman: usually 30 minutes behind Lord Howe Island; different on 11,340 days in 1970–2026.
- Adelaide: usually 1 hour behind Lord Howe Island; different on 10,902 days in 1970–2026.
- Darwin: usually 1 hour behind Lord Howe Island; different on 11,340 days in 1970–2026.
- Perth: usually 2 hours 30 minutes behind Lord Howe Island; different on 11,214 days in 1970–2026.
- Eucla: usually 1 hour 45 minutes behind Lord Howe Island; different on 11,214 days in 1970–2026.
Every change of standard time since 1970
1 change across the 12 zones, oldest first.
- March 1, 1981 Lord Howe Island: UTC+10 to UTC+10:30
Clock changes in 2026, 2027 and 2028
April 5, 2026 (back 30 minutes); October 4, 2026 (forward 30 minutes); April 4, 2027 (back 30 minutes); October 3, 2027 (forward 30 minutes); April 2, 2028 (back 30 minutes); October 1, 2028 (forward 30 minutes)
Adelaide, Broken Hill, Hobart, Macquarie Island, Melbourne, Sydney
April 5, 2026 (back 1 hour); October 4, 2026 (forward 1 hour); April 4, 2027 (back 1 hour); October 3, 2027 (forward 1 hour); April 2, 2028 (back 1 hour); October 1, 2028 (forward 1 hour)