Time Zones in Australia

Time Zones Currently Being Used in Australia

Offset	Time Zone Abbreviation & Name		Example City	Current Time
UTC +8	AWST	Australian Western Standard Time	Perth	Mon, 1:18:52 pm
UTC +8:45	ACWST	Australian Central Western Standard Time	Eucla	Mon, 2:03:52 pm
UTC +9:30	ACST	Australian Central Standard Time	Darwin	Mon, 2:48:52 pm
UTC +10	AEST	Australian Eastern Standard Time	Brisbane	Mon, 3:18:52 pm
UTC +10:30	ACDT	Australian Central Daylight Time	Adelaide	Mon, 3:48:52 pm
UTC +11	AEDT	Australian Eastern Daylight Time	Sydney	Mon, 4:18:52 pm
	LHDT	Lord Howe Daylight Time	Lord Howe Island	Mon, 4:18:52 pm

How Many Time Zones Are There in Australia?

There are 6 time zones in Australia. Adding the country's 3 dependencies (see table below) brings the total to 9 time zones.

Australia's mainland states and territories are divided into 5 standard time zones. As Western Australia, Queensland, and the Northern Territory don't use Daylight Saving Time (DST), there are only 3 corresponding DST time zones.

Generalized Time Zones in Australia

Time Zone Abbreviation & Name		Offset	Current Time
ACT	Australian Central Time	UTC +9:30 / +10:30	Mon, 3:48:52 pm
AET	Australian Eastern Time	UTC +10:00 / +11:00	Mon, 4:18:52 pm

Time zones in mainland Australia are often referred to by their generic name, without differentiating between standard time and Daylight Saving Time designations. For example, Australian Central Time (ACT) refers to both Australian Central Standard Time (ACST) and Australian Central Daylight Time (ACDT), depending on which is currently in use.

Note: Local time in these time zones changes when Daylight Saving Time begins and ends.

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Time Zone Not Currently Being Observed in Australia

Offset	Time Zone Abbreviation & Name		Commences
UTC +10:30	LHST	Lord Howe Standard Time	Apr 5, 2026

The above time zone is used during other parts of the year. It will become active again after the next clock change as Daylight Saving Time begins or ends.

Daylight Saving Time is used in the Australian Capital Territory, New South Wales, South Australia, Tasmania, and Victoria.

Lord Howe Island is a part of New South Wales. It uses Lord Howe Standard Time (LHST) as standard time and Lord Howe Daylight Time (LHST) during DST.

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Time Zones Being Used in Dependencies of Australia

Offset	Time Zone Abbreviation & Name		Dependency	Type	Current Time
UTC +6:30	CCT	Cocos Islands Time	Cocos Islands	Territory	Mon, 11:48:52 am
UTC +7	CXT	Christmas Island Time	Christmas Island	Territory	Mon, 12:18:52 pm
UTC +12	NFDT	Norfolk Daylight Time	Norfolk Island	Territory	Mon, 5:18:52 pm

The Australian dependencies don't use DST.

Time Zones in Australia

Australia has a complex set of time zones, some of which have an unusual UTC offset.

Some locations, including Eucla and Broken Hill, observe time zones that are different from the state they are located in.

Australian Time Zone History

Australia standardized its civil time in 1895. Until then, each location in the country observed its own solar time. From 1895 Australia based its local times on Greenwich Mean Time (GMT), then the world's time standard.

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