Current Time in Australia

On this page is the current time in Australia.

It can be tricky to work out international time zones and the time difference in Australia from the other side of the globe. Below is some information on Australian time zone, daylight savings, and what is the exact time in every state of Australia right now, with clocks ticking.

Town Hall, Central Business District, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, Pacific

Sydney. Poster by AllPosters. Click on thumbnail to buy

Australian Time Zones
The Australian continent is large enough to cover at least three time zones (more with the islands). So you have to adjust your clock when you cross the continent from the eastern states (eastern Australia time) to Northern Territory/South Australia (central Australian time), and Western Australia (western Australian time).

Flinders Street Station Clock-Tower, Melbourne, Australia

Melbourne. Poster by AllPosters. Click on thumbnail to buy

World Time Zones
Internationally, the Australian time zone is the Eastern Standard Time (EST), which is the time in Sydney and Melbourne (most of the year it is the same as the time in Brisbane, while Adelaide and Perth are in different time zones). EST is nine hours ahead the time in central Europe, and ten hours ahead the Greenwich time in London, England. America is miles behind – when we wake up in Australia, (Western) Americans are still eating lunch of the previous day. That means – if you fly to Australia across the Pacific (and the date line), you lose a day. But you get it back when you fly back and cross the date line from west to east.

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Daylight Savings in Australia
The time difference is further complicated by daylight savings, and by the fact that in Queensland, Northern Territory and Western Australia, there is no daylight savings at all. Queenslanders said their climate is warm enough throughout the year, and their cows get confused when they’re milked an hour earlier, so let’s skip the daylight savings all together. And I think it was a very good idea.

City Hall, King George Square, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia

Brisbane. Poster by AllPosters. Click on thumbnail to buy

Current Time in Australia Right Now
Here is the current local time ticking in different states of Australia:

New South Wales

Queensland

Victoria

Tasmania

South Australia

Western Australia

Northern Territory

ACT