Time Zones in Australia
Australia spans 3 different time zones among the 8 cities tracked on Live Time Map. Some of them observe daylight saving time and some don't, so the gap between them can shift by an hour during the year. See the live local time for each city below, or use the interactive map to compare any of them against your own location.
Australia facts
- Currency
- Australian dollar (AUD)
- Languages
- English
- Calling code
- +61
- Time zones on this site
- 3
How far apart Australia's own clocks are
In standard time, Brisbane (UTC+10) runs 2 hours ahead of Perth (UTC+8). A call scheduled for the start of the working day at one end lands well into the afternoon, or well before breakfast, at the other.
Clock time and solar time in Australia
A country's clocks are a political choice, not an astronomical one, so they rarely line up with its own sun. Measured against local solar time, the clock in Darwin runs 47 minutes ahead of the sun, while in Brisbane it runs 12 minutes behind the sun.
That is a spread of 59 minutes between the two ends of Australia's tracked cities, all of it the result of longitude rather than of the clock. The wider that gap, the more one shared office schedule means genuinely different amounts of morning light depending on where you are.
How much daylight changes through the year
Daylight is governed by latitude, not by the clock. Hobart, at 42.9° south, gets 15 hours 21 minutes of daylight on the longest day of the year and 9 hours 1 minute on the shortest.
Darwin, at 12.5° south, gets 12 hours 51 minutes of daylight on the longest day of the year and 11 hours 23 minutes on the shortest. So the annual swing between longest and shortest day is 6 hours 20 minutes in Hobart against 1 hour 28 minutes in Darwin, within the same country.
Cities in Australia
Want to compare a city here against your own location? Open the interactive world time zone map to pin it live.
Frequently asked questions
How many time zones does Australia have?
Among the 8 cities tracked here, Australia spans 3 different time zones. See the list below for each city's own offset.
Does Australia observe daylight saving time?
It depends on the city: some of the cities tracked here observe daylight saving time and some don't.
Do clocks in Australia match the sun?
Clocks and the sun are not the same thing. In Darwin the clock runs 47 minutes ahead of local solar time, so midday on the clock is not the moment the sun is highest.
How much does daylight change through the year in Australia?
In Hobart, the longest day of the year has 15 hours 21 minutes of daylight and the shortest has 9 hours 1 minute.
What is the time difference within Australia?
In standard time, Brisbane is 2 hours ahead of Perth.