As the calendar inches toward the first Sunday in April, residents of select states and territories are preparing to embrace an extra hour this weekend as daylight saving time comes to a close.
This biannual time shift is designed to harness the long daylight hours of summer, offering extended evening light. As the days grow shorter with the advent of winter, clocks are adjusted to bring more sunlight into the morning hours.
Here’s a comprehensive guide to the upcoming end of daylight saving time for this year.
When does daylight saving time end this year?
Mark your calendars: daylight saving time for 2026 is set to conclude on Sunday, April 5th, at precisely 3 a.m. Australian Eastern Daylight Time (AEDT).
At this moment, clocks will be set back one hour, reverting to 2 a.m. This adjustment grants many Australians the luxury of an additional hour of rest, effectively replaying the hour between 2 and 3 a.m. and extending the night by that precious hour.
The annual ritual of daylight saving time commences on the first Sunday in October and wraps up on the first Sunday in April, a practice that has become a familiar rhythm marking the changing seasons.
From this Sunday, mornings will be brighter as the sun rises earlier due to the clock adjustment.
Which states and territories observe daylight saving?
It’s up to individual states and territories to decide whether they wish to observe it, but those a bit further from the equator have adopted the time zone change.
Daylight saving time is observed in:
- NSW
- Victoria
- South Australia
- Tasmania
- ACT
- Norfolk Island
The following states and territories do not observe daylight savings:
- Queensland
- Western Australia
- Northern Territory
- Christmas Island
- Cocos (Keeling) Islands
How do the time zones change?
When daylight saving ends, Australia effectively loses two of its five time zones. Here’s how it will look from 5 April:
- Queensland, NSW, ACT, Victoria and Tasmania will be in Australian Eastern Standard Time (AEST).
- Northern Territory, South Australia and Broken Hill (NSW) will be in Australian Central Standard Time (ACST), which is half an hour behind AEST.
- Western Australia will remain on Australian Western Standard Time (AWST), which is two hours behind AEST and 1.5 hours behind ACST.
Daylight saving time will return on Sunday, October 4, 2026.
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