Daylight saving time is almost over for select states and territories which will gain an extra hour this weekend.
The time adjustment is designed to maximise evening daylight hours in summer and, as winter approaches, to shift more daylight to the mornings when the clocks move back.
Here's everything you need to know about daylight saving time coming to an end for the year.
When does daylight saving time end this year?
Daylight saving time for 2026 will officially end this Sunday, 5 April at 3am AEDT.
Clocks will roll back one hour to 2am, meaning some Australians will gain an extra hour of sleep. Essentially, the hour between 2am and 3am will repeat itself, extending the night by one hour.
Daylight saving time occurs every year from the first Sunday in October to the first Sunday in April.
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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