As the month of April approaches, so does the end of daylight saving.
Most states and territories will turn their clocks back an hour next month to make better use of daylight hours during autumn and winter.
Here’s everything you need to know.
When does daylight saving time (DST) end?
Daylight saving time ends on April 6, 2025 for those in NSW, Victoria, South Australia, Tasmania and ACT.
The clocks in these states will turn back at 3am in the current time (DST), meaning the clocks will read 2am (AEST) again when it turns to 3am.
Do we lose or gain an hour of sleep?
Many people forget which way the clocks turn in April and again in October.
Daylight saving time (DST) ends in April, when the days become shorter and there is less daylight to conserve in the evenings, while the mornings become darker.
Therefore, the clocks turn back by an hour in April, allowing residents in states and territories affected to sleep in longer through the darker mornings, and to enjoy the daylight while it lasts.
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What is the time difference between states and territories?
All Australian states and territories except for Queensland, the Northern Territory and Western Australia observe daylight saving.
This means that NSW, Victoria, Tasmania and ACT will be running on the same time as Queensland, Australian Eastern Standard Time, when daylight saving ends.
These areas are currently one hour ahead of Queensland, and have been since last October when daylight saving started.
South Australia is singled out – although it does observe daylight saving, it will remain, as it always is, 30 minutes behind AEST, to account for its position geographically. This means it will change from Australian central daylight time (ACDT) to Australian central standard time (ACST).
Meanwhile, Western Australia will continue to run on its two time zones – Australian western standard time (AWST) which covers Perth and the west coast, and Australian central western time (ACWT), which is 45 minutes ahead of AWST.
The Northern Territory also runs on ACWT, and will continue to use it when the clocks go back in the mentioned states and territories.
