In Australia, the keeping of standard time is divided into three time zones: Australian Eastern Standard Time, Australian Central Standard Time and Australian Western Standard Time. These correspond to UTC+10, UTC+9:30 and UTC+8 respectively. Time zones are areas of the Earth that have adopted the same standard time, usually referred to as the local time. ... UTC+10 time zone Australia (AEST—Australian Eastern Standard Time) Australian Capital Territory**, New South Wales** (except Broken Hill, which observes South Australia time), Queensland, Tasmania** (which observes DST starting on the first weekend of October instead of the last), Victoria** Guam (Chamorro Standard Time via US Law) Federated States... Chinese Standard Time Hong Kong Time Australian Western Standard Time Singapore Standard Time In detail Australia (AWST—Australian Western Standard Time) Western Australia (most of state) Brunei Peoples Republic of China, including mainland China, Hong Kong and Macau Indonesia (Central) Malaysia Mongolia* (most of country) Philippines Russia Buryatia* Irkutsk...

Time zones

Australian time zones during standard time

The standardisation of time in Australia began in 1892, when surveyeors from the Australian colonies gathered in Melboune for the Intercolonial Conference of Surveyors. The delegates accepted the recommendation of the 1884 International Meridian Conference to adopt Greenwich Mean Time (GMT) as the basis for standard time, and in line with common practise in other parts of the world, devised a system of time zones with offets in multiples of one hour from GMT. In the years that followed, the colonies enacted legislation to this effect, with Western Australia leading GMT by 8 hours, South Australia by 9 hours, and Queensland, New South Wales, Victoria and Tasmania leading by 10 hours. The three time zones became known as Western, Central and Eastern Standard Time. In 1898, South Australia moved its standard time to GMT+9:30, a system that remains in place today. Since that time, the only major change has been the adoption of Central Standard Time in Broken Hill, New South Wales, and the use of GMT+10:30 on Lord Howe Island. The Australian Capital Territory and the Northern Territory maintained the standard time zones of their parent states (New South Wales and South Australia) when they separated from them in 1910 and 1911. The non-integer offset of Central Standard Time has at times been subject to criticism, with unsuccessful proposals in 1986 and 1994 to adopt GMT+10 or revert to GMT+9 in South Australia. 1892 was a leap year starting on Friday (see link for calendar). ... 1884 is a leap year starting on Tuesday (click on link to calendar). ... The Prime Meridian, Greenwich The Prime Meridian is the meridian (line of longitude) passing through the Royal Greenwich Observatory, Greenwich, England; it is the meridian at which longitude is 0 degrees. ... Greenwich Mean Time (GMT) is mean solar time at the Royal Greenwich Observatory in Greenwich, London, England, which by convention is at 0 degrees geographic longitude. ... Time Zone is also a historical computer game. ... Motto: Cygnis Insignis (Distinguished by its swans) Nickname: Wildflower State Other Australian states and territories Capital Perth Government Governor Premier Const. ... Motto: United for the Common Wealth Nickname: Festival State Other Australian states and territories Capital Adelaide Government Governor Premier Const. ... Motto: Audax at Fidelis (Bold but Faithful) Nickname: Sunshine State/Smart State Other Australian states and territories Capital Brisbane Government Governor Premier Const. ... Motto: Orta Recens Quam Pura Nites (Newly Risen, How Brightly You Shine) Nickname: First State, Premier State Other Australian states and territories Capital Sydney Government Governor Premier Const. ... Motto: Peace and Prosperity Nickname: Garden State Other Australian states and territories Capital Melbourne Government Governor Premier Const. ... Motto: Ubertas et Fidelitas (Fertility and Faithfulness) Nickname: The Apple Isle Other Australian states and territories Capital Hobart Government Governor Premier Const. ... 1898 was a common year starting on Saturday (see link for calendar). ... Motto: United for the Common Wealth Nickname: Festival State Other Australian states and territories Capital Adelaide Government Governor Premier Const. ... Broken Hill Post Office Royal Exchange Hotel, Broken Hill Broken Hill street, with the Indian Pacific and the actual broken hill visible in the background Broken Hill Broken Hill (31°57′S 141°27′E) is an isolated mining city and Local Government Area in the far west of outback... Lord Howe Island showing Mts Lidgbird and Gower. ... Motto: Pro Rege, Lege et Grege (For the Queen, the Law and the People) Nickname: (none) Other Australian states and territories Capital Canberra Government Administrator Chief Minister Const. ... Motto: None Nickname: ? Other Australian states and territories Capital Darwin Government Administrator Chief Minister Const. ... 1910 (MCMX) was a common year starting on Saturday (see link for calendar). ... 1911 was a common year starting on Sunday (click on link for calendar). ... 1986 (MCMLXXXVI) is a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... 1994 (MCMXCIV) was a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar, and was designated the International year of the Family. ...

Anomalies

Broken Hill, near the western border of New South Wales, follows South Australian time. Broken Hill Post Office Royal Exchange Hotel, Broken Hill Broken Hill street, with the Indian Pacific and the actual broken hill visible in the background Broken Hill Broken Hill (31°57′S 141°27′E) is an isolated mining city and Local Government Area in the far west of outback... Motto: Orta Recens Quam Pura Nites (Newly Risen, How Brightly You Shine) Nickname: First State, Premier State Other Australian states and territories Capital Sydney Government Governor Premier Const. ... Motto: United for the Common Wealth Nickname: Festival State Other Australian states and territories Capital Adelaide Government Governor Premier Const. ...

Some towns on the Eyre Highway in the south-east corner of Western Australia do not follow official Western Australian time. Instead, they use what is unofficially known as Western Central Standard Time, which is halfway between Western and Central time - UTC+8:45. Towns following this zone incude Caiguna, Madura, Mundrabilla, Eucla and Border Village in South Australia. Named for Edward John Eyre the Eyre Highway is a highway linking Western Australia and South Australia. ... Motto: Cygnis Insignis (Distinguished by its swans) Nickname: Wildflower State Other Australian states and territories Capital Perth Government Governor Premier Const. ... Eucla is the easternmost town in Western Australia. ...

The Indian Pacific train has a time they call "train time" when travelling between Kalgoorlie and Port Augusta which was +9 hours during November 2005 when daylight saving was observed in the east. This is because of the 2 1/2 hour difference in times between South Australia and Western Australia. The Indian Pacific is a passenger rail service running between Perth and Sydney, Australia. ... Kalgoorlie (30° 45′ S, 121° 27′ E) is a large Western Australian mining town located about 600 km east of Perth. ... Port Augusta (population 15,250) is a town in South Australia. ...

External territories

Australia's many external territories follow their own time zones. Only two follow daylight saving time.

Orthographic projection over Macquarie Island Macquarie Island is located in the Southern Ocean, about halfway between Australia and Antarctica. ... Lord Howe Island showing Mts Lidgbird and Gower. ... The Australian Antarctic Territory (AAT) is the part of Antarctica claimed by Australia. ... Mawson Station from the air Mawson Station is a permanent base in Antarctica managed by the Australian Antarctic Division (AAD). ... Davis Station is a permanent base in Antarctica managed by the Australian Antarctic Division (AAD). ... Casey Station is a permanent base in Antarctica managed by the Australian Antarctic Division (AAD). ...

Daylight saving

Australian time zones during daylight saving time

Only the states and territories in the south east of the country (South Australia, New South Wales, the Australian Capital Territory, Victoria and Tasmania) observe daylight saving time. This has resulted in three time zones becoming five for half the year. South Australia follows Australian Central Daylight Time (ACDT, UTC+10.5) and the south eastern states follow Australian Eastern Daylight Time (AEDT, UTC+11). Of the states that observe daylight savings, most begin on the last weekend in October, and end on the last weekend in March. An exception to this is the island state of Tasmania, which (due to its southern latitude) begins daylight savings earlier, on the first weekend on October. Daylight saving time (also called DST, or Summer Time) is the local time a region is designated for a portion of the year, usually an hour forward from its standard official time. ... Latitude, sometimes denoted by the Greek letter φ, gives the location of a place on Earth north or south of the Equator. ...

Public opinion of daylight saving in Queensland is divided. The Queensland-New South Wales border area is heavily populated and as a result businesses are inconvenienced by the difference in time. Generally, the urban south east corner would prefer daylight savings, and the rural towns and farming regions elsewhere would not, although this is a very generalised view. There are currently two online petitions on the Queensland Government website about daylight savings. One supports its introduction and one advocates maintaining the status quo. South East Queensland is the region of the State of Queensland, Australia that contains most of that states population. ...

Special events

In 2000, all states that normally observe Eastern Daylight Time over summer — New South Wales, Victoria, the Australian Capital Territory and Tasmania — started daylight saving early, due to the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney. These states changes on the 27 August 2000. South Australia did not change until the regular time, which that year was the 29 October 2000. This article is about the year 2000. ... The Games of the XXVII Olympiad or the Millennium Olympics were held in 2000 in Sydney, Australia. ... Sydney is the capital city of the Australian state of New South Wales and Australias largest and oldest city (founded in 1788). ... August 27 is the 239th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (240th in leap years), with 126 days remaining. ... This article is about the year 2000. ... October 29 is the 302nd day of the year (303rd in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 63 days remaining. ... This article is about the year 2000. ...

In 2006, all states that follow daylight saving time (the above listed states plus South Australia) will delay the return to Eastern Standard Time by a week, due to the 2006 Commonwealth Games in Melbourne. Daylight saving will end on 2 April 2006. 2006 (MMVI) is a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... The 2006 Commonwealth Games will be held in Melbourne, Australia between March 15 and March 26. ... City of Melbourne Local Government Area State Victoria Lord Mayor John So (since 2001) Area 36 km² Population (2001) 57,960 Density 1,601/km² (1999) Greater Melbourne Subdivisions Local Government Areas Area 7,694 km² (1999) Population 2001 census (2nd in Australia) 3,555,321 Density 462. ... 2 April is the 92nd day of the year (93rd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar, with 273 days remaining. ... 2006 (MMVI) is a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

Accuracy and standards

Although Australia has maintained a version of the atomic time scale Universal Coordinated Time (UTC) since the 1990s, GMT remained the basis for the standard time of all states until 2005. In November 2004, the Attorneys General endorsed a proposal from the Australian National Measurement Institute to adopt UTC as the basis of all Australian standard times, thereby eliminating the effects of slight variations in the Earth's rotation rate that are inherent to mean solar time. New South Wales and Victoria enacted legislation to this effect, commencing on the 1st of September 2005. Other states are expected to follow. UTC also stands for the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga Coordinated Universal Time or UTC, also sometimes referred to as Zulu time, the basis for civil time, differs by an integral number of seconds from atomic time and a fractional number of seconds from UT1. ... 2005 (MMV) is a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Motto: Orta Recens Quam Pura Nites (Newly Risen, How Brightly You Shine) Nickname: First State, Premier State Other Australian states and territories Capital Sydney Government Governor Premier Const. ... Motto: Peace and Prosperity Nickname: Garden State Other Australian states and territories Capital Melbourne Government Governor Premier Const. ...

References

• The Australian National Time System National Standards Commission Leaflet No. 8, January 2003. Linked via Wayback machine
• NSW Legislative Council Hansard, 2 March 2005
• Daylight Saving Time at WebExhibits
• Daylight Savings Petitions