Home   News   Time Zone News   AU & NZ Start DST 2020

DST Begins in Australia and New Zealand

Daylight Saving Time (DST) starts in New Zealand on September 27, 2020. In many parts of Australia, the clocks are set forward on October 4, 2020.

Time Zones in Australia and New Zealand.

DST in Australia and New Zealand. Areas with diagonal stripes change the clocks.

©timeanddate.com

When Is the Time Change?

  • New Zealand: DST starts on September 27, 2020. Clocks are set forward by 1 hour from 02:00 (2 am) NZST to 03:00 (3 am) NZDT.
  • Australia: In all areas with time changes, clocks are set forward by 1 hour from 02:00 (2 am) to 03:00 (3 am) local time on October 4, 2020.

Australia: Where Do Clocks Change?

Only some parts of Australia have yearly clock changes. They are:

Northern and western parts of Australia and Australian dependencies do not change their clocks. These include:

On Lord Howe Island, clocks are set forward by 30 minutes instead of 1 hour.

Norfolk Island Introduced DST in 2019

Norfolk Island adopted DST in 2019 and residents will set their clocks forward by 1 hour from 02:00 (2 am) to 03:00 (3 am) on October 4, 2020.

Except for a short period from 1974-1975, the island has not observed DST in the past.

New Zealand Clock Change

All areas of New Zealand observe clock changes, including Auckland, Christchurch, and Wellington. DST in New Zealand starts one week earlier than in Australia.

The Chatham Islands, in New Zealand's second time zone, are 45 minutes ahead of the two main islands, so clocks there are turned from 02:45 (2:45 am) to 03:45 (3:45 am) local time. The New Zealand dependency of Tokelau does not use DST.

Samoa Also Starts DST

Samoa starts DST on the same date as New Zealand, on September 27, 2020. Clocks there are set forward from 03:00 (3 am) to 04:00 (4 am) local time.

American Samoa does not have clock changes.

When Does DST End Again?

DST in both Australia and New Zealand ends on April 4, 2021 when clocks fall back to standard time.

In Australia, DST runs from the first Sunday in October to the first Sunday in April. New Zealand observes DST from the last Sunday in September to the first Sunday in April.