Australian Central Standard Time

Also known as: Australian Central Time (ACT) and Australian Central Daylight Time (ACDT)

Time zone map of ACST — Currently observing ACST.
Areas with same time currently (UTC +9:30).
Currently observing ACST – Australian Central Standard Time.
Currently has same time zone offset as ACST (UTC +9:30) but different time zone name.

Australian Central Standard Time (ACST) is 9:30 hours ahead of Coordinated Universal Time (UTC). This time zone is in use during standard time in: Australia. Australian Central Standard Time is a half-hour time zone. Its local time differs by 30 minutes instead of the normal whole hour.

See full time zone map

What Is Australian Central Standard Time?

Australian Central Standard Time (ACST) is a time zone in the middle of Australia. It is used in three Australian states and territories: New South Wales, South Australia, and the Northern Territory.

In New South Wales, it is only used in Broken Hill (Yancowinna County).

Australian Central Standard Time shares a border with Australian Eastern Time (AET) in the east and Australian Western Standard Time (AWST) in the west. It also shares a border with Australian Central Western Standard Time (ACWST), a time zone only used in Eucla.

Australian Central Standard Time Zone

Australian Central Standard Time (ACST) is a standard time zone in use from the first Sunday in April to the first Sunday in October—when Daylight Saving Time (DST) is not in effect. Australian Central Daylight Time (ACDT) is used during the remainder of the year.

ACST Is the Australian Central Time Zone

In everyday usage, ACST is often referred to as Australian Central Time (ACT) or the Australian Central Time Zone. This can add a bit of confusion as the term Australian Central Time does not differentiate between standard time and Daylight Saving Time, so Australian Central Time switches between ACST and ACDT in areas that use DST during part of the year.

Australia has two generic time zones that include both standard and daylight time: Australian Eastern Time (AET) and Australian Central Time (ACT). The country has a complex set of time zones, some of which have an unusual UTC offset.

Converting ACST to Other Australian Time Zones

Australian Central Standard Time (ACST) is 1 hour behind Lord Howe Standard Time (LHST).
To convert ACST to LHST, add an hour.
Australian Central Standard Time (ACST) is 30 minutes behind Australian Eastern Standard Time (AEST).
To convert ACST to AEST, add half an hour.
Australian Central Standard Time (ACST) is 45 minutes ahead of Australian Central Western Standard Time (ACWST).
To convert ACST to ACWST, subtract 45 minutes.
Australian Central Standard Time (ACST) is 1 hour and 30 minutes ahead of Australian Western Standard Time (AWST).
To convert ACST to AWST, subtract one hour and 30 minutes.