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Daylight saving starts on Sunday 4 October 2026 at 2am AEST in New South Wales, Victoria, South Australia, Tasmania and the ACT, while Queensland stays on standard time and border towns Tweed Heads and Coolangatta face confusion.
Daylight saving returns on Sunday 4 October 2026 at 2am Australian eastern standard time. Clocks in New South Wales, Victoria, South Australia, Tasmania and the Australian Capital Territory will move forward one hour to 3am, giving an extra hour of afternoon daylight.
Queensland Daylight Saving Debate
Queensland, Western Australia and the Northern Territory do not observe daylight saving. On the eastern seaboard, Queensland remains the outlier while its southern neighbours gain an extra hour of sunshine after clocking off. The time change is an annual talking point on the Gold Coast. Mayor Tom Tate on Wednesday reiterated calls for daylight saving to be introduced in Queensland's southeast corner.
He suggested drawing a new time zone boundary north of Noosa, cheekily acknowledging the lack of support elsewhere from cows and the wider dairy industry. The issue is no joke for businesses in the border towns of Tweed Heads in New South Wales and Coolangatta in Queensland. Ellen Clark, a cosmetic nurse, recently opened a business in Tweed Heads and is bracing for late arrivals from her clientele, most of whom are in Queensland.
It is going to be interesting trying to navigate that, she told the Australian Associated Press. Previously, Ms Clark commuted to Brisbane for work from Tweed Heads, where her partner is based, but decided to set up shop locally after the birth of her first child. It kind of came to my attention yesterday, and I was like, Oh my God, we are back here again.
Border Town Business Challenges
All my systems go off bookings, so I am trying to do some research, and I am changing my hours a little bit to catch people on both sides of the border, she told the AAP. I am sure there will be people coming in an hour early or an hour late for bookings. It is just one of those puzzles to work out.
Queensland Premier David Crisafulli was not keen to buy into Tate's suggestion when asked about the issue by reporters in Mackay on Thursday. I have lived at both ends of the state, and I am here for uniting Queensland, not dividing it, he said. Smart devices usually adjust automatically for daylight saving, moving forward early on Sunday morning. You will need to manually adjust the time on kitchen appliances, analogue clocks and watches by setting them an hour later.
Daylight saving returns on the first Sunday of October every year and ends on the first Sunday of April. It will finish in six months, on Sunday 4 April 2027 at 3am Australian eastern daylight time. Clocks will turn back one hour to 2am as eastern standard time resumes, giving more daylight in the morning. The Fair Work Ombudsman recommends employees and employers check their award or registered agreement for terms on daylight saving time.
Daylight Saving Pay Implications
If there is no mention of daylight saving in the terms, payment is usually made by the clock. This means if you are working an eight-hour shift when daylight saving starts and the clock goes forward, you would work an hour less but still be paid for eight hours. If you are working by the clock when daylight saving ends in April, you would work nine hours but only get paid for eight.
Experts recommend gradually adjusting your bedtime by 15 minutes each night for a smooth transition, maximising morning light to reset your body clock and staying consistent with your sleep schedule. A study found some people experienced effects similar to minor jet lag, and some mood effects were possible.
SBSNews 
GuardianAus:Daylight savings 2026: when does daylight saving start in Australia, and do clocks go forward or back? Here’s when the time will changeThis story was compiled and edited by the HeadTopics newsroom and HT AI from the reports above.
Queensland Time Zone Tweed Heads Coolangatta Tom Tate David Crisafulli
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