Don’t forget to change your clocks tonight, because daylight saving is about to begin again across most of Australia, whether you like it or not.
At 2:00 a.m. local standard time this Sunday, clocks in New South Wales, Victoria, Tasmania, South Australia and the ACT will leap forward to 3:00 a.m., stealing an hour of sleep but rewarding us with longer, brighter evenings for the next six months.
Phones and computers will usually sort themselves out, but stubborn old appliances like microwaves, ovens and wall clocks will need a manual nudge. Even if your devices do the work for you, your body might take a bit longer to catch up. Sleep experts suggest going to bed a little earlier, getting morning sunlight, and keeping a regular routine to make the change easier. Or you could just accept you’ll be grumpy until Wednesday – a time-honoured approach that also works.
The only ritual more predictable than changing the clocks is arguing about it. Every year, Australians debate whether daylight saving is a brilliant way to make the most of summer evenings or a barbaric assault on sleep patterns and dairy cows. Somewhere right now, someone is insisting it fades the curtains, while someone else is pointing out that it’s 2025 and we can probably handle an hour’s difference.
The shift can be more than an inconvenience in towns along the Queensland–New South Wales border. Queensland refuses to play along, so while New South Wales springs forward, the Sunshine State stays put. In places like Mungindi, locals are constantly checking which side of the street is in the future. Crossing the border for work, school or even a cup of coffee can mean juggling two different schedules.
Not as inconvenient as Covid lockdowns, but it definitely affects business operations, school schedules, and transport timetables, and has even led to the appointment of a Cross-Border Commissioner to help address the practical challenges it causes.
If you want to start Sunday on the right foot, change your clocks before bed and double-check alarms, timers and anything else that doesn’t update automatically. Transport timetables and TV schedules might shift, and you may be a little bleary-eyed in the morning, but it’s a small price to pay for longer afternoons. So wind those clocks forward and get ready to enjoy the extra daylight — or at least the annual argument about it.
While we’re reminding you about things you likely don’t need reminding about, don’t forget it’s also double demerits all long weekend.
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