Australia Time Difference with the US and UK: Best Times to Call

Last updated October 21, 2026 · Written by Han with AI assistance, fact-checked against official sources.

Australia changes its clocks in the opposite season to the US and the UK. Sydney goes forward in October, just before London and New York go back, so the gap moves four times a year.

Compare New York and Sydney on a date of your choice in the Meeting Planner.

The gap through the year

US daylight saving time starts on the second Sunday in March and ends on the first Sunday in November. UK clocks go forward on the last Sunday in March and back on the last Sunday in October. In southeastern Australia it starts on the first Sunday in October and ends on the first Sunday in April. Each of these changes moves the gap by an hour, and because they fall on different Sundays, the year breaks into several stretches. The table is calculated from the time zone database for 2026.

The 14-hour and 9-hour gaps hold from early April to early October, when the northern side is on summer time and Sydney is on standard time. The 16-hour and 11-hour gaps hold from early November to early March. In the weeks between, in March, April and October, the gap to New York is 15 hours and the gap to London is 10 or 11.

Not every Australian city changes its clocks

Australia has three standard time zones, and only some states use daylight saving time. New South Wales, Victoria, South Australia, Tasmania and the Australian Capital Territory change their clocks. Queensland, Western Australia and the Northern Territory do not. From October to April, Brisbane is an hour behind Sydney even though both are on the east coast.

Adelaide and Darwin use half-hour offsets, so a call at the top of the hour in New York starts at half past in those cities. Perth is two or three hours behind Sydney and is the easiest Australian city to reach from London.

When to call from the US

New York and Sydney are at least 14 hours apart, so the end of the New York working day is the start of the next Sydney morning. A call at 5 p.m. in New York is 7 a.m. in Sydney in July and 9 a.m. in January. That leaves two choices: a late slot for the US side, between 5 and 7 p.m. Eastern time, or an early start before the Sydney office opens.

The West Coast has it easier. Los Angeles is 17 to 19 hours behind Sydney, and its early afternoon is the next Sydney morning. The last column of the first table shows the shared office hours, from three in the northern winter down to one in the northern summer.

When to call from the UK

London and Sydney never share a working hour. When it is 9 a.m. in London it is 6 to 8 p.m. in Sydney, so there are two usable slots. From 7 to 8 a.m. in London it is 4 to 5 p.m. in Sydney between April and early October, and 6 to 7 p.m. from late October to March. The other slot is 9 or 10 p.m. in London, which is 6 to 9 a.m. the next day in Sydney. Perth is easier. With a gap of 7 or 8 hours, 9 a.m. in London is late afternoon in Perth.

Mind the day of the week

Because Australia is a day ahead for most of the day, a Monday morning meeting in Sydney is Sunday afternoon or evening in New York and Los Angeles. A Friday afternoon call from the US lands on Saturday morning in Australia. For a weekly meeting, the usable US days are Monday to Thursday, which are Tuesday to Friday in Australia.

A recurring meeting also moves when one side changes its clocks. If a weekly call is set at 5 p.m. New York time, Sydney sees it at 8 a.m. after Australia changes in early October and at 9 a.m. after the US changes on the first Sunday in November. The guide to recurring meetings and daylight saving time shows how one call moves through the autumn.

Plan the call

• Write both dates in the invitation, such as "Tuesday 5 p.m. New York / Wednesday 8 a.m. Sydney". For most of the US day, Australia is already on the next date.
• Name the city, not the abbreviation. EST can mean Eastern Standard Time in the US or Australian Eastern Standard Time, and Sydney's own abbreviations, AEST (standard time) and AEDT (daylight time), are an hour apart.
• Before each change week in March, April, October and November, check the time again or send a reminder.

Open the Meeting Planner to test a time, or see the city pages for Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane and Perth. The Asia and Pacific time zones guide covers Australia's three zones, and the daylight saving time guide lists the change dates for each region.