Warmer weather and longer days will soon usher in another spring staple, when many states and territories will turn their clocks forward one hour.
Daylight saving time will soon affect many Australians as the country goes from three time zones to five.
Here’s a summary of everything you need to know.
When does daylight saving time start?
Four of Australia’s six states and one of the country’s two territories participate in daylight saving time.
Clocks will be moved forward one hour in New South Wales, Victoria, ACT, Tasmania and South Australia at 2am on Sunday 6 October.
The day is easy to remember in these states and territories: it is the first Sunday in October.
Queensland, Western Australia and the Northern Territory do not have daylight saving time.
Warmer weather and longer days will soon usher in another spring staple, when many states and territories will turn their clocks forward one hour.
And for Australians who don’t like the extra hour of sunshine, it will end at 3am on Sunday 6 April 2025, when we turn the clocks back one hour.
Who invented daylight saving time and why?
It was a New Zealand man, George Hudson, who came up with the idea in 1895, but with only a two-hour time difference, Radio New Zealand reported.
Hudson, a bug collector, wanted to collect bugs after work and needed more daylight hours to do so.
After presenting his idea to the Wellington Philosophical Society, he eventually gained the support of MP Sir Thomas Kay Sidey.
But it was not until 1927, when Hudson was 60 years old, that his country passed a law allowing clocks to be moved forward one hour from the first Sunday in November to the first Sunday in March.
Similar ideas were also being discussed among other people in other places.
The British builder William Willett himself published a pamphlet in 1907 in which he asked people to turn the time forward in summer to have more time for outdoor activities, as well as to reduce lighting costs, bbc reported.
Which Australian states do not have daylight saving time?
Queensland, Western Australia and the Northern Territory do not have daylight saving time.
But it has become a hotly debated issue in Queensland and Western Australia over the years.
Tasmania was the first Australian state to start moving clocks forward in 1916. 7 news reported.
Throughout the 20th century, different states and territories tested daylight saving time, reintroduced it, and eliminated it.
The current four states and one territory have participated in the annual time change since at least 1971, according to the Bureau of Meteorology.
And for Aussies who don’t like the extra hour of sunshine, it will end at 3am on Sunday 6 April 2025, when we turn the clock back one hour.
Why doesn’t all of Australia have daylight saving time?
Even in the parties that participate each year, daylight saving time remains contested.
Australians against it have multiple reasons for abolishing it, including that it clashes with year 12 exams, causes lack of sleep and that farmers have to get up in the dark during daylight saving time.
North Queensland MP Robbie Katter commented in 2019 that daylight saving time would be “a huge burden on liveability and practicality” for residents in his region as it could mean they would work an hour longer in temperatures above 40°C.
In 1992, Queensland completed a referendum after a three-day trial and the result was that 54.5 per cent of residents opposed its permanent introduction.
Western Australia has held four referendums and the last one in 2009 also returned a negative result: 54.6 per cent of people opposed turning the clock forward.
What is the impact on health and sleep?
President of the Australasian Society of Chronobiology, Professor Sean Cain, studies how circadian rhythms are affected by changes such as the annual time change and believes it is not beneficial to people’s health.
“We evolved over millions of years to get used to very bright days and very dark nights,” he said.
“So our bodies look forward to these bright days and dark nights; that’s how we function best.”
Professor Cain is against daylight saving time because it has a negative impact on people, which can make Australians feel like they have jet lag.
The professor said the worst part about daylight saving time is when schedules are changed because it happens in one day and people are expected to adapt immediately.
“It’s quite damaging and causes more accidents, trips to the emergency room for heart attacks and things like that,” he said.
Research shows that people who live in places where there is no daylight saving time live longer, experience fewer illnesses, and are more productive each year.
