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Northern Territory, Australia

The Northern Territory uses Australian Central Standard Time, UTC+9:30, throughout the year. It does not observe daylight saving time, so Darwin and other Territory communities keep the same UTC offset in every season.

Darwin, Australia

Sunday, 6 September 2026

UTC+9:30 · Australia/Darwin

Time and sun data for Darwin — the largest city of Northern Territory

The sun in Darwin

Sunrise 6:49 AM Solar noon 12:46 PM Sunset 6:44 PM Daylight 11 h 55 min Night 12 h 05 min Civil twilight 6:28 AM – 7:05 PM

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Current time in Northern Territory, Australia

The displayed local time applies across the Northern Territory, including Darwin, Palmerston, Alice Springs, Katherine and Tennant Creek. Because the Territory has no daylight-saving clock change, converting its time is usually straightforward once the other location’s seasonal rules are known.

Australian Central Standard Time is half an hour ahead of whole-hour zones such as UTC+9. That thirty-minute difference matters when arranging flights, online meetings or calls with people elsewhere in Australia.

Useful rule: write “Darwin time” beside an appointment if “Australian central time” could be confused with a daylight-saving state.

Time zone and regional differences

The Northern Territory shares its standard UTC offset with South Australia, but the two do not remain aligned all year. South Australia advances its clocks during daylight saving, while the Northern Territory does not. Their local times therefore match during part of the year and differ during the daylight-saving period.

Queensland also avoids daylight saving, although it uses UTC+10 rather than UTC+9:30. Western Australia remains on UTC+8. These neighbouring arrangements create the unusual but perfectly valid half-hour gaps seen on Australian time maps.

Time zone: Australian Central Standard Time. Standard abbreviation: ACST. UTC offset: UTC+9:30. Daylight saving: not observed. Main reference city: Darwin.

Cities, daylight and sunrise

Darwin is the Territory’s capital and largest city, with Palmerston forming another major urban centre nearby. Alice Springs is the principal inland city, while Katherine and Tennant Creek are important regional service centres. All use the same civil time despite the considerable distances between them.

Sunrise does not occur simultaneously across the Territory. Eastern places generally see the Sun earlier by the clock than western places, while latitude and season also affect dawn and day length. Darwin’s tropical location produces less seasonal variation in daylight than Alice Springs experiences farther south.

A sunrise time should always be matched to a particular town and date. The Territory-wide clock can tell you the hour, but it cannot account for longitude, latitude, terrain or the changing path of the Sun. Travellers heading into remote areas should use the forecast or astronomical listing for their actual destination.

Questions and answers
Does the Northern Territory change its clocks?
No. It keeps Australian Central Standard Time throughout the year.
Is Darwin always the same time as Adelaide?
No. They share standard time, but Adelaide follows South Australia’s daylight-saving changes and Darwin does not.
Is sunrise at the same time everywhere in the Territory?
No. Sunrise varies with the date and the location’s latitude and longitude, even though every community uses one official time zone.

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