Daylight saving starts on Sunday 5 October
Published 2 October 2025
Daylight saving starts at 2 am on Sunday 5 October 2025 in parts of Australia. Find out what employees get if they work overnight when daylight saving starts.
On this page
- Daylight saving
- What employees get if they work overnight when the clock changes
- Check your award or agreement
- Related information
Daylight saving
Daylight saving starts on Sunday 5 October 2025. At 2 am, clocks go forward one hour to 3 am in:
- Australian Capital Territory
- New South Wales
- South Australia
- Tasmania
- Victoria.
Daylight saving doesn't apply in all states and territories. There is no change to the time in:
- Northern Territory
- Queensland
- Western Australia.
What employees get if they work overnight when the clock changes
Employees should check their award, enterprise agreement or employment contract to see if there is anything about working overnight when daylight saving starts or ends. If it doesn’t say anything, all employees who work overnight when daylight saving starts are paid ‘by the clock’.
'By the clock' means that employees are paid for what their usual number of hours would be based on the clock.
Daylight saving starts when the clock rolls forward at 2 am to 3 am. Employees who work an overnight shift work one hour less but are still paid for the full shift according to the clock.
When daylight saving ends next year and the clock rolls back an hour, employees who work overnight will work for an extra hour but won't be paid for that extra hour.
Example: Working through the night when daylight saving starts
Dave is a shiftworker in a factory. His usual shift over the weekend is 8:30 pm on Saturday until 5 am on Sunday. He works for 8 hours and has a 30 minute unpaid break.
Dave doesn’t have an award or a registered agreement that says anything about daylight saving.
During Dave’s weekend shift, daylight saving starts and the clock rolls forward an hour. While Dave actually works 7 hours, which is one hour less than usual, he is still paid for 8.
When daylight saving ends next year, the clock rolls back an hour. If Dave is working his usual shift, he will work for 9 hours, which is one hour more than usual, but he will be paid for 8 hours.
You can learn more about daylight saving in our Library article Daylight saving in Australia.
Check your award or agreement
Check your award or agreement for any rules about daylight saving.
Awards
If you know your award, find it in our List of awards page. Then search it to see if it says anything about daylight saving.
If you’re not sure which award applies, search by occupation or industry in our Pay and Conditions Tool. You can also use this tool to calculate minimum wages and some entitlements.
Agreements
Find your enterprise agreement by using the Fair Work Commission’s Document search.
Search the business name to find your agreement. Then check to see if it has any rules about daylight saving.
For more information on finding and reading agreements, go to Finding an agreement.
