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Time gap

Time differences

Time difference between Sydney and Melbourne

Good time for both on a weekday: 9:00–17:00 in Sydney = 9:00–17:00 in Melbourne.

 

 

 

  • Everyone at work
  • Work hours
  • Awake
  • Night
  • Weekend

Tap any column to see that moment in every city.

Different hours for each city
  • 0 hoursno difference
  • UTC+11 / UTC+10Sydney, January / July
  • UTC+11 / UTC+10Melbourne, January / July
  • 8 hoursshared 9-to-5 time

How the gap moves through the year

The gap never changes: Melbourne and Sydney show the same clock time on every day of the year, because both cities change their clocks on the same moments.

Sydney moves its clocks forward one hour on the first Sunday in October at 2:00 am local time and back on the first Sunday in April at 3:00 am, switching between Australian Eastern Standard Time (UTC+10) and Australian Eastern Daylight Time (UTC+11).

Melbourne moves its clocks forward one hour on the first Sunday in October at 2:00 am local time and back on the first Sunday in April at 3:00 am, switching between Australian Eastern Standard Time (UTC+10) and Australian Eastern Daylight Time (UTC+11).

Next clock change for this pair, as of when this page was built (2026-10-20): Sydney falls back on Sun 4 April 2027.

Everything on this page also holds if you swap Sydney for Melbourne, Canberra or Hobart, or Melbourne for Sydney, Canberra or Hobart — those cities follow exactly the same clock all year.

Working hours that overlap

In January, a 9-to-5 day in both cities shares 8 hours: 9:00 am–5:00 pm in Sydney, which is 9:00 am–5:00 pm in Melbourne.

July gives exactly the same window.

Across the week

At 9:00 on a Monday morning in Sydney, it is 9:00 am on Monday in Melbourne.

Daylight, distance and night calls

Sydney and Melbourne are about 713 km (443 miles) apart and 6° of longitude apart, which by the sun alone would be 30 minutes.

Sydney's winter clock runs 55 minutes ahead of the sun, and Melbourne's runs 1 hour 20 minutes ahead of the sun.

In mid-January the sun is up in Sydney from about 5:59 am to 8:09 pm, and the sun is up in Melbourne from about 6:14 am to 8:44 pm; both cities are in daylight at the same time for about 14 hours.

In mid-July the sun is up in Sydney from about 6:58 am to 5:04 pm, and the sun is up in Melbourne from about 7:33 am to 5:19 pm; both cities are in daylight at the same time for about 9 hours 30 minutes.

Hour-by-hour table and common mistakes — 2 more sections
Each hour in Sydney and the same moment in Melbourne, on a Wednesday in January and in July. Shaded: inside 9-to-5 in both.
SydneyMelbourne, JanuaryMelbourne, July
12:00 am12:00 am12:00 am
1:00 am1:00 am1:00 am
2:00 am2:00 am2:00 am
3:00 am3:00 am3:00 am
4:00 am4:00 am4:00 am
5:00 am5:00 am5:00 am
6:00 am6:00 am6:00 am
7:00 am7:00 am7:00 am
8:00 am8:00 am8:00 am
9:00 am9:00 am9:00 am
10:00 am10:00 am10:00 am
11:00 am11:00 am11:00 am
12:00 pm12:00 pm12:00 pm
1:00 pm1:00 pm1:00 pm
2:00 pm2:00 pm2:00 pm
3:00 pm3:00 pm3:00 pm
4:00 pm4:00 pm4:00 pm
5:00 pm5:00 pm5:00 pm
6:00 pm6:00 pm6:00 pm
7:00 pm7:00 pm7:00 pm
8:00 pm8:00 pm8:00 pm
9:00 pm9:00 pm9:00 pm
10:00 pm10:00 pm10:00 pm
11:00 pm11:00 pm11:00 pm

Common mistakes with Sydney and Melbourne

  • Writing “GMT+11” all year for Sydney. In summer the zone is Australian Eastern Standard Time; calendar apps handle it, but a typed time in an email can be read the wrong way.

Questions

Is Melbourne ahead of Sydney?
No — they show the same clock time all year (UTC+11).
What is a good time for a meeting between Sydney and Melbourne?
With 9-to-5 days in both cities, 9:00 am–5:00 pm Sydney time is inside working hours in both, which gives 8 hours.
Does the time difference between Sydney and Melbourne change?
No. The gap never changes: Melbourne and Sydney show the same clock time on every day of the year, because both cities change their clocks on the same moments.

Related time differences

Sydney time zone · Plan with more cities

City names, coordinates and time zone assignments: GeoNames, licensed under CC BY 4.0 (selection and renaming of some cities by this site). Clock times are computed in your browser from the IANA time zone database. Sources and limits.