International students living in New South Wales, Victoria, Australian Capital Territory, South Australia or Tasmania should be aware of the beginning and end of daylight saving time (DST or daylight savings) in Australia.
In Australia, the first Sunday of October marks the beginning of daylight saving time. This means that at 2 am all clocks will be moved FORWARD by one hour. The end of daylight saving comes on the first Sunday of April when everyone turns their clocks BACK one hour.
Daylight Savings?! What! Why?
Daylight Savings Time is only practiced in some countries (or in certain states within those countries) and if you’ve never done it before, having everyone change their clocks at the same time might seem like a pretty bizarre thing to do.
The reason some places observe daylight savings is simply to make better use of sunlight in the summer months.
Further away from the equator, there is much more sunlight in summer than in the winter. Changing the clocks gives everyone an extra hour of sunlight to make use of in the evening, rather than having everyone sleep through that sunny hour in the mornings.
That may seem a little silly to some, and in Australia, the United States, and other countries, there is an ongoing debate about whether the practice is worth it.
People in favour of daylight savings say that it reduces road accidents, saves on household energy use and gives people more time to be out and active in the summer evenings.
Others say it’s disruptive and only a means of giving people more time to be out and spending money.
The good news is, in April, the clocks are turned back one hour and everyone gets their lost hour of sleep back.
Do I have to change my clocks myself?
On the night, most mobile phones and computers will automatically change the time for you. But you should still check the settings to make sure your device knows what to do.
If you rely on an alarm clock without an internet connection, make sure you change the time before you go to bed.
